LTE endorsements a step in the right direction 28th July 2009 This week’s announcement from the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) to endorse LTE as its preferred technology standard for a proposed nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety in the 700 MHz band means four key public-safety organizations have backed the 4G technology.
Questions aside, nationwide network remains vital 23rd July 2009 A couple of weeks ago in this space, Mary Rose Roberts wondered whether the time would someday come when the public-safety sector would decide that soon-to-be-available multiband radio would satisfy their future communications needs and that the proposed 700 MHz national broadband network is unnecessary.
Emergency alert systems aren’t the panacea 22nd July 2009 As cell phones are becoming more and more prolific, are we being lulled into a false sense of security?
Flexibility in specifications can increase options for customers 21st July 2009 By using the competitive-bidding process, governmental entities and other first-responder organizations seek the best deal that meet their communications needs. But bidding specifications that are too, well, specific can undermine this goal, according to Ken Palazzi, manager of the Harris RF proposal solutions group.
Rural 700 MHz filings worthy of attention 16th July 2009 Waiver requests allowing early wireless broadband network buildouts for public-safety use in the 700 MHz band are not new, but they had come from governmental entities that typically have access to considerable funding resources — until last week.
Sprint outsourcing deal with Ericsson potentially a big winner 15th July 2009 Months of rumors came true last week as Sprint Nextel and Ericsson announced a groundbreaking deal to outsource Sprint’s network operations to Ericsson. The seven-year deal is valued at up to $5 billion and involves 6,000 Sprint employees moving to Ericsson in the third quarter.
Will multiband radio replace PS network build-out? 7th July 2009 The eventual widespread availability of the multiband radios makes me wonder: If they hit the market next year and public-safety agencies nationwide adopt them, why do we need to build out a broadband, public-safety network?
LTE may be data-only, but still needs to support voice 1st July 2009 There is an interesting situation that is brewing when it comes to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, and I’m surprised to find people already talking about it as operators aren’t scheduled to deploy the technology until next year. And that is: How will LTE support SMS and voice, which are the bread and butter of the mobile operator business today? Right now, LTE cannot support either because it is an all-IP technology that doesn’t support the circuit-switched architectures found in today’s mobile networks.
From the depths 1st July 2009 For Wendy Knight, serving the public is a family affair. Her father is a retired Chicago police officer, while she has spent the last 12 years as a telecommunicator for the Bixby (Okla.) Police Department’s 911 center.
Déjå vu all over again 1st July 2009 If you’ve been in the industry for 10 years or more, you’ll remember the 800 MHz license mills and the fiasco they created for legitimate 800 MHz operators. Now license mills are back.
Latest 3GPP standards-development work includes new classes of HPUE, progress on mission-critical services 1 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