NTIA should consider certain LTE projects as testbed opportunities 

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

Assuming that standardized LTE is used in accordance with interoperability guidelines, real-world deployments can can provide valuable information that can be leveraged by FirstNet as it designs this much-anticipated network....

Remember to feed the elephants 

By David Kahn

Earlier this year I attended NIST’s 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband Demonstration Stakeholders Meeting, where very smart people presented their visions for the national LTE/4G network. However there seemed to be a few elephants in the room that largely were ignored....

Creating global market critical to public-safety broadband success 

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

Today's APCO/TCCA announcement does not guarantee that all continents eventually will migrate their next-generation public-safety radio systems to LTE, but it is a step in the right direction. ...

Public safety anxiously awaits 700 MHz broadband direction 

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

Some of those most instrumental in stating the case for public safety’s need for additional spectrum and funding have been left in a rather uncomfortable limbo while anxiously awaiting word from the nation’s capital about the next steps they should take....

Video: Why fire departments need to implement social-media policies 

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

Senior Editor Mary Rose Roberts speaks with Curt Varone, an attorney and retired deputy chief, about generational differences regardingi social-media use, and what liablity fire departments can face if they don't have social-media policies in place....

The long arm of broadband 

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

There are some who believe that the public-safety broadband network is much more a law-enforcement play, and that the fire and emergency medical services won’t benefit nearly as much. I am certain that those people are wrong....

Adding low-cost ADP encryption could be a pricy decision 

By Scott Tschetter

A movement is afoot to add a proprietary encryption protocol called advanced digital privacy, or ADP, to Project 25 systems across the country. However, in so doing, users are at risk of losing federal grant funds....

Public safety in limbo while feds try to execute new law 

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

It’s been six weeks since President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation reallocating the D Block to public safety while providing $7 billion to fund the buildout of a nationwide broadband network for first responders. While public safety remains clearly excited about the prospect, the initial euphoria definitely has died down as officials are asking, “How is all of this going to be executed?”...

A new world requires new rules 

By Steven Devine

Public-safety leaders need to expand their perspectives and work with the regulatory community to ensure that any legacy rules still in place that may be burdensome to public-safety agencies are revisited as the sector travels down the path to an exciting broadband-centric future....

A mother like no other 

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

A loyal reader informed me that the frequency-hopping technology today known as spread spectrum — upon which cellular communications and other wireless technologies, such as CDMA, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, are based — was invented by the actress Hedy LaMarr....

Backhaul must be a priority for LTE network 

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

Many initial concepts to utilize microwave networks designed for low-bandwidth LMR systems have had to be revamped after engineers started calculating the backhaul required to avoid creating throughput bottlenecks beyond the base station....

Nationwide network has public safety scrambling for answers 

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

While money, spectrum and a nationwide vision are very critical "knowns," a number of unknowns still exist, and the list seems to increase by the day...

Early public-safety LTE networks could be enlightening 

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

While the legislation is clear that this will be single nationwide network and that FirstNet will approve all RFP language, there is less certainty about how that will be achieved. ...

Finally, the right tools for the job (with related video) 

By Bob Schassler

That is the real power public-safety LTE broadband communications promise to deliver — better connectivity and virtually unlimited mission-critical data directly on a responder's handheld device, wherever and whenever it's needed....

Here’s public safety’s next lobbying battle 

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

The political and technical realities of next-gen 911 may have prevented more significant funding being included in this legislation. But the fact remains that there is a new hill for public safety to take....