News FirstNet Band 14 coverage serves about half of U.S. rural population, FirstNet Authority reports 4th May 2020 About half the rural population within the U.S. is within the FirstNet coverage footprint for operations using 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum licensed to the FirstNet Authority, according to the FirstNet Authority’s annual report to Congress that was released last week. Although the information in the report is about seven months old—reflecting the FirstNet Authority’s […]
Audio ESChat: Josh Lober talks hybrid LMR-LTE, deals with DoJ and TELUS 1st May 2020 ESChat CEO Josh Lober highlights the benefits of hybrid systems that utilize both LMR and broadband push-to-talk solutions to deliver voice communications, as well multiple forms of interoperability. Lober also outlines ESChat’s recently announced contract with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and the launching of push-to-talk service offered through TELUS Communications, one of […]
News FirstNet tops 1.3 million connections, 12,000 agencies, AT&T says 28th April 2020 FirstNet supports more than 1.3 million connections across more than 12,000 agencies, according to figures supplied last week by AT&T, the FirstNet Authority’s nationwide contractor responsible for building the nationwide public-safety broadband network. AT&T provided the updated FirstNet numbers as part of the company’s report of earnings for the first quarter—the first reporting period impacted […]
Audio ESChat: Josh Lober discusses COVID-19 impact on PTT business 27th April 2020 ESChat Josh Lober explains the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) company, in terms of internal operations and subscribing customers.
Partner content AT&T CEO warns of ‘downward proclivity’ in network spending 23rd April 2020 AT&T promised that it would offer lowband 5G nationwide this summer – the operator said it has already expanded the offering to cover 120 million people in 190 markets – but executives warned that the operator’s network spending could slow due to the pandemic. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Wednesday during his company’s quarterly conference […]
News School of hard knocks: 911 operations in the COVID-19 era 23rd April 2020 Boxer and pop philosopher Mike Tyson once opined that “everyone has a plan—until they get punched in the mouth.” Without question, the COVID-19 pandemic has punched the public-safety/emergency-response community squarely in the mouth—and hard. But the community’s resiliency and creativity is enabling it to fight back equally hard, and the lessons being learned through the […]
News FCC plans vote on Anterix proposal for 900 MHz private LTE for utilities, enterprises 22nd April 2020 FCC commissioners next month are expected to approve rules that would let Anterix transition its narrowband LMR spectrum in the 900 MHz band to a contiguous block of private LTE airwaves designed to support mission-critical broadband applications for utilities and other enterprises. For Anterix—known as pdvWireless until the company changed its name last June—the FCC […]
Audio Avtec: Dan Sawicki talks 911 evolution, previews April 30 webinar 20th April 2020 Dan Sawicki, director of project management at Motorola Solutions, discusses the evolution of 911, with a particular focus on call centers leveraging the cloud and other technologies to increase their agility and flexibility during times of crisis. Sawicki also notes the importance of 911 centers to receive and process different types of information–text, data, […]
News California fire district leveraging FirstNet, BeOn PTT from L3Harris to save significant LMR costs 20th April 2020 One rural California fire district plans to lower its future LMR capital costs about 60% by supplementing its VHF radio system with BeOn push-to-talk service from L3Harris delivered over FirstNet as part of a local public-private partnership that includes sharing tower sites, according to the fire chief spearheading the plan. Frank Frievalt, fire chief of […]
Partner content Will 5G buildout slow or accelerate in the COVID-19 era? 19th April 2020 While COVID-19 has ground the economy to a halt in many corners of the U.S., the picture for 5G buildout could flourish long term, with caveats, say industry watchers. 5G may take a hit in the short and medium term given spread of COVID-19 globally and resulting supply chain disruption, 5G hardware delays and general effects of […]
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? 3 24th March 2024
Video Check out key takeaways from Disaster Management Symposium webinars, register to view archives Video: Opening of the Expo Hall on day three of IWCE 2023 Lynk CEO Charles Miller: The sky’s the limit
