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 […]
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 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 […]
Partner content AI, machine learning could put cell sites to sleep (and slash energy costs) 17th March 2020 Wireless operators spend millions of dollars every year paying for the electricity to power their cell sites and small cells. But there are new energy-saving features that are being developed that could make a dramatic difference in energy consumption. And these new features incorporate tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. In a new […]
Partner content The ‘smart city’ triangle 17th March 2020 What does a smart city look like? Is it seamlessly connected transportation systems leading to sleek, energy-efficient buildings running on a sustainable power grid? Is it endless sensors generating mountains of data being crunched by supercomputers in real-time to make every system run as efficiently as possible? Maybe. But maybe it could look as simple […]
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