https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Coverage/Interference


News

Airgain announces FirstNet Ready status, collaboration with AT&T on HPUE trials

Airgain announces FirstNet Ready status, collaboration with AT&T on HPUE trials

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 16th December 2020

Airgain recently announced that the company’s AirgainConnect AC-HPUE antenna-modem has earned FirstNet Ready status and is being used by FirstNet contractor AT&T during field trials of high-power user equipment (HPUE) in preparation for the launch of HPUE service slated for early next year.

AirgainConnect is an antenna platform that delivers about 60% more power to a wireless signal than a typical vehicle-mounted antenna by eliminating 2 dB of typical cable loss, according to Airgain officials. The first announced AirgainConnect product is the AirgainConnect AC-HPUE, which includes an integrated Assured Wireless high-powered user equipment (HPUE) modem and is designed to effectively double the range of an LTE modem.

This significant coverage advantage—potentially quadrupling the total coverage area of an isolated cell site—is available only to FirstNet users operating on the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority and utilized by AT&T. AT&T officials have said that more than 80% of the planned Band 14 footprint under the initial FirstNet contract has been deployed.

Scott Agnew, AT&T’s assistant vice president for FirstNet Program product marketing, said that the Airgain antenna-modem has been subject to hundreds of test in an effort to ensure that it will perform as needed for public safety.

“FirstNet devices and modules go through extensive review, so first responders can be confident that Airgain’s AirgainConnect AC-HPUE meets our highest standards for reliability, security and performance,” Agnew said in a prepared statement. “The more tools public safety has access to on their network, the more we can help them achieve their mission.”

Airgain announced that its AirgainConnect antenna-modem has been part of HPUE trials in collaboration with AT&T, but officials said they are not yet allowed to share any information detailing the connectivity performance during those tests.

“We’re proud to be collaborating with FirstNet, Built with AT&T on some of the first HPUE products launching with FirstNet in early 2021, supporting the FirstNet mission of providing first responders the advanced communications technology they need to help them do their jobs safely and effectively,” Airgain President and CEO Jacob Suen said in a prepared statement.

“AirgainConnect represents a new level of advanced solutions that provide far greater performance for public safety and fleet applications, delivering a dramatic increase in uplink power compared to routers with standard LTE modems. We are very pleased with the product’s performance in field trials, and excited to be ramping up production having received initial stocking orders.”

With its unique design, the AirgainConnect antenna platform is expected to provide stronger connectivity in any spectrum band, according to company officials. However, combining this technology with the Assured Wireless HPUE modem in the AirgainConnect AC-HPUE is expected to deliver significantly greater range and data-throughput performance in rural areas and inside building or underground parking lots.

Such connectivity improvements are crucial to first responders, according to Ken Rehbehn, directing analyst for critical communications at Omdia.

“Ubiquitous LTE coverage commitments are a fundamental part of FirstNet’s offering,” Rehbehn said in a prepared statement. “High-power UE provides a vital transmission boost that improves connectivity in a variety of difficult to reach areas. Airgain’s unique integration of HPUE into a vehicle antenna assembly bolsters emergency communications flow when emergency responders need it the most.”

AirgainConnect AC-HPUE integrates a FirstNet Ready Band 14 HPUE modem from Assured Wireless—an Airgain partner—within the antenna assembly, effectively eliminating the approximate 2 dB loss experienced as the signal is transmitted on a coaxial cable that connects an LTE router to a typical vehicle-mounted antenna. Only the Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority is allowed to support HPUE devices that transmit signals at 1.25 watts, compared to the 0.20 watts of power used by typical commercial LTE devices.

For an isolated cell site, doubling the range of an LTE device effectively quadruples the total coverage area, given a consistent environment surrounding the cell site. Such a performance gain is expected to be particularly helpful in rural areas, where economic factors often limit the number of cell sites deployed. In addition, HPUE is designed to improve signal strength in challenging urban environments, such as underground parking garages.

Such performance has been anticipated by many in the public-safety community. If HPUE products can deliver the promised performance gains, the implications could be significant for FirstNet adoption by public-safety entities.

In past years, officials surrounding the FirstNet initiative have acknowledged that adoption likely would be greater if not for a perception that the LTE coverage for FirstNet—using AT&T’s radio access network, as well as the carrier’s commercial spectrum—is inferior to the coverage provided by Verizon.

But figures released earlier this year by both carriers and third-party sources indicate that Verizon’s LTE coverage advantage has narrowed to 70,000 square miles. If FirstNet subscribers are able to realize the performance gains from HPUE on the outskirts of AT&T’s network, that effective coverage gap presumably would narrow further, if not disappear entirely.

 

Tags: homepage-featured-4 Companies Coverage/Interference Critical Infrastructure Deployables Federal Government/Military Funding In-Building Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NTIA/FirstNet Policy Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet Regional Coordination Standards State & Local Government Subscriber Devices System Design System Installation System Operation Test & Measurement News

Most Recent


  • AT&T FirstNet unleashes robotic dogs for emergency services
    AT&T is releasing robotic hounds from Ghost Robotics as part of the service provider’s FirstNet emergency responder service. In a blog, AT&T VP Lance Spencer explained that the robotic dogs will be connected to AT&T’s network and deployed for public safety, defense, federal and state agencies, local police and fire departments, and commercial customers. “Network-connected robotic dogs can deliver a […]
  • Federal agencies infested by cyberattackers via legit remote-management systems
    It has come to light that hackers cleverly utilized two off-the-shelf remote monitoring and management systems (RMMs) to breach multiple Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agency networks in the US last summer. On Jan. 25, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) released […]
  • How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient
    It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced: an ambulance with a blaring siren racing against time to get a person in medical distress to a hospital through traffic. What we don’t see is 5G connectivity enabling paramedics to communicate with hospital staff via video conference and coordinate care in real-time before arriving at the emergency room. […]
  • MCPTT interworking for critical communications
    The goal of mission-critical communication systems is to minimize the response time of first responders in emergency situations across several agencies. A dedicated push-to-talk button offers an efficient mechanism that simplifies the speaker-to-listener process to a minimum. This feature is useful when coordinating large group activities and to enable the instant flow of tactical status […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Airgain targets launch of new HPUE antenna-modem platform for FirstNet by the end of year
  • Airgain integrated antenna-HPUE modem promises to double effective Band 14 range
  • Assured Wireless announces HPUE products that extend range of FirstNet devices on Band 14
  • The Power of Antenna-Modem Integrated HPUE

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

AT&T FirstNet unleashes robotic dogs for emergency services dlvr.it/ShW7p8

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Federal agencies infested by cyberattackers via legit remote-management systems dlvr.it/ShVhn3

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient dlvr.it/ShVS1h

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

MCPTT interworking for critical communications dlvr.it/ShTm3P

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

Self-driving cars present terrorism risk, FBI director says dlvr.it/ShTTHx

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

UK Home Office officially will cut ESN ties with Motorola Solutions in December dlvr.it/ShNjfN

24th January 2023
UrgentComm

Newscan: Police software vendor breach exposes personal data, raid plans dlvr.it/ShN0q2

24th January 2023
UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: We're so excited about our awesome list of speakers! Today we highlight Budge Currier, a 9-1-1 Branch Manager at CAL OES, res…

24th January 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.