News AT&T announces MCPTT-based FirstNet PTT, certifications for HPUE products from Assured Wireless 31st March 2020 AT&T today announced FirstNet Push-to-Talk (FirstNet PTT), a solution based on the 3GPP’s mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) standard that is available to public safety nationwide for $10 per month and that two high-power user equipment (HPUE) products from Assured Wireless have been certified for FirstNet use. “FirstNet PTT is designed to enable public safety to use their […]
News AT&T introduces ‘free smartphone for life’ program with some agency-paid FirstNet subscriptions 31st March 2020 Public-safety agencies subscribing to FirstNet on certain two-year contracts will be able to provide their users with FirstNet Ready smartphones for free and upgrade them at no cost “for life,” as long as the agency-paid FirstNet subscription is maintained, AT&T announced today. “First responders deserve a dedicated communications partner that can provide the tools they […]
Audio Podcast: Ryan Poltermann outlines considerations, resources for disinfecting communications devices 31st March 2020 Ryan Poltermann, innovation acrchitect at Commdex Consulting and vice chair of NPSTC’s LMR/LTE Integration and Interoperability Working Group, discusses measures that public safety can take to disinfect LMR radios and smart devices to reduce the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus, particularly through equipment that may be shared within an agency. Poltermann has compiled […]
News COVID-19 crisis challenging public-safety communications on many levels, speakers say 31st March 2020 In addition to a multitude of well-chronicled policy, staffing and supply challenges facing the health-care sector amid the COVID-19 crisis, the outbreak is forcing agencies to consider atypical measures to ensure the health of public-safety communications systems and the people who support them. “Business as usual … kind of ceases to exist,” Greg Rubin, communications […]
Partner content Behind the numbers: How COVID-19 could change the US telecom industry 30th March 2020 As much of the US settles into a “new normal” that includes spending a lot of time on the Internet to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus, the nation’s telecom operators are recording new traffic records almost every day. Importantly, all that traffic may have significant implications – including financial implications – for a wide range […]
Partner content OneWeb reportedly heads into bankruptcy and SpaceX might be next 29th March 2020 OneWeb – one of several companies hoping to sell Internet connections from space – could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as Friday, according to a report in the Financial Times. The report follows a similar one from Bloomberg on March 19 warning that OneWeb executives were contemplating bankruptcy. OneWeb itself confirmed last week it had conducted […]
Partner content $30B in new federal education funding could help US wireless industry 27th March 2020 The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Recovery and Economic Security (CARES) Act could offset some of the economic pain the pandemic is causing for the nation’s telecom and wireless carriers. After all, analysts are predicting significant reductions in sales of wireless services due to the spread of the virus. In response, lobbyists for AT&T and Verizon have reportedly asked Congress […]
Partner content NTT, Toyota in $1.8B smart-city tie-up 27th March 2020 NTT and auto giant Toyota have struck a deal to develop smart-city technologies and to also jointly invest in each other. They two companies will invest a total of 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in each other, with Toyota to take a 2.07% stake in the telco and NTT to acquire 0.9% of the automaker. […]
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 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 […]
Is LMR the best solution for first responders? Should 4.9 GHz license go to the FirstNet Authority? 2 24th March 2024
FirstNet Authority reauthorization needed as public-safety-driven network evolution proceeds 16th March 2024