News FirstNet interoperability responsibilities, FCC authority debated in proceeding 16th October 2019 Multiple commenters have asked the FCC to require that the FirstNet public-safety system be interoperable with LMR and commercial LTE networks, but officials representing the FirstNet Authority and FirstNet contractor AT&T question both the practicality of the idea and whether the FCC has jurisdiction in the matter. These opinions were shared during an FCC proceeding […]
News Motorola Solutions launches broadband PTT service in Australia targeting government users 11th October 2019 Motorola Solutions this week announced WAVE PTX Government, an over-the-top (OTT) broadband push-to-talk (PTT) offering in Australia for government personnel that is designed to enable interoperability with first-responder LMR systems in the country, according to company officials. Greg Bouwmeester, general manager of solutions for Motorola Solutions Australia, said the WAVE PTX Government service is expected […]
News RapidSOS CEO outlines plans to integrate smart-grid, smart-city data into public-safety platform 9th October 2019 RapidSOS yesterday announced that it has completed a $55 million funding round that the company expects to use in supporting development of its public-safety data-clearinghouse platform that quickly has gained momentum in the 911 and first-responder communities, according to CEO Michael Martin. Launched in a pilot with Google in January 2018, the RapidSOS data-clearinghouse platform […]
News ETSI MCX Plugtests event in Finland demonstrates 95% successful interoperability between LTE vendors of MCPTT, MCData, MCVideo services 4th October 2019 More than 1,800 interoperability tests of 3GPP-standard LTE mission-critical communications services revealed a 95% success rate during the recent ETSI MCX Plugtests event, which included execution of end-to-end calls using mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) technology. Saurav Arora, plugtest manager for the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), said he believes the results from this plugtest were more impressive […]
News FirstNet gets new AT&T lead as Jason Porter replaces promoted Chris Sambar 27th September 2019 AT&T today announced that the carrier’s FirstNet leader Chris Sambar has been named as an executive vice president in the company and will be replaced by Jason Porter, who previously served as a AT&T’s chief data officer (CDO) and led the strategic-planning organization for AT&T Technology Operations. “I’m honored to lead our FirstNet program and […]
News Spirent begins speech-intelligibility testing on LTE voice, plans to test MCPTT in the future 27th September 2019 Spirent Communications has done initial testing of LTE telephony voice in recognized public-safety noise scenarios and plans to continue such tests as technologies like 3GPP-standard mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) services are introduced in the market, according to company officials. Testing of LTE voice is common in the commercial marketplace, but Spirent Communications has decided to test LTE […]
Audio PSCR: Craig Connelly highlights Tech to Protect Challenge with $2.2 million prize purse 24th September 2019 Craig Connelly, the Prize Competition and Challenge Specialist at the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) division of NIST, highlights features of the Tech to Protect Challenge, which will let participants compete for a piece of $2.2 million in prize money by developing public-safety-specific solutions in 10 key focus areas. Tech to Protect will begin […]
News Newscan: Russia carried out a ‘stunning’ breach of FBI communications system, escalating the spy game on U.S. soil 20th September 2019 Web Roundup Items from other news organizations Russia carried out a ‘stunning’ breach of FBI communications system, escalating the spy game on U.S. soil CISA chief: Ransomware attacks in Texas, Louisiana ‘pretty close’ to large-scale cyber event National Guard cyber team called in to help after cyberattacks on local government entities Drone attack on Saudi […]
News AT&T CEO highlights benefits of FirstNet, potential 5G use cases for critical infrastructure, enterprises 20th September 2019 Winning the bid to build the nationwide FirstNet system on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum has been very beneficial to AT&T overall strategy, allowing the carrier to grow its wireless business, improve network quality and lay the foundation for the transition to 5G, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said this week. “FirstNet has gone off the […]
News FirstNet Authority board approves plans to enhance FirstNet core for 5G, expand deployable coverage capabilities 19th September 2019 FirstNet Authority board members yesterday voted unanimously to have the organization’s staff begin procurement processes to reinvest funding into making the FirstNet LTE core ready for 5G services and to expand the FirstNet deployable-network program. Both area identified for reinvestment were expected. FirstNet Authority Chairman Ed Horowitz previously identified deployable enhancements and preparing to make […]
Latest 3GPP standards-development work includes new classes of HPUE, progress on mission-critical services 1 22nd April 2024
Is LMR the best solution for first responders? Should 4.9 GHz license go to the FirstNet Authority? 3 24th March 2024
Video Check out key takeaways from Disaster Management Symposium webinars, register to view archives Video: Opening of the Expo Hall on day three of IWCE 2023 Lynk CEO Charles Miller: The sky’s the limit