News California aims to complete NG911 migration statewide by December 2024 21st November 2023 All public-safety answering point (PSAPs) in the state of California will complete the transition from legacy 911 technology to an IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) platform by the end of next year, if the new target schedule for the migration is realized. Paul Troxel, 911 branch manager for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal […]
Partner content 6G standards kick off WRC-23 21st November 2023 The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) this week adopted a resolution intended to guide the development of a 6G standard. Specifically, the ITU-R Resolution 65 paves the way for “studies on the compatibility of current regulations with potential 6th generation IMT radio interface technologies for 2030 and beyond.” IMT stands for International Mobile Telecommunications, which is the term […]
Partner content Defending against attacks on vulnerable IoT devices 21st November 2023 Cyber warfare is increasingly used as an attack method in international conflicts, because of the flexibility, impact, and, often, deniability it offers attackers. Governments leverage powerful technologies to conduct operations against geopolitical adversaries and internal dissidents, and to supplement active military engagements. Threat actors will want to gain control of powerful systems without tipping off […]
Partner content Flying-vehicle startup funded for hydrogen-powered air ambulance 21st November 2023 An eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) company has received funding from the Australian government to develop a hydrogen-powered vehicle. AMSL Aero plans to use the $3.6 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to develop a fuel cell system to power its Vertiia electric aerial vehicle (EAV). The EAV is designed to aid first responders and […]
Partner content Can CommScope avert bankruptcy? 21st November 2023 Times are tough for many cable tech and telecom suppliers these days. But they have been especially tough on CommScope, which has seen its share price plummet amid a slowdown in operator spending as customers try to melt down inventory that was built up when the pandemic fueled supply chain constraints. Amid those challenges, CommScope is also […]
News New coalition opposes PSSA proposal for FCC to award 4.9 GHz license to the FirstNet Authority 17th November 2023 A new coalition of public-safety, critical-infrastructure-industry (CII) and telecom entities today announced its launch, as well as its support of local control of 4.9 GHz spectrum—a position that opposes a proposal that would license the mid-band spectrum to FirstNet Authority throughout the nation. Known as the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI), the […]
Partner content After critical bug disclosures, TETRA emergency comms code goes public 15th November 2023 The encryption algorithms used to secure emergency radio communications will now soon be released to the public domain, with the aim of encouraging code review and bug hunting. The news comes after multiple vulnerabilities were found in TETRA, short for Terrestrial Trunked Radio, which is a radio voice and data standard mainly used by emergency services, such as […]
Partner content Cellular’s satellite backhaul options abound with no clear winner 15th November 2023 Wireless network engineers who are looking for more ways to keep their cell sites connected need only to cast their eyes skyward. There, in space, is a growing range of options for cell site satellite backhaul. SpaceX’s Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Telesat’s Lightspeed and Rivada Space Networks are some of the new names […]
Partner content How AI can assist cities and counties with cybersecurity 15th November 2023 The Public Technology Institute’s 2023 Local Government Cybersecurity National Survey was just released. Based on past years results, there were few surprises but continued reassurance that cybersecurity continues to remain the top focus of all local governments. The survey asked about financial support, where 64 percent reported that cyber budgets were inadequate. Only 36 percent felt their […]
Webinar Check out key takeaways from Disaster Management Symposium webinars, register to view archives 15th November 2023 The inaugural Disaster Management Symposium was conducted Nov. 8, when consecutive hour-long webinars featured expert panelists exploring various aspects of the three main phases of a disaster for public safety and governments: planning, response and recovery. This virtual symposium was a joint effort of IWCE’s Urgent Communications, IWCE and American City & County. If you […]
Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it. 1 7th November 2023