News New Hampshire issues RFP for public-safety LTE system, but official says no opt-out decision has been made 17th December 2015 New Hampshire has made no decision to opt out of FirstNet, even though the state has issued a request for proposal (RFP) that seeks bids on a project that calls for a public-safety LTE network to be built throughout the state before FirstNet is expected to begin construction on its nationwide public-safety broadband system, according to a key state official.
News PSAC report: Priority, preemption issues on FirstNet likely limited to secondary users, not public safety 16th December 2015 FirstNet LTE sites should provide enough bandwidth capacity to serve the needs of public-safety users in almost all response scenarios, according to findings by a Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) task team studying the topic.
FirstNet should be applauded for keeping its promise, delivering final RFP on time 10th December 2015 We won’t know about the details of FirstNet’s final request for proposal (RFP) until it is released next month, but the fact that FirstNet will be able to issue this RFP in a timely manner is huge accomplishment. All involved—board members and staff—deserve plaudits for making it happen under challenging circumstances.
News FirstNet board approves final RFP for early-January release, with bids due in May 9th December 2015 FirstNet board members unanimously vote to have the FirstNet staff release the final request for proposal (RFP) in early January, allowing vendor teams that want to build a much-anticipated nationwide public-safety broadband network to submit public-private-partnership proposals that will be due in May.
News Newscan: Airwave drops High Court block on new police emergency network, clears path for Motorola Solutions to proceed 8th December 2015 Web Roundup Items from other news organizations Airwave drops High Court block on new police emergency network, clears path for Motorola Solutions to proceed US can’t access NSA phone records in California terror case
News Motorola Solutions agrees to pay more than $1 billion for Airwave TETRA network in Great Britain 7th December 2015 Motorola Solutions has inked a deal to buy Airwave—the provider of the public-safety TETRA network in Great Britain—for about £700 million cash, or $1.05 billion, as part of the company’s effort to expand its global managed and support services business, according to a Motorola Solutions official.
Commentary Next week’s meetings could set stage for potentially transformative year in public-safety communications 1st December 2015 There are a lot of questions today surrounding the deployment of FirstNet and next-generation 911 (NG911) systems, but many of these queries may be answered during the next year—beginning with potentially significant meetings that will be conducted next week.
News City of Los Angeles ends LA-RICS membership, plans to build own LMR system 19th November 2015 Los Angeles City Council members vote unanimously to opt out of its membership to the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS), citing potential cost advantages by taking the action and plans to deploy a new city-owned land-mobile-radio (LMR) network during the next 13 months.
Article Vencore: Chris Vasko outlines Vencore’s application ecosystem for FirstNet and First Responder Application Challenge 19th November 2015 Vencore has developed an application ecosystem using its Intelligent Data Exploitation and Analytics System (IDEAS), which will fulfill FirstNet’s vision of having an ecosystem for safe, innovative applications for first responders.
News NTIA still undecided about fate of public-safety LTE projects funded with BTOP money 17th November 2015 Public-safety LTE projects funded with federal grants from the Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program (BTOP) remain in limbo more than six weeks after Congress passed legislation calling for a five-year extension for awardees to utilize unspent BTOP funds through fiscal year 2020.
FirstNet Authority reauthorization needed as public-safety-driven network evolution proceeds 16th March 2024