![](https://emergencyservicestimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ESS-Button-resized.png")
As emergency services adopt AI, drones, live video and connected vehicles at pace, the conversation is shifting from simply providing connectivity to ensuring it is available when it matters most.
Ahead of The Emergency Tech Show, Matt Wroughton from Excelerate says resilient connectivity is increasingly becoming the foundation that enables modern emergency response, supporting everything from frontline communications to data-driven decision-making.
From body-worn video and drone footage to mobile command units and cloud-based operational systems, frontline teams are relying on more connected technology than ever before. But Matt believes the focus is now moving beyond whether services have connectivity to whether they can rely on it in every operational environment.
“The biggest gap isn’t necessarily a lack of technology. It’s the assumption that a single network can support every operational scenario.”
Matt Wroughton, Group Sales Director, Excelerate Technology.
Connectivity is becoming part of the wider technology strategy
For Matt, the conversation is shifting from treating connectivity as a utility to recognising it as a strategic operational asset. Major incidents rarely happen where network coverage is strongest. They happen in rural locations, underground environments, densely populated cities or during large-scale events where networks can become congested.
That creates three persistent challenges: maintaining resilience when primary networks fail, enabling interoperability between agencies and technologies, and providing sufficient bandwidth for increasingly data-heavy applications.
Rather than asking whether a device or application has connectivity, Matt believes organisations are increasingly asking what connectivity it needs to function in the most challenging operational conditions.
“Connectivity has become the foundation layer that enables every other digital capability. Whether you’re deploying AI-powered decision support, telemedicine, drone operations, live incident mapping or command-and-control applications, none of it delivers value if the information can’t move reliably between users and systems.”
He says building connectivity into technology architecture from the outset can help organisations create platforms that are scalable, resilient and better prepared for future operational demands, rather than standalone digital projects that may face challenges during real-world incidents.
Why hybrid connectivity is gaining momentum
Excelerate’s approach brings together multiple communications technologies, including satellite, cellular, private and public 5G, mesh networking and other resilient networking capabilities. Rather than viewing those technologies as competing options, Matt says they each have different strengths and can work together as part of a single operational ecosystem.
“Satellite provides resilience and reach. Cellular provides speed and convenience. 5G delivers capacity and low latency. Mesh networking extends communications in challenging environments. The real value comes when these technologies work together as a unified ecosystem rather than separate networks.”
That hybrid approach allows traffic to move between satellite and terrestrial networks automatically, or across multiple networks simultaneously, helping maintain access to operational applications even if conventional infrastructure becomes unavailable. For emergency services, Matt says the aim is straightforward: maintaining operational continuity when communications are under pressure.
“When communications remain available, better decisions can be made, resources can be coordinated more effectively, and response times can improve.”
Connecting the next generation of emergency response technology
Many of the technologies shaping the future of policing, fire and rescue and ambulance services rely on robust connectivity to deliver their full operational value.
Drones are providing rapid situational awareness. Connected ambulances are creating new opportunities for clinicians to collaborate with specialists while travelling to patients. Command vehicles are evolving into mobile communications hubs capable of supporting increasingly complex incidents.
“The common factor across all these technologies is data. A drone capturing high-resolution imagery is only valuable if commanders can access that information immediately.”
As those capabilities continue to develop, he expects emergency services will increasingly need resilient, high-capacity networks capable of supporting video, telemetry, mapping, AI applications and collaboration tools simultaneously.
AI works best when it’s built on reliable data
While AI continues to dominate technology discussions across the emergency services, Matt believes the greatest opportunities are likely to come from tools that help frontline teams make decisions faster and reduce unnecessary workload.
He points to automated analysis of video and sensor data, faster information discovery across multiple systems, predictive maintenance of critical vehicles and equipment, operational decision support and reducing administrative burden as some of the most realistic applications. But he also believes reliable connectivity remains a vital part of that conversation.
“AI is only as effective as the quality and availability of the data supporting it. The opportunity isn’t replacing people. It’s giving emergency responders better information faster so they can focus on what humans do best: making critical decisions, exercising judgement and helping people in difficult situations.”
See connected operations in action at the Emergency Tech Show
At The Emergency Tech Show 2026, Excelerate wants conversations to focus less on individual products and more on the operational challenges emergency services are trying to solve.
The team will be showcasing how resilient communications, connected vehicles, mobile command capabilities, satellite services, operational technology and systems integration can work together to support emergency response in practice. Matt hopes visitors leave with a broader perspective on the role connectivity plays across emergency service operations.
“The future of emergency response isn’t about one technology, one network or one platform,” he says. “It’s about creating a resilient, connected ecosystem where people, vehicles, sensors and systems can share information seamlessly.
“Our focus is simple: putting the right technology at the edge of every application so emergency services can operate with confidence when it matters most.”
To read similar articles, check out our Technology channel.
Excelerate is a Premier Partner and Founding Partner at The Emergency Tech Show and The Emergency Services Show 2026 at the NEC on 16-17 September, and will be exhibiting on Stand H80. Register for your free ticket here.
