https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • 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
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • 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
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • 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

Long Term Evolution (LTE)


LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 30th March 2015
With a Sept. 30 deadline looming, Los Angeles County’s board of supervisors last week decided to halt construction of controversial public-safety LTE towers near fire stations and other county-owned property for at least two weeks, when the board can revisit the matter.

What is in this article?

  • LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms
  • LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms
  • LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms

LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms

Los Angeles County’s board of supervisors last week decided to halt construction of controversial public-safety LTE towers near fire stations and other county-owned property for at least two weeks, when the board can revisit the matter. With a Sept. 30 funding deadline looming for the project, a county official said he believes the project still could be finished on time but further delays could undermine the public-safety broadband initiative.

During the county board’s meeting on Tuesday, a firefighters union led a protest against the installation of LTE cell sites near fire stations that were being deployed as part of the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) broadband network. LA County supervisors voted to halt the installation of cell sites that are of concern to the firefighters and nearby residents, according to Scott Edson, commander in the sheriff’s technology and support division for LA County—a leading participant in the LA-RICS joint powers authority (JPA).

“Because of the protest, they put that vote [to approve the LA-RICS sites in the county] off for two weeks,” Edson said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “Their statements were basically: ‘Please discontinue any construction at county sites for which the fire department is concerned or that the public is concerned, and the public can be concerned for health or aesthetics. But continue to move forward anywhere else, because we want this project to move forward, although we want to re-evaluate how we handle and where we build, in relation to fire stations and aesthetics.’”

Being constructed by Motorola Solutions, the LA-RICS broadband initiative is by far the largest public-safety LTE project in the country, and the system eventually supposed to provide early “lessons learned” for FirstNet and eventually be integrated into FirstNet’s nationwide public-safety broadband network.

Edson said he remains optimistic that the LA-RICS public-safety LTE project will be completed, citing its importance to the safety of firefighters, other first responders and the citizens they are sworn to protect.

“I don’t think the project is going to be killed by this, because there is just too much value in what we’re building,” Edson said. “It doesn’t make sense to throw it away.”

Most of the LA-RICS public-safety LTE system is being funded by $154.6 million in Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants that are administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Under the terms of those grants, LA-RICS must spend the BTOP funds for the public-safety LTE network by Sept. 30 or return any unused funds.

This reality also was addressed by the LA County board of supervisors, according to Edson.

“They asked that LA-RICS do a little better job of marketing and getting out into the community, and that they draft a letter to NTIA to see if they can get an extension on the BTOP grant,” he said.

LA-RICS Executive Director Patrick Mallon said during an IWCE session earlier this month that he has heard politicians express the belief that an extension to the BTOP grant could be secured. Indeed, NTIA has extended the BTOP deadline before, but that primarily was attributable to the fact that NTIA froze progress on public-safety LTE projects after Congress created FirstNet.

Mallon said his discussions with federal officials indicate that there is “not a chance in hell” that NTIA would provide another deadline extension for LA-RICS to use the BTOP grant funds.

Multiple attempts by IWCE’s Urgent Communications to speak with Mallon during the past week for this article were unsuccessful.

1 | 2 | 3 |
LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms
Tags: Public Safety Long Term Evolution (LTE) News NTIA/FirstNet Policy Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet State & Local Government System Installation News

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

  • ODD collaboration needed for autonomous-vehicle safety
  • Hytera Communications, Motorola Solutions fail to reach royalty agreement
  • Private LTE projected to grow to $13 billion

Commentary


Public safety needs a better way to triage emergency calls

13th January 2021

In challenging year, working with public safety to move FirstNet forward

30th December 2020

Communications solutions must evolve quickly to meet needs of a changing world

31st October 2020
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Become a Thought Leader at IWCE 2021! We are looking for dynamic speakers to present case studies and technical tal… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th January 2021
UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: 📆 Mark Your Calendars: IWCE will be returning to Las Vegas this September and registration is slated to open in April 📆 Wa…

15th January 2021
UrgentComm

RT @IWCEexpo: ⚡FLASH SALE: Don't miss this exclusive offer! Passes to #IBFVirtual are now 50% off with code TWITTER50. Take advantage of th…

6th November 2020
UrgentComm

Get ready for part 2 of "Ensuring Public Safety Emergency Communications" next week! @PCTEL_inc will explore… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

3rd November 2020
UrgentComm

Over the past few months, we’ve seen the world transform, and it's clear that cities will be affected in the long-t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

27th October 2020
UrgentComm

Florida state & local agencies subscribing to the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) will be able to co… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

Tune in to @slacorp CEO Josh Lober as he explains how the company has fully integrated its #PTT application to work… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020
UrgentComm

.@SierraWireless announced the commercial availability of the AirLink MG90 platform, which they tout as the first m… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

26th October 2020

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
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 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.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X