News FirstNet to conduct special meeting tomorrow 26th June 2013 Will vote on LA-RICS spectrum-lease agreement, and consider acquisition-strategy proposal submitted by General Manager Bill D’Agostino.
Commentary Emergency communications must be out of harm’s way 25th June 2013 The only way to guarantee that first responders have working communications after a disaster is to establish a path-diverse back-up network based on satellite technology.
Commentary Dynamic Spectrum Arbitrage is the key for a sustainable FirstNet 25th June 2013 With the FirstNet board facing a funding shortfall to deploy a nationwide broadband network for first responders, Dynamic Spectrum Access could provide the necessary upfront fund to build the network and the ongoing revenue stream needed to ensure long-term sustainability.
News LA-RICS approves spectrum-lease agreement with FirstNet 20th June 2013 Approval marks the first time that an individual jurisdiction has completed this important first step in proceeding with the implementation of a public-safety LTE network on 700 MHz airwaves.
Commentary Band 14 in every cellular device? 12th June 2013 Including the band in every wireless device–phones, tablet computers, electric meters and more–should dramatically reduce the cost of chipsets, potentially create new funding mechanisms, and provide public officials with a vital alerting resource in emergencies that they don’t have today.
News FirstNet grants extension for BTOP recipients 12th June 2013 Entities have through July 12 to complete spectrum-lease negotiations; meanwhile, the deadline to spend grant money also is expected to be pushed back one year to September 2015.
Commentary Global ecosystem for public-safety LTE begins to look realistic 11th June 2013 The prospect of a global public-safety standard could have a massive impact on pricing for equipment and applications, if managed correctly.
News FirstNet special committee takes initial steps, readies for Fitzgerald interview 10th June 2013 Two subcommittees were formed, one to look into openness and transparency concerns, and another to examine conflict-of-interest allegations. FirstNet chairman Sam Ginn has vowed to implement committee recommendations, “whatever they are.”
News UK seeks to replace TETRA with LTE as early as 2016 6th June 2013 Official says cost, not performance is the issue, and calls TETRA “extremely expensive” compared with the per-minute costs of commercial wireless air time.
News FirstNet approves expanded budget, new leadership structure 5th June 2013 Authorized spending would increase to $20 miliion for FY2013, and paid staff will be hired; general manager Bill D’Agostino hopes to have his “leadership team” in place by September.
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