News Benefits of telehealth step into the breach wrought by COVID-19 8th April 2020 As the globe reels from COVID-19, patients and practitioners have turned to digital methods to fill the gap wrought by the virus. As of early April, more than 1 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, whose flulike symptoms can vary from mild to severe and which has caused more than 87,000 deaths at the time of this writing. Without […]
News Samsung announces first mission-critical video call leveraging AWS cloud 8th April 2020 Samsung announced a demonstration of the first 3GPP-compliant mission-critical video—MCVideo, part of the MCPTX standard for LTE Release 14—video call on a cloud platform provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS), indicating a potential alternative to network-based architecture for MCPTX servers. Conducted at the Samsung lab in Suwon, South Korea, the demonstration utilized a Galaxy XCover […]
News COVID-19 could have lasting impacts on 911 practices, speakers say 6th April 2020 Amid the ever-evolving response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 911 centers are seeing their roles expanded and altered in ways that would not have been contemplated in the past—and many of these changes may become the new normal, according to leaders of 911 centers speaking during a webinar last week. Tyrell Morris, executive director for the […]
News The eight new things we learned about New T-Mobile 3rd April 2020 The merger between Sprint and T-Mobile is now finally, officially closed. And as a result, the newly combined company – often referred to as “New T-Mobile” – is now offering some new details about how it’s going to challenge market leaders AT&T and Verizon. Sprint and T-Mobile have previously offered a wide range of details about their merger […]
News AT&T announces MCPTT-based FirstNet PTT, certifications for HPUE products from Assured Wireless 31st March 2020 AT&T today announced FirstNet Push-to-Talk (FirstNet PTT), a solution based on the 3GPP’s mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) standard that is available to public safety nationwide for $10 per month and that two high-power user equipment (HPUE) products from Assured Wireless have been certified for FirstNet use. “FirstNet PTT is designed to enable public safety to use their […]
News AT&T introduces ‘free smartphone for life’ program with some agency-paid FirstNet subscriptions 31st March 2020 Public-safety agencies subscribing to FirstNet on certain two-year contracts will be able to provide their users with FirstNet Ready smartphones for free and upgrade them at no cost “for life,” as long as the agency-paid FirstNet subscription is maintained, AT&T announced today. “First responders deserve a dedicated communications partner that can provide the tools they […]
Audio Podcast: Ryan Poltermann outlines considerations, resources for disinfecting communications devices 31st March 2020 Ryan Poltermann, innovation acrchitect at Commdex Consulting and vice chair of NPSTC’s LMR/LTE Integration and Interoperability Working Group, discusses measures that public safety can take to disinfect LMR radios and smart devices to reduce the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus, particularly through equipment that may be shared within an agency. Poltermann has compiled […]
News COVID-19 crisis challenging public-safety communications on many levels, speakers say 31st March 2020 In addition to a multitude of well-chronicled policy, staffing and supply challenges facing the health-care sector amid the COVID-19 crisis, the outbreak is forcing agencies to consider atypical measures to ensure the health of public-safety communications systems and the people who support them. “Business as usual … kind of ceases to exist,” Greg Rubin, communications […]
News Coverage-extending HPUE products expected to be available soon, according to FirstNet Authority, AT&T officials 21st March 2020 High-power user equipment (HPUE) that promises to almost double the coverage range for FirstNet subscribers using 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum is expected to be available within the next month, according to a FirstNet Authority official. Mark Golaszewski, the director of applications for the FirstNet Authority, provided the timeline Thursday in response to a question […]
News Key public-safety groups seek consensus for next-gen 911 direction, federal funding 19th March 2020 Representatives from 12 key public-safety organizations met last week in an effort to develop a consensus position about next-generation 911 (NG911) that would encourage Congress to provide federal funds supporting a transition from legacy systems to an IP-based 911 platform capable of supporting multimedia communications. Conducted last Friday in Washington, D.C., the meeting was co-hosted […]
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
