News Virginia 911 center leverages remote capabilities, FirstNet to help address COVID-19 challenges 15th May 2020 A Virginia 911 center is combining remote solutions with FirstNet connectivity as part of a multi-pronged strategy to ensure operational continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic today and to evaluate new technological options for the center in the future. Doug Campbell, deputy director of the Department of Emergency & Customer Communications (DECC) for the city of […]
Video IWCE: Stephanie McCall highlights features of Virtual Connections portal 15th May 2020 Stephanie McCall, show director of IWCE, talks about the new Virtual Connections portal, which can be found at https://virtualconnections.iwceexpo.com/. This portal provides visitors with free access to two weeks of daily webinars–available for live participation, as well as on-demand viewing–and a hearty choice of multimedia information about the Virtual Connections sponsors. The first live webinar […]
News FCC approves Anterix proposal to transition 900 MHz LMR spectrum to LTE use 13th May 2020 FCC commissioners today unanimously voted to approve rules that will let Anterix transition its 900 MHz narrowband LMR spectrum to a contiguous block of airwaves that can be used to deliver private LTE services, primarily to support communications for utilities and other critical-infrastructure entities. Today’s approval of multiple orders addressing the 900 MHz band follows […]
Partner content Here’s why Verizon’s CEO lowered the bar for nationwide 5G 13th May 2020 Verizon remains on track to launch 5G nationwide sometime in 2020. But, according to the operator’s CEO, don’t expect much from the offering, at least at first. “In the beginning you’re going to see some improvements. Over time: Dramatic improvements,” Hans Vestberg said Tuesday at a J.P. Morgan investor conference. “In the beginning, it’s going to […]
News Florida officials seek L3Harris extension of ‘several years’ for statewide LMR network 13th May 2020 State of Florida representatives are talking with L3Harris officials about a contract extension of “several years” beyond 2021 for the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) as the state prepares to procure a P25-based network to replace the existing system that utilizes aging EDACS technology. Patrick Gillespie, deputy secretary of business operations for the Florida […]
Partner content FirstNet, AT&T begin edging toward 5G 12th May 2020 AT&T today counts more than 1.3 million FirstNet connections across more than 12,000 public-safety agencies – an impressive feat given that AT&T first launched FirstNet services just two years ago. It’s also notable considering that, so far, 5G is nowhere to be found inside FirstNet’s portfolio despite 2020 being hyped as the “year of 5G.” However, the […]
Partner content Smart city joins the ranks of the ‘rationalized’ 12th May 2020 Google parent company Alphabet cancelled its ambitious smart city project in Toronto, Ontario, last week. It cited the “unprecedented economic uncertainty” of the Coronavirus pandemic as the root cause. Dubbed ‘Quayside’, the project envisioned a complete transformation of a twelve-acre, former-industrial stretch of Toronto waterfront into a futuristic city. Here the cars would be self-driving, […]
News Motorola Solutions sees COVID-19 dip in enterprise LMR but claims no LTE cannibalization 11th May 2020 Motorola Solutions saw a notable decline in land-mobile-radio (LMR) sales during the first quarter and expects a much bigger drop during the second quarter amid the COVID-19-driven economic collapse, but the company is confident in the future of its mission-critical offerings when the pandemic is over, CEO Greg Brown said last week. Speaking during Motorola […]
Audio Motorola Solutions: John Touvannas highlights new APX NEXT features, future plans 10th May 2020 John Touvannas, Motorola Solutions’ director of product management, describes the functionality included in the new SmartMessaging and SmartMapping applications that are available through on the APX NEXT, the company’s P25 radio that includes LTE connectivity.
News COVID-19 pandemic having mixed impacts on in-building projects for public-safety communications 8th May 2020 Most aspects of the economy have slowed or halted completely in the wake of measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, but the pandemic is resulting in certain in-building communications projects being accelerated, according to an official at in-building solutions provider ADRF. Dennis Burns, ADRF’s director of public safety, said the company is very busy […]
Is LMR the best solution for first responders? Should 4.9 GHz license go to the FirstNet Authority? 2 24th March 2024
FirstNet Authority reauthorization needed as public-safety-driven network evolution proceeds 16th March 2024
