News LA County portion of LA-RICS public-safety LTE network halted for two weeks, as deadline looms 30th March 2015 With a Sept. 30 deadline looming, Los Angeles County’s board of supervisors last week decided to halt construction of controversial public-safety LTE towers near fire stations and other county-owned property for at least two weeks, when the board can revisit the matter.
News FirstNet allows more time for public-notice responses, announces plans for Industry Day series 26th March 2015 Stakeholders wanting to give input to FirstNet about its public notice regarding “opt-out” states will have an extra week—until April 20—to submit responses, in accordance with numerous request made since the proceeding was initiated earlier this month, according to FirstNet officials.
Video Motorola Solutions: Dane Windsor demonstrates collaboration of APX 8000, LEX L10 devices 26th March 2015 Dane Windsor, business development manager and technical sales consultant for Motorola Solutions, demonstrates how the new APX 8000 P25 portable and the LEX L10 handheld LTE device can be used in collaboration to improve communications for a public-safety user.
News FirstNet board does not vote on proposed draft RFP, will meet again in the ‘very near future’ 25th March 2015 Expressing a desire to ensure that the draft request for proposal (RFP) “right” before releasing it, FirstNet board members say they will revisit the document during a meeting in the “very near future” to address remaining issues—specifically some financial aspects of the proposed nationwide public-safety broadband network.
News FirstNet finance committee delays vote to recommend draft RFP ‘for a few weeks’ 24th March 2015 FirstNet board member tomorrow will not vote to approve the complete draft request for proposal (RFP), as many had hoped. Instead, FirstNet’s finance committee today opted against voting to recommend the proposed draft RFP until staff members can address a few lingering business-plan questions at another meeting “in a few weeks,” according to Tim Bryan, chairman of FirstNet’s finance committee.
News NTIA releases second phase of planning grants as FirstNet identifies data for states to collect 24th March 2015 States and territories can use $58 million in planning grants from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to gather data in their jurisdictions regarding their first responders’ needs for coverage, capacity and other key functionalities from FirstNet’s nationwide public-safety broadband network, NTIA and FirstNet announce.
News FirstNet should not rely on state and local governments as key network-infrastructure partners, Mirgon says 24th March 2015 State and local governments are not reliable enough to be major infrastructure partners for the nationwide public-safety broadband network being built by FirstNet, according to Richard Mirgon, a consultant and former president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO).
News Firefighters’ union claims of RF dangers jeopardizes LA-RICS public-safety LTE project 23rd March 2015 Complaints from a firefighters union that radio-frequency (RF) emissions from LTE sites being installed at several Los Angeles-area fire stations are a health hazard could derail the regional public-safety LTE system, according to an official with the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS), which is building the network. LA-RICS has reduced the number of LTE sites in its planned deployment from 232 to 177, according to LA-RICS Executive Director Pat Mallon.
Video Texas: Lesia Dickson talks about state’s online FirstNet course offering 20th March 2015 Lesia Dickson, outreach and education coordinator for the Texas Public Safety Broadband Program, discusses the state’s online-education initiative that is designed to inform stakeholders about FirstNet, which is tasked with building a nationwide public-safety broadband network for first responders. Although created for FirstNet stakeholders in the state of Texas, the information is applicable to anyone in the country.
Video Rivada Networks: Peter Tenerelli explains proposal to let FirstNet generate revenue from excess capacity on its LTE network 20th March 2015 Peter Tenerelli, director of technology adoption for Rivada Networks, describes how the company’s dynamic-spectrum-arbitrage (DSA) technology and associated auction market would let commercial operators bid for excess capacity on the FirstNet system, which can generate revenue that ultimately will lower the fees that public-safety entities would pay to use the dedicated LTE network.
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