In the field

AT&T expresses optimism about FirstNet prospect, might accelerate deployment with tax reform

• 26th January 2017

Top AT&T executives yesterday noted that the possibility of the carrier winning the nationwide FirstNet award is one of several “potentially very good things” that could happen this year. Another is tax reform that would lead to the telecom giant paying a lower corporate tax rate, allowing the company to invest the money necessary to accelerate the deployment of various initiatives, including the potential FirstNet buildout.

Commerce Secretary nominee Ross expresses support for ‘concept’ of FirstNet

• 24th January 2017

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee members approve President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross, who expressed support for the “concept” of FirstNet during his nomination hearing last week.

Newscan: More than half of U.S. adults live in ‘cell-phone-only’ households

• 19th January 2017

Web Roundup
Items from other news organizations

FirstNet officials outline vision for organization’s testing operations in Colorado lab

• 13th January 2017

FirstNet’s new laboratory will conduct testing to ensure that core public-safety devices, network features, capabilities and services will meet the reliability and performance requirements of first responders, although details will not be revealed until the nationwide contractor award is made, according to FirstNet officials.

Uncertain delays create timing issues for states, public safety in preparation for FirstNet

• 10th January 2017

FirstNet officials say they are ready to proceed, but states and first-responder agencies are awaiting the outcome of a legal proceeding to get a better understanding of the timing issues they may need to address related to the much-anticipated nationwide public-safety broadband network.

Intelligence leaders outline challenges associated with responding to foreign cyberthreats during Senate hearing

• 6th January 2017

Addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities should be a priority for the new administration, but the rapidly-changing cyber environment makes it difficult to assess blame for foreign-led cyberthreats and take actions that will deter future attacks, intelligence leaders and senators said today during a committee hearing on the subject.

Alabama changes RFP deadline for public-safety LTE network to Jan. 31

• 3rd January 2017

​Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) officials decide that vendors wanting to build a statewide public-safety LTE radio access network (RAN) must submit proposals by Jan. 31, as opposed to the previous plan of waiting until after FirstNet announces the contractor for its nationwide public-safety broadband network.

Mexico threatens suit against Rivada Networks, which cites deposition in alleging Red Compartida improprieties

• 23rd December 2016

Mexican government officials threaten to sue Rivada Networks for allegations made after the company secured a consultant’s deposition that outlined several questionable actions in the development of the Red Compartida procurement, as well as a statement that the winning Altan consortium bid is “essentially a photocopy” of a supposedly confidential business plan created for the Mexican government.

Airbus DS Communications remains for sale after more than two years

• 22nd December 2016

LMR and 911 solutions provider Airbus DS Communications remains on the selling block more than two years after its international parent firm—Airbus Group—announced plans to divest itself of Airbus DS Communications and other global public-safety-communications assets in the fall of 2014, according to a company official.

“I have no update on the sale of the company,” Airbus DS Communications CEO Bob Freinberg said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

FirstNet cybersecurity demands just one area that potential opt-out states should weigh carefully

• 20th December 2016

Many advocates of the opt-out alternative to FirstNet cite the option as a way for a state to exert greater control over the public-safety broadband network within its borders. There is no doubt that an opt-out decision would create much more work for a state, but the level of operational control may not be the kind that proponents envisioned.