News Newscan: 911 outages have become a fact of life—are we even fixing this? 30th September 2020 Web Roundup Items from other news organizations 911 outages have become a fact of life—are we even fixing this? Nationwide reports of 911 system outages, cause not immediately clear Hackers have infiltrated many of Washington state’s agencies FirstNet asks Congress to cut red tape for tower builds SpaceX’s Internet-from-space Starlink system helping first responders fight […]
News FCC set to vote on 4.9 GHz order, despite public-safety opposition 30th September 2020 FCC commissioners are scheduled to consider new rules that would let states lease 4.9 GHz spectrum—a 50 MHz swath that has long been designated for public-safety use—to commercial entities amid considerable opposition from public-safety organizations and representatives. Under the proposed 4.9 GHz order, states would be given the ability to lease 4.9 GHz spectrum to […]
News Assured Wireless co-founder, CEO Tom Bilotta dies 29th September 2020 Assured Wireless today announced the death of its founder, chairman and CEO Tom Bilotta and that the company—best known for developing high-power user equipment (HPUE) for FirstNet—now is being led by new President and CEO John Goocher. Bilotta, 63, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Friday, Sept. 18, according to Assured Wireless. Private services will be […]
Partner content COVID-19 accelerates race to the cloud 28th September 2020 It’s a well-known development that cloud-based products and services have become increasingly popular during 2020, as businesses have been forced to find ways to support remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report has now illustrated just how much more is being spent on services such as Slack and Zoom compared to traditional on-premises services. According to data from Synergy Research […]
News Motorola Solutions announces P25 radio for firefighters with integrated LTE 25th September 2020 Motorola Solutions this week announced the APX NEXT XE, its high-end P25 radio designed for firefighter use that also is capable of leveraging LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity to deliver programming updates and some advanced applications, according to a company official. Scott Alazraki, Motorola Solutions product manager for APX devices, said the announcement of the APX […]
Partner content Bluetooth security weaknesses pile up, while patching remains problematic 25th September 2020 The complex nature of Bluetooth continues to cause security problems for the low-powered, short-range wireless technology, with academic researchers releasing a parade of new attacks against the technology in the past few months. On Sept. 9, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) issued a statement regarding two papers released by university researchers that described ways […]
Partner content Starlink’s network faces significant limitations, analysts find 25th September 2020 Starlink, the satellite Internet provider from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, will be able to support just 485,000 simultaneous users at 100Mbit/s across the entire US, according to one firm’s new estimates. And that kind of performance won’t even be available until the end of 2026, when Starlink floods Earth’s skies with up to 12,000 satellites. According […]
News U.S. House votes for repeal of T-Band spectrum auction, measure to halt ‘raiding’ of 911 fees 25th September 2020 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly approved legislation that would repeal a law requiring the FCC to auction public-safety T-Band spectrum and would seek to prohibit the practice of state and local governments using revenue from 911 fees for purposes other than 911. House representatives on Wednesday voted 410-5 to approve H.R. […]
News FirstNet One LTE blimp used for first time in aftermath of Hurricane Laura 23rd September 2020 FirstNet One, recently completed its first real deployment providing public-safety communications, as the tethered the aerostat that acts as an LTE tower in the sky supported the response effort in Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, according to AT&T officials. “This was our first field deployment in a real incident,” Tom Steele, AT&T’s director […]
News It is ‘beyond time’ for Congress to consider reclassifying 911 personnel into first-responder category, Torres says 23rd September 2020 Federal legislation that would reclassify 911 telecommunicators as members of a protective-service occupation—the job category that includes first responders like firefighters and police officers—continues to gain support but is still awaiting even committee-level consideration, according to the bill’s primary sponsor. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), a former 911 dispatcher and sponsor of the 911 SAVES Act, […]
Latest 3GPP standards-development work includes new classes of HPUE, progress on mission-critical services 22nd April 2024
Is LMR the best solution for first responders? Should 4.9 GHz license go to the FirstNet Authority? 2 24th March 2024