Cover Story

A challenging equation

By Donny Jackson (donald.jackson@penton.com)

A vital question has emerged regarding the proposed nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety: Should other entities be allowed to use it? Compelling arguments exist on both sides of the debate....

Features

A matter of perspective

By Karl Fuchs

Airborne satellite communications improve situational awareness for military troops and first responders....

One step closer

By James Mustarde

Software applications will harness the power of 4G to deliver a smarter grid for utilities....

The care essentials

By Kevin McGinnis

Wireless broadband will improve greatly the ability of emergency medical professionals to deliver vital patient care during the critical "Golden Hour."...

A look at the PIN diode antenna switch

By Harold Kinley

It handles large power levels with minimum distortion, good isolation and low insertion loss....

First Word

Education on properly using 911 system still is sorely needed

By Glenn Bischoff (glenn.bischoff@penton.com)

At the NENA conference, I stumbled into the booth of a production company that is working on a television program called The World’s Most Ridiculous 911 Calls. Producers Joe Nelms and Sue Bailey were at the conference to collect stories from call-takers and dispatchers. And they collected some doozies....

Final Word

Strike while the iron is hot

By Alan Tilles

While there's nothing stopping a bill from being completed after Sept. 11, the fact is that much of the political incentive will be gone....

Dispatches

NENA approves i3 standard

By Donny Jackson (donald.jackson@penton.com)

With the approval, the i3 standard is expected to emerge from the uncertain status it has held during the past three months, during which time NENA has investigated allegations regarding a procedural complaint issued in March....

White House announces electrical-grid modernization initiatives, smart-grid funding (with related video)

By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)

The Obama Administration announced a number of new initiatives designed to accelerate the modernization of U.S. electric-grid infrastructure — including deploying smart-grid technologies — to facilitate the integration of renewable sources, accommodate electric vehicles, avoid blackouts and restore power more quickly, and reduce the need for new power plants. ...

FM Approvals preparing to work on new standard for LMR industry

By Donny Jackson

If the new FM Approvals standard is adopted, radios meeting the standard would not be considered intrinsically safe, but they would be deemed safe for use in the most hazardous environments under “special protection” guidelines....

New mobile-phone chips with Russian location system to hit U.S. market

By Lynnette Luna

By the end of the year, most of the world’s major mobile-phone chipset makers will have chips in the market that support both GPS and the Russian counterpart known as the Global Navigation Satellite System, or GLONASS. Chipset makers say that access to more positioning satellites will provide better location data for those in urban canyons, but they are shying away from saying just how much better location data will get. ...

Gear

Alcatel-Lucent teams with Polaris, Thales Alenia Space on location-based technology

By Donny Jackson

Known as the Alcatel-Lucent Positioning Service (ALPS), the solution uses a range of technologies to support location-based services, from commercial applications to E-911 reporting. ...

General Dynamics Itronix launches GD8200 rugged laptop

By Mary Rose Roberts (maryrose.roberts@penton.com)

The 7.8-pound notebook meets MIL-STD-461F and IP65 specifications and is certified withstand electromagnetic emissions, said Carlos Nieves, the company’s product manager for rugged mobile computing solutions. ...

Zetron debuts IP call-taking solution targeted to public safety, utilities

By Glenn Bischoff (glenn.bischoff@penton.com)

Max Call-Taking — architected to conform to NENA’s i3 standards, which provide the technical framework for implementing next-generation 911 systems is designed for PSAPs and utilities that maintain large call centers. ...