Urgent Matters

BayRICS bounces back

Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hampered by a lack of transparency during its early days, the Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications System (BayRICS) Authority has rebounded nicely and is on the verge of making its public-safety LTE project a reality. With the FirstNet board facing similar allegations in its formative time, FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn may want to consider the advice of Barry Fraser, the BayRICS general manager who inherited a difficult situation.

Urgent Matters

The readers always write: FirstNet will not meet expectations

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:41:00 +0000

Four out of five respondents believe that the much-anticipated nationwide broadband network for first responders ultimately will fall short, with politics and economics cited nearly equally as the reason.

Urgent Matters

Regarding 911 abuses, let’s swat the swatters

Thu, 02 May 2013 12:06:00 +0000

Laws penalizing those who abuse the 911 system by making non-emergency calls are needed to discourage such actions, which use valuable first-responder resources and potentially can endanger lives.

Urgent Matters

FirstNet’s Ginn has quite a mess on his hands

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:55:00 +0000

In the wake of FirstNet board member Paul Fitzgerald's allegations against fellow board members, Chairman Sam Ginn needs to keep his promise to pursue a prompt investigation, because it's likely that Congress will be monitoring the situation closely.

Urgent Matters

Is your existing public-safety LMR network your last?

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:47:00 +0000

According to one expert, public-safety-grade LTE is going to supplant traditional first-responder communications a lot sooner than many people think.

Urgent Matters

A stark reminder of why training is so important

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:29:00 +0000

Training often seems to be the first item cut when budgets are tight, but a recent New York transit incident provides vivid evidence of the importance of proper training.

Urgent Matters

The readers always write: What should service shops do?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 21:16:00 +0000

The vast majority of the respondents to our recent poll question say that service shops should follow the letter of the law, even if it means losing a customer, if they are asked to work on radio equipment that does not comply with the FCC's narrowbanding rules.

Urgent Matters

Prosecution needed to halt 911 abuses

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:14:00 +0000

A former suburban Chicago trustee reportedly has made 35 non-emergency calls to 911 during the first three months of this year, a pattern of behavior that is worthy of prosecution.

Urgent Matters

FirstNet chairman sets the bar very high

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:13:00 +0000

Ginn should be applauded for setting high standards, but are his parameters for public safety's broadband communications network reachable?

Urgent Matters

Congress needs to drop T-Band mandate

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:26:00 +0000

Based on NPSTC's recent report, Congress should remove the mandate that public-safety entities clear the T-Band spectrum (470-512 MHz).

Urgent Matters