News Ed Horowitz named FirstNet chairman 5th September 2018 Veteran FirstNet board member Ed Horowitz will be the new chairman for the authority that is tasked with the buildout and maintenance of the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) that is being built by contractor AT&T, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced today.
News Public-safety adoption of FirstNet spikes during the past month, according to AT&T 31st August 2018 FirstNet has seen a marked increase in public-safety agency adoption, with more than 1,000 subscribing to the service during the past month, according to officials from AT&T, which is tasked with building and maintaining the nationwide public-safety broadband network.
News Motorola Solutions unveils Critical Connect interop service to link ASTRO 25, carrier PoC communications 29th August 2018 Motorola Solutions announces the availability of Critical Connect, a cloud-based ISSI platform that is designed to support interoperability between public-safety agencies using ASTRO 25 and/or carrier-integrated push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) services without the need to purchase ISSI equipment.
News California county calls data throttling of firefighters ‘ridiculous,’ Verizon apologizes for ‘process failure’ 24th August 2018 Verizon officials apologize for a “process failure” that caused a Santa Clara County fire department unit’s broadband data speeds to be throttled significantly multiple times this summer while the unit tried to coordinate resources from throughout the state to fight the worst wildfire in California history—an action characterized as “ridiculous” by a county official.
News Verizon to lift wireless data caps on public safety next week, with immediate help for Hawaii, West Coast 24th August 2018 Verizon announces that its public-safety customers nationwide will be eligible for unlimited data plans with no data caps—and no price increase to existing subscription packages—starting next week, with the new plans being implemented immediately in Hawaii and on the West Coast to address expected near-term emergency situations.
Video Hytera: Steve Cragg highlights key features of video speaker microphone 23rd August 2018 Steve Cragg, vice president of Hytera Americas, demonstrates features of the company’s new digital video speaker microphone that can be used as both a speaker microphone and a body camera that is supported by Hytera’s digital-evidence-management solution.
News Initial MCPTT tests deliver ‘significantly better’ audio quality than LMR, according to Spirent 22nd August 2018 Mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) services will not be introduced commercially until late this year, but early tests of multiple vendors’ offerings exhibited “significantly better” audio-quality scores than land-mobile-radio (LMR) systems, according an official from Spirent Communications, which conducted the tests.
News FirstNet Chair Sue Swenson, Vice Chair Jeff Johnson resign from authority’s board 20th August 2018 FirstNet Chairwoman Sue Swenson and Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson retired from the FirstNet board effective today, although both Swenson and Johnson—part of the original FirstNet board named in 2012—were eligible to serve another year on the FirstNet Authority board.
Video Harris: Don Griffis highlights features of SCBA integration with XL-200 P25/LTE device 20th August 2018 Don Griffis, sales engineering manager for Harris, explains how the company has integrated its XL-200 P25/LTE handset with the Scott self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) mask to provide firefighters with significantly better audio quality and volume control.
News Verizon calls for greater interoperability with FirstNet, says public-sector business still growing 17th August 2018 Verizon continues to seek AT&T and FirstNet agreement on higher levels of interoperability to support first-responder communications, although no such discussion have occurred to date, according to Verizon officials.
Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations 1 27th February 2023
RT @IWCEexpo: A look in at the Panel Session of Interconnected Critical Networks - Voice, Video and Data Interoperability... #IWCE23 http… 28th March 2023
RT @IWCEexpo: Wildfires are a growing concern, but technology can offer solutions. Fantastic panel moderated by @FirstNetGov this morning a… 28th March 2023
UK competition watchdog delays Airwave-Motorola Solutions ruling until April dlvr.it/SlcNxN 28th March 2023