Public Safety Commentary

Commentary

Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

There was a time, not very long ago, when public-safety agencies and other public-sector organizations didn’t seem to fully appreciate the significant threat that cyberattacks pose to their operations and ability to fulfill their missions. But that began to change over the last couple of years, thanks to a spate of high-profile incidents. One occurred […]

Commentary

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

The 3GPP Plenary meetings took place September 11-15, 2023, in Bangalore, India. The Technical Specification Group (TSG) reports below highlight continued progress on Release 18 (R18) features of interest for public safety, including steady development on the stage 3 protocol work, which is the last stage in 3GPP standards development. The Plenary meetings included planning […]

Commentary

Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

Every time I read about a public safety agency being short staffed, with a burnt-out workforce, draining their overtime budget, I feel their pain. From New York to New Mexico and in communities all across the nation, police and fire departments routinely are forced to mandate longer shifts, which takes an emotional toll and raises […]

Commentary

Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

Editor’s note: A previous version of this column was posted that included only the first portion of the article—a mistake by the editor. IWCE’s Urgent Communications regrets the error and apologizes for any inconvenience. When first responders are called to action, they need reliable communications to coordinate an effective public-safety response. Public-safety personnel understand this […]

Commentary

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

As the new Congress begins its work in earnest, we look forward to continued progress in funding the transition to IP-based next-generation 911 (NG911) technology. Our nation’s 911 systems are critical to ensuring the safety and security of our communities, and nationwide implementation of NG911 will ensure these systems can leverage the most advanced communications […]

Commentary

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced: an ambulance with a blaring siren racing against time to get a person in medical distress to a hospital through traffic. What we don’t see is 5G connectivity enabling paramedics to communicate with hospital staff via video conference and coordinate care in real-time before arriving at the emergency room. […]

Commentary

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

The latest set of 3GPP Plenary electronic meetings (e-meetings) concluded on Dec. 19, 2022. The meetings focused on the Release 18 (R18) feature progress and schedule. It was decided to extend the R18 freeze date (specifications complete for all R18 features) by three months to March 2024 to ensure the quality of the R18 3GPP […]

Commentary

Do smart cities make safer cities?

According to the United Nations, two out of three people will live in urban areas by 2050. This increase in city populations will undoubtedly put an even greater strain on government service providers. Faced with the growing demand of residents for increasingly agile and efficient public services, cities must be able to adapt quickly and […]

Commentary

Swatting has serious implications and shouldn’t be ignored

A rash of “swatting” incidents occurred across the country in September. Swatting is the practice of falsely reporting an emergency to elicit a law-enforcement response, ideally one involving the SWAT (special weapons and tactics) team. As an example, Cincinnati-area high school was placed on lockdown when a 911 call was made to report an active-shooter […]

Commentary

Reflections on recent LTE outages

Rogers Communications Canada experienced a national service outage on July 8, 2022, that halted LTE communications for millions of Canadians, including public-safety agencies counting on mobile broadband for operations. In light of this jarring failure, should public-safety leaders rethink plans to collapse all wireless communications onto a single wireless technology platform operated by a service […]

Public Safety Commentary

Commentary

Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

Commentary

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

Commentary

Better technology can help solve the public-safety staffing crisis

Commentary

Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

Commentary

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

Commentary

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

Commentary

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

Commentary

Do smart cities make safer cities?

Commentary

Swatting has serious implications and shouldn’t be ignored

Commentary

Reflections on recent LTE outages

Commentary

Things to know about IWCE 2024: The basics

Land mobile radio (LMR) systems are just as vulnerable to cyberattacks as any other networks used in the public-safety sector. Here’s what to do about it.

September 3GPP Plenary meetings feature Release 18 progress, Release 19 beginnings

Events

UC Ezines

IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

Twitter