Partner content Transforming smart cities into brilliant, connected hubs 16th March 2024 Alarmingly, 40% of today’s carbon dioxide emissions come from buildings. As the net-zero journey advances, smart city planning has evolved to become an international phenomenon, with markers for success driven by sustainable development measures like the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and energy-efficient building technology. While a “smart city” is what the world strives to achieve for the […]
Commentary FirstNet Authority reauthorization needed as public-safety-driven network evolution proceeds 16th March 2024 The recent announcement from AT&T and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) that an additional $8 billion is being invested into the system—for both 5G and additional coverage—is a quantum leap forward for public-safety communications in the United States. This investment and subsequent deployment of mission-critical technologies and additional cell sites will continue to […]
News FCC approves new rules for satellite-direct-to-phone communications 15th March 2024 FCC commissioners today voted unanimously to approve new rules designed to let commercial wireless carriers more easily partner with satellite companies to provide supplemental coverage from space (SCS) services that could eliminate coverage gaps when users are outside. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel outlined the importance of SCS—also known as satellite-direct-to-phone technology—which allows users to maintain […]
Partner content NTIA outlines its plans for commercial operations in the lower 3GHz 14th March 2024 The Biden administration said it will study how to shift federal users out of the lower 3GHz band in order to free it up for commercial use. However, the government’s study of the job won’t be done until 2026. Regardless, the 5G industry is viewing the development as a win. “We are encouraged by the […]
Partner content System enables human-to-humanoid robot operation 13th March 2024 Researchers have developed a new system that allows a human operator to remotely control a humanoid robot, in what the team says is the first known demonstration of whole-body humanoid teleoperation. The team, from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) based the system on reinforcement learning. Utilizing only an RGB camera, similar to those found in webcams, […]
Partner content Verizon deploys new drone for crisis response 13th March 2024 Verizon is using a new drone as part of its Frontline Crisis Response Team. The company has teamed with Skydio to use its X10 as its primary drone which Chris Sanders, a senior manager for the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team, said is an AI-enabled drone capable of providing the team with enhanced capabilities, including full or […]
News FirstNet Authority vows to ‘continue to hold AT&T accountable’ in aftermath of outage 13th March 2024 FirstNet Authority officials provided some additional insight into the circumstances surrounding the Feb. 22 outage suffered by contractor AT&T—although no new information about the cause—and proclaimed that the carrier giant would be held “accountable.” Renee Gordon, vice chair of the FirstNet Authority board, outlined the FirstNet Authority’s response to the AT&T outage and noted that […]
Things to know about IWCE 2024: PSAP of the Future exhibit 13th March 2024 What am I most excited about for IWCE 2024? I might say the Drinks, Bites & Insights special event open to ALL BADGE TYPES on Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. where we’ll be talking satellite-direct-to-device service from the perspectives of a satellite provider, a telecom carrier, a device manufacturer and a public-safety expert. Or, I might […]
LMR remains most reliable technology for public-safety communications 13th March 2024 From the early beginnings of the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) concept, the network was considered supplemental to existing land-mobile-radio (LMR) communications systems. Certainly, it could be an important supplement to existing mission-critical systems by providing a variety of additional information to first responders, e.g. blueprints of a building for firefighters. The network was also […]
Partner content Verizon, T-Mobile, Nokia get noisy on network slicing and net neutrality 10th March 2024 Network slicing arose as a major topic at this year’s big MWC Barcelona confab. Companies ranging from Ericsson to Telefonica to Nokia promised to create slices of their network that sport “enhanced performance characteristics.” However, many of those same companies are warning that a renewed push toward net neutrality in the US could stymie such […]
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