Bird turns 70, looks to the future

According to Mike Youngs, it all started with the bathrooms at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. Youngs, the airport’s VP for IT, wanted to use wireless technology to reduce crowding in restroom lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. His team installed sensors and lights above stalls and monitors outside restrooms to let people know when […]

Russia’s cyberattacks against Ukrainian civilian and critical infrastructure has shown what it looks like when cyberattacks are part of warfare. What remains to be seen is whether the world will treat them as war crimes. “For too long, the world has been considering cyber terrorism as something unrealistic, too sci-fi-ish, and cyber weapons as not […]

An FCC bureau yesterday renewed the FirstNet Authority’s spectrum license into at least 2027, allowing the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) to continue operating over the 700 MHz Band 14 airwaves—a key component of the FirstNet Authority’s 25-year agreement with contractor AT&T. Approved by the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), the license […]

First responders require reliable, high-speed connectivity for crew and vehicles when disaster strikes, especially when terrestrial network coverage is unavailable. The Future of Emergency response requires critical connections everywhere. Recent advancements in satellite connectivity are making it possible to use high-throughput satellite (HTS) connectivity in combination with terrestrial wireless services, creating a “network of networks” […]