Cover Story

Interdependence Day

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

When broadband communications finally come to the public-safety sector, many agencies will be forced to operate — and collaborate — in ways that will seem quite foreign at first. But ultimately it will help them navigate to an exciting new frontier....

Features

The weakest link (with related video)

By Jeff Schmidt

Enterprise communications networks often are victimized by those who use them....

Feeding the beast

By Christian Barb

Beefing up their wireless LANs is essential for universities hoping to keep up with student and faculty demand for mobile data....

Not as hard as it looks

By Robert C. Shapiro, P.E., Julius Catral and Bryan K. Jackson

Despite their profound differences, it is possible to layer P25 and LTE systems, especially when an RF planning tool is employed....

First Word

If only we treated first responders the way we treat our athletes

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

We have yet to find the money needed to deliver next-generation communications capabilities to first responders that will make them better at what they do and keep everyone safer in the process, even though we’ve been talking about it for years. But, somehow, we don’t think twice about a long-snapper making more than three grand every time he touches the ball. Something is very, very wrong with this picture....

View From the Top

LTE: 2012 and beyond

By Darren McQueen

There are several tipping points that ultimately will fuel LTE deployments, including viewing network carriers as connectivity partners and learning to leverage all assets in a balanced way....

Final Word

Last year was a good year for public safety

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

Barring the kind of Christmas/New Year’s miracle that typically is found only in heartwarming movies, 2011 will go down as yet another year in which Congress failed to enact legislation that would provide public safety with the spectrum and funding needed to make the vision of a nationwide network for first responders a reality. ...

Dispatches

San Jose declines LTE deal with Motorola

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

Although San Jose representatives have worked diligently to negotiate a deal with Motorola during the second half of this year, council members could not support the proposed BOOM agreement, according to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed....

D Block fate uncertain as House rejects Senate two-month tax cut

By Donny Jackson

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) described the opposition in the House as “unconscionable” and said he would not call the Senate back in session....

Gear

Paging maintains relevance when message matters most

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

Paging still is the way to go in circumstances where the message has to be delivered without fail, because the paging infrastructure delivers messages simultaneously, according to Roy Pottle....