Poll results: How would you assess the FirstNet term of Sam Ginn?

Government officials and public safety leaders wear many different hats. They serve as sounding boards for constituent complaints and for new ideas that need vetting. They are change agents charged with improving the lives of citizens and colleagues and are tasked with keeping order. Their most daunting responsibility, however, is keeping members of their community […]

Last week, for the first time ever, Congress allowed the FCC’s spectrum auction authority to lapse – a development that prevents the agency from auctioning more spectrum to 5G network operators. At roughly the same time last week, President Joe Biden’s Democratic nominee to the FCC, Gigi Sohn, abruptly withdrew from contention without any clear replacement. That leaves the […]

FCC commissioners yesterday approved a proposal that would provide an initial regulatory framework for the agency to support supplemental-coverage-from-space (SCS)—or satellite-direct-to-cell-phone—services being explored by numerous satellite operators and terrestrial wireless carriers, including on FirstNet Authority spectrum. Under the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that was passed by a 4-0 vote, the FCC “seeks to establish […]

Joe Wassel just started his job as FirstNet Authority CEO, and he plans to hit the ground running, embracing the organization’s tradition of outreach to public-safety and first-responder personnel to inform the decision-making process. That particularly will be the case during the next four months, Wassel said. “I plan on leading this effort by being […]