News FirstNet MCPTT launch delayed until first quarter of 2020, AT&T says 4th December 2019 Public-safety users will have to wait until the first quarter of next year to experience push-to-talk service compliant with the mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) standard on the FirstNet system, according to AT&T, the contractor tasked with building and maintaining the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN). AT&T yesterday provided the push-to-talk update as part of a press release […]
News FirstNet surpasses marks for 75% Band 14 buildout, 1 million connections and 10,000 agencies subscribed 4th December 2019 Deployment of FirstNet on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum is more than 75% complete, with the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) supporting more than 1 million connections from more than 10,000 subscribed first-responder agencies, according to statistics released yesterday by contractor AT&T. With the buildout update, AT&T has surpassed the FirstNet deployment goal set by […]
Video FLYMOTION: Ryan English demonstrates drone service with video, thermal-imaging capability during night responses 30th November 2019 Ryan English, president and co-founder of FLYMOTION Unmanned Systems, showcases the ability of the company’s drone service to provide traditional video and thermal-images to help public-safety personnel better understand their surroundings, even when responding in darkness.English spoke with IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson during the recent Operation Convergent Response (OCR) 2019 event in Perry, Ga., […]
Video Robotic Assistance Devices: Ioan Pop outlines benefits of robot prototype in airport environment 30th November 2019 Ioan Pop, vice president of engineering, describes features of Roameo, a prototype of a durable security-enhancement robot that can be customized to provide assorted forms of sensor data to airport security, as well as disseminate information via alerting, text or voice communications. Robotic Assistance Devices hopes to make the robot commercially available next year. Pop spoke […]
News Group announces successful test of multi-vendor MCPTT call with end-to-end security 27th November 2019 Secure voice communications can be delivered using 3GPP’s mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) standard across solutions provided by multiple vendors, according to tests recently announced by Bittium, Athonet, Nemergent and the Mission Critical Open Platform (MCOP) project. Fidel Liberal, coordinator for MCOP, said the testing—conducted this fall at the ETSI MCX plugtests event in Finland—is a big step […]
Audio Pyramid Consulting Services: Terry Burnworth outlines 911 information-overload challenges, previews Dec. 11 webinar 26th November 2019 Terry Burnworth, president of Pyramid Consulting Services, explains the challenges that 911 centers–particularly smaller centers in rural areas–face as 911 transitions from a voice-centric operation to one that needs to process data, photos and video from a variety of sources, including IoT sensors, surveillance cameras and witnesses at an incident scene. On Dec. 11 at […]
News Sierra Wireless launches AirLink Managed Network Service offering with FirstNet connectivity 26th November 2019 Sierra Wireless last week announced its AirLink Managed Network Service that includes FirstNet connectivity via a Sierra Wireless AirLink MP70 LTE wireless router that is designed to give public-safety agencies access to broadband without stressing local IT resources, according to a Sierra Wireless official. While the MP70 router included in the offer is the same […]
Video Asylon: Michael Quiroga demonstrates automated battery-exchange system for company’s drones 25th November 2019 Michael Quiroga, Asylon’s chief revenue officer, demonstrates how the company’s autonomous drone service includes an automated battery-swap capability that allows Asylon drones to spend more time in the air. Quiroga spoke with IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson last week during the Operation Convergent Response (OCR) 2019 event in Perry, Ga., that was co-sponsored by […]
Video Qwake Technologies: Bryce Stirton of Responder Corp explains how C-THRU technology can help firefighters navigate smoky rooms 25th November 2019 Bryce Stirton, co-founder and president of Responder Corp, explains how Qwake’s C-THRU augmented-reality (AR) technology is designed to help firefighters navigate safely in smoke-filled environments. Qwake Technologies officials hope to bring this technology to market as early as 2020. Stirton spoke with IWCE’s Urgent Communications Editor Donny Jackson last week during the Operation Convergent Response […]
Video SES: Brady Spenrath highlights features of company’s MEO satellite that delivers higher speeds, lower latency 21st November 2019 Brady Spenrath, senior specialist for SES, explains how the SES middle-earth-orbit (MEO) satellites are able to provide users with greater data throughput speeds and lower latency than traditional geosynchronous-earth-orbit (GEO) satellites, which are more than four times farther away from the earth than MEO satellites. For entities wanting additional reliability, SES can provide service that […]
Is LMR the best solution for first responders? Should 4.9 GHz license go to the FirstNet Authority? 24th March 2024
FirstNet Authority reauthorization needed as public-safety-driven network evolution proceeds 16th March 2024