News Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) to shut down 16th April 2021 After three years of existence, the non-profit Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) will cease operations within 45 days as officials say they believe that the organization achieved its primary goal to promote public safety’s use of open-standard technologies. “PSTA achieved its mission,” PSTA board member Jeff Johnson said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. […]
News Klobuchar pledges support for NG911 funding, does not address specifics of proposal 16th April 2021 Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—a co-chair of the Congressional Next-Gen 911 Caucus—vowed to sponsor legislation once again that calls for at least $12 billion in federal funding to upgrade public-safety answering points (PSAPs) to next-generation-911 (NG911) technology, but she did not release any details of her proposal. Two years ago, Klobuchar sponsored the “Next Generation 911 […]
News First NENA i3-compliant NG911 call to be delivered today in California, officials say 14th April 2021 A California county today is expected to deliver what is believed to be the first end-to-end call to a 911 public-safety answering point (PSAP) that meets the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 standard for next-generation 911 (NG911), according to officials with the state of California and NENA. Budge Currier, 911 and emergency-communications branch manager […]
News New T-Band rules impact LMR licensing activity 13th April 2021 A recent law change eliminating a planned FCC auction of T-Band spectrum (470-512 MHz) resulted in the resolution of many pending LMR license applications from past years and provided an early boost to activity in the space this year, although those figures remain near the pace of all-time low levels once again. For the first […]
News ‘Life-saving technology’: AST SpaceMobile CEO outlines capabilities of direct-to-smartphone LEO satellite service 9th April 2021 [Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include clarifications about deployment timelines requested from AST SpaceMobile.] First responders and emergency callers subscribing to U.S. carriers and other major service providers will have affordable access to broadband communications beyond the coverage footprint of 4G and 5G terrestrial networks via their normal smart devices in the […]
Commentary Unlocking the power of ESInets: Different NG911 provisioning approaches exist; level of control is key differentiator 7th April 2021 Next-generation 911 (NG911) systems represent a quantum leap forward for the public-safety community and the citizens that it serves. Internet Protocol (IP)-based and broadband-enabled, such systems are capable of considerably more than legacy 911 systems, which is why many emergency communications centers (ECCs) from coast to coast are clamoring to implement them. The broadband capabilities […]
Partner content Biden’s $100 billion broadband plan raises four big questions 6th April 2021 After much discussion, President Biden finally released the general outlines of his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, of which $100 billion will be devoted to broadband services. Whether Biden will be able to get his proposal through Congress remains to be seen. But if he is successful, his proposal could dramatically alter the contours of the US broadband […]
News AT&T launches 5G services for FirstNet subscribers in parts of 38 cities, 20+ venues 1st April 2021 First responders can access millimeter-wave 5G services that are being enabled by recent upgrades to the FirstNet core in parts of 38 cities and in more than 20 venues, as well as tower-to-core encryption of FirstNet traffic nationwide in less than a year, according to FirstNet contractor AT&T and the FirstNet Authority. AT&T announced the […]
News California set to begin NG911 deployments in 911 centers statewide next month 30th March 2021 California 911 centers could have IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) connectivity deployed throughout the state by the end of this year or early next year, according to an official helping lead the execution of the emergency-calling initiative. Budge Currier, 911 and emergency-communications branch manager for California, said the state is building its NG911 platform around the […]
Partner content The future of work is hybrid: Why city and county workers need secure access 27th March 2021 With the United States now leading the world in the rollout of vaccination programs, there’s a sense of optimism that many aspects of life may soon return to normal. But the big question for city, local, state and federal government agencies of all sizes isn’t necessarily about how to safely bring employees back to the office, but whether […]
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
