Partner content COVID-19 stokes fear of the surveillance society 24th March 2020 Reluctant to heed government advice about “social distancing,” Brits and other UK residents were last night hit by tough new rules on freedom of movement. People cannot leave their homes unless they need to buy groceries, exercise or – for those designated “key workers” – travel to work. Designed to curb the spread of COVID-19, […]
Partner content Battling COVID-19: Are local governments prepared? 23rd March 2020 American City & County recently surveyed its readership to get a better understanding of their preparedness for and response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. While some communities, it seems, were under-prepared, the survey reveals most respondents felt confident in their department’s ability to handle the health crisis. Highlights from the results include: More local leaders […]
News Coverage-extending HPUE products expected to be available soon, according to FirstNet Authority, AT&T officials 21st March 2020 High-power user equipment (HPUE) that promises to almost double the coverage range for FirstNet subscribers using 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum is expected to be available within the next month, according to a FirstNet Authority official. Mark Golaszewski, the director of applications for the FirstNet Authority, provided the timeline Thursday in response to a question […]
News Newscan: First responders, Congress unite in call to preserve T-Band for public-safety use 19th March 2020 Web Roundup Items from other news organizations First responders, Congress unite in call to preserve T-Band for public-safety use Telemedicine companies are struggling to serve ‘extreme volumes’ of patients as coronavirus calls surge Cyberattack hits Department of Heath and Human Services amid COVID-19 response T-Mobile U.S. CEO says operator has financial support to close Sprint […]
News Key public-safety groups seek consensus for next-gen 911 direction, federal funding 19th March 2020 Representatives from 12 key public-safety organizations met last week in an effort to develop a consensus position about next-generation 911 (NG911) that would encourage Congress to provide federal funds supporting a transition from legacy systems to an IP-based 911 platform capable of supporting multimedia communications. Conducted last Friday in Washington, D.C., the meeting was co-hosted […]
News Lynk claims successful test of satellite-to-cell-phone communications, cites potential public-safety value 19th March 2020 Virginia-based Lynk today announced successful tests of communications between its low-Earth-orbit (LEO) nanosatellites—acting as a “cell tower in space”—and unmodified, standard cell phones and smartphones, showcasing a potential new option for providing resilient backup links and coverage to remote areas. “The advent of everywhere, everyone communications direct to your phone is upon us.” Lynk CEO […]
Audio Drakontas: CEO James Sim discusses DragonForce app development, use during COVID-19 crisis 18th March 2020 Drakontas CEO James Sim explains how his company’s DragonForce command-and-control collaboration platform—traditionally used as a communications tool to support tactical operations for public safety and the military—is being deployed by multiple emergency-management entities associated with the response efforts being implemented in the COVID-19 crisis.
News AT&T provides some details about March 5 FirstNet data-service outage 18th March 2020 A “software issue” in a Georgia data center caused the March 5 service outage that impacted some FirstNet subscribers in the southeast U.S. region, according to a statement from AT&T, the contractor charged with building and maintaining the FirstNet nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN). “Our root-cause analysis confirmed a software issue prevented some data traffic […]
News IWCE 2020 officially is rescheduled for Aug. 24-28 17th March 2020 We are excited to announce that IWCE 2020 will take place on August 24-28, 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (South Halls 1-2) in Las Vegas, Nevada. ETA’s Education Forum will also be rescheduled to take place at this time. The health and safety of the IWCE community has always been paramount, so we […]
News 2019 LMR licensing activity hits all-time low for public safety, with slight gain for enterprises 17th March 2020 Public-safety land-mobile-radio (LMR) licensing activity hit a new all-time low level for the third consecutive year in 2019, while LMR licensing in the business-industrial sector saw a slight increase while hovering near all-time low levels, according to data in the FCC’s online Universal Licensing System (ULS) database. A total of 3,042 public-safety LMR license applications […]
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