Month: April 2016

House Passes Grant Planning Bill

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April 13–The House today passed by voice vote the High-Risk Urban Area Working Group Act (HR 4509), which was introduced by Rep. Donald Payne (D., N.J.), ranking member of the of House Homeland Security Committee’s emergency preparedness subcommittee. The bill “expands the list of stakeholders for state planning committees or urban area working groups required for any state or high-risk urban area receiving a grant under the State Homeland Security Grant Program or the Urban Area Security Initiative,” a news release noted.

Courtesy TRDaily

Robocall Bill Introduced in House

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Rep. Jackie Speier (D., Calif.) introduced legislation today that would require telephone companies to offer consumers free robocall-blocking technology. The bill is called the Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones (ROBOCOP) Act. “After hearing from many constituents about this issue–and experiencing the annoyance of robocalls myself–I am proud to introduce legislation to block robocalls once and for all,” said Ms. Speier. “ROBOCOP will put an end to the scourge of robocalls so families can enjoy dinner in peace, people can watch their favorite show without constant interruption, and you won’t ever be left wondering if you actually won a Caribbean cruise.” Continue reading →

Senators Release Encryption Bill Draft

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Sens. Richard Burr (R., N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.), vice chairman of the committee, today released a discussion draft of legislation that would require communications service providers and communications device and software makers to comply with court orders for information or data in connection with the investigation of specified “serious crimes.”

The bill—the Compliance with Court Orders Act of 2016—was positioned by the senators as a catalyst for discussion on the issue of communications encryption technologies.  They said they would “now solicit input from the public and key stakeholders before formally introducing the bill.” Sen. Burr said he endorsed the use of encryption technologies by service providers and device makers, but added, “I do not believe, however, that those solutions should be above the law. Continue reading →

PSAP Task Force to Meet May 6

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The FCC’s Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Architecture (TFOPA) is scheduled to hold its seventh meeting from 1-4 p.m. on May 6 in the Commission’s meeting room. “At this meeting, the Task Force will hear overview presentations of 2016 tasks from the Task Force’s three working groups; specifically Working Group 1–Optimal Approach to Cybersecurity, Working Group 2–Optimal Approach to NG911 Architecture Implementation, and Working 3–Optimal Approach to NG911 Resource Allocation,” the agency said. In January, the task force voted to give final approval to a consolidated report with recommendations on actions that PSAPs should take on cybersecurity, architecture, and resources as they transition to next-generation 911 systems (TRDaily, Jan. 29).

 Courtesy TRDaily

Webinar: The City of Charlotte’s FirstNet-Ready, Interoperable Mobile Network

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This webinar will explore how the city of Charlotte deployed an interoperable “FirstNet-ready” mobile communications network that is FIPS compliant to support its fleet of 950 law enforcement and firefighting vehicles.

Watch this webinar to learn about:

  • Why the city of Charlotte migrated to an interoperable FirstNet-ready mobile network to support its mission-critical workforce
  • The importance of FIPS-140-2 in the city’s decision
  • How the city of Charlotte integrated FirstNet-ready mobile gateways into its in-vehicle IT system
  • The benefits of migrating to a FirstNet-ready mobile network
  • The city of Charlotte’s future plans for deploying FirstNet-ready equipment

 

FCC Seeks Comments on Earthquake-Related Alerts

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The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau today issued a public notice seeking comments on ways to spur earthquake-related emergency alerts. Comments are due May 9 and replies June 8 in PS docket 16-32.

In fiscal year 2016 omnibus appropriations legislation enacted last December (TRDaily, Dec. 18, 2015), Congress directed the FCC “to submit a report within nine months of enactment (i.e., by September 18, 2016), that details the regulatory and statutory framework for delivery of earthquake-related emergency alerts using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS),” the public notice observed. “Specifically, the Act states: [‘]The FCC shall submit a report to Congress within 9 months of enactment of this act detailing all regulatory and statutory changes that would be necessary to ensure that earthquake-related emergency alerts using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System and other associated alerting systems can be delivered to and received by the public in fewer than 3 seconds. The report shall include an analysis of signals, cell phone protocols, geographic targeting, and limitations on message length and content, as well as similar parameters associated with the dissemination of alerts by non-wireless providers.[‘]”

“To assist the Commission in developing its report to Congress, particularly given the comprehensive and technical scope of the information requested, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau seeks comment on the issues discussed below,” the public notice said. “In particular, we seek comment on technical aspects of IPAWS and its associated alerting systems, as well as other alerting schemes with which the Commission has not previously been involved, in order to build a robust record on potential models for delivering earthquake early warning (EEW) to the entire public in fewer than three seconds.” —Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily

First Responder Network Authority Weekly Update to the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) – April 11, 2016

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FirstNet News

FirstNet announced today that it will extend the deadline for final proposals for the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network by two and a half weeks, from May 13 to May 31, 2016.  The extension follows FirstNet’s review of multiple capability statements it received from potential offerors.  FirstNet also released an additional clarifying amendment (Amendment 10) to the request for proposal (RFP).  Additional information can be found on fbo.gov.  To read the press release on FirstNet’s webpage, click: http://firstnet.gov/news/firstnet-extends-proposal-deadline-may-31.

User Advocacy finalized its preparations for the Spring 2016 state/territory single point of contact (SPOC) Meeting April 12-13 and PSAC Tribal Working Group (TWG) meeting April 14 in McLean, Virginia.  The two primary goals of the Spring SPOC meeting will be to (1) provide clarity on the State plan development delivery process and expected timeline and (2) officially launch the Quality of Service, Priority and Preemption (QPP) Consultation Task Team (CTT).  A number of other topics will be briefed and discussed over the two-day meeting.  The TWG will meet on April 14 to set TWG priorities for the year ahead and receive feedback from delegates on improved functioning of the TWG.  An email with the final agenda and logistical information for both meetings was distributed to registered attendees late last week. Continue reading →

NY Times Reports: Police Body Cameras: What Do You See?

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This is a very interesting article from the NY Times regarding police body worn cameras.  The article and the included videos provide an enlightening view of how bias and view can affect the viewer’s interpretation of a video clip.

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, JAMES THOMAS, SAMUEL JACOBY and DAMIEN CAVE UPDATED April 1, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/04/01/us/police-bodycam-video.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

Why Belgian Officials Are Telling People To Stop Streaming On Their Phones

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This tragedy can serve as a helpful reminder for us all.

The Belgian government on Tuesday urged people to avoid clogging up communications channels in the hours following a series of terror attacks in Brussels. The warning illustrates both the power and limitations of modern technology like the smartphone. Alexander De Croo, deputy prime minister of Belgium, tweeted that standard mobile connections in Brussels were overloaded as a result of people trying to reach one another following the attacks. Much the same thing happened in New York City after the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brussels-attacks internet_us_56f15bb9e4b09bf44a9e76ba