News AST SpaceMobile gets big investments from AT&T, Vodafone and Google 24th January 2024 AST SpaceMobile has announced key strategic investments from AT&T, Vodafone and Google that helped the satellite-direct-to-phone broadband provider generate more than $300 million in capital needed to finance significant deployment of its planned low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. “Being able to announce investment by AT&T, Google and Vodafone is humbling and a true testament to the […]
Partner content T-Mobile warns of friction between net neutrality and network slicing 19th January 2024 The Biden administration is working to reinstate net neutrality rules, but T-Mobile is signaling that new technologies like network slicing don’t neatly fit into the FCC’s plans. “Network slicing is a prime example of a cutting-edge technology that could be negatively affected by regulatory uncertainty,” T-Mobile wrote in a new filing to the FCC. T-Mobile […]
News Cal OES expresses opposition to PSSA proposal of FirstNet Authority 4.9 GHz spectrum license 19th January 2024 An official with the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) this week submitted a letter to the FCC expressing opposition to a Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) proposal asking the federal agency to award the FirstNet Authority with a nationwide license in the 4.9 GHz band. “Cal OES appreciates the PSSA’s efforts to preserve […]
Commentary 3GPP begins Release 19 work for public safety as Release 18 progress continues 17th January 2024 The 3GPP Plenary meetings took place Dec. 11-15, 2023, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Participants made continued progress on Release 18 (R18) features of interest to public safety. The Plenary meetings also included planning for Release 19 (R19) features, and the start of preliminary discussions for Release 20 (R20). The FirstNet Authority served as an active participant […]
Partner content What to expect from U.S. wireless carriers’ Q4 results 16th January 2024 The fourth quarter earnings season in the US is about to get underway, with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all scheduled to report their latest financial results starting January 23. In general, analysts expect the good times will continue. Indeed, all the big US wireless network operators have enjoyed positive attention from Wall Street in recent […]
Partner content The UK Post Office scandal holds lessons for telecom 14th January 2024 “Computer says no.” The catchphrase, immortalized in a series of Little Britain comedy sketches from the noughties, brilliantly mocks society’s overreliance on and trust in technology. In the sketches, a glum-faced PC operator routinely dismisses people’s queries and complaints, or simply tells bewildered individuals they are wrong, after some furious bashing at a keyboard. That catchphrase is a neat, […]
News FCC to consider new outage-reporting rules, soliciting comments on FirstNet, deployable usage 12th January 2024 FCC commissioners this month are scheduled to consider new rules regarding the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) and the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), as well as a proposal seeking comments whether FirstNet should have reporting obligations and whether deployable coverage should be reported. Under the proposed new rules, all cable, wireless, wireline and interconnected […]
Partner content Memphis utility puts $27M toward spectrum for private wireless network 11th January 2024 Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) is spending $27 million to buy a chunk of 600MHz spectrum in the pursuit of a private wireless network for its utility operations. The company has also allocated $31 million for construction of the network, with plans to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for the project sometime this […]
Partner content Wi-Fi 7 ready to hit the big time, org claims 8th January 2024 Wi-Fi 7 is ready for its close-up. Wi-Fi 7, the new (and much faster) version of the wireless standard that’s a prime candidate to support multi-gigabit broadband services, has opened up certification testing for a wave of new products, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced Monday. The certification milestone, announced in concert with this week’s CES 2024 […]
News NTIA seeks candidates to fill spots on the FirstNet Authority board 4th January 2024 At least four new members are scheduled to be named to the FirstNet Authority board by the end of the year, according to an announcement issued yesterday by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) seeking potential candidates to fill open positions on the board. People wanting to be considered by NTIA should submit their […]
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
