The Vison Which Became FirstNet There are a number of people within the States and the Public Safety community who are not happy with the coverage which AT&T/FirstNet is offering on day one. Perhaps if they had a better understanding of the fact that the RFP could have been won by someone who would built out just the FirstNet Band 14 and that it might have had to have been built out as a greenfield (totally new) network they would better understand the difference between a network which is available today and one that might be 3-5 years away in their area.

Sometimes we need to reflect on the past and to remind those who have come to both embrace and complain about FirstNet about the original dreams and aspirations of those who have been involved in this journey, most for over 11 years and a few even longer. During the activities which resulted in Congressional Approval and President Obama signature which allocated the 10 MHz of spectrum referred to as the D block and created FirstNet, there were a lot of discussions by those involved. There was a discussion about the type of network or networks which was (were) needed. Some favored a “network of networks” that is a number of different networks, perhaps state by state or by dividing the Country into thirds but the consensus was that a single nationwide network would be the best approach and the focus shifted to that goal.

There were other discussions held by the member of the Public Safety Alliance (PSA) as well as the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) which held the license for the original 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum the FCC had allocated for a public safety broadband network. After FirstNet was formed some on the FirstNet board showed a diagram outlining a plan where each and every device on the FirstNet spectrum would also be able to seamlessly roam across all of the commercial broadband networks as well as the FirstNet spectrum. This, we were assured, would provide the best way to achieve a true mission critical system. As you might imagine the public safety community reacted in a negative manner and over time this idea as scraped. Next up after FirstNet regrouped was go to bid for both the one network approach and essentially a network of networks concept. Fortunately, FirstNet listened and the RFP came out calling for a single, nationwide network. Read The entire Blog Here

Indiana Becomes 25th State To Approve FirstNet Plan For Modernized – WBIW.com Oct 12 04:45 The plan will build modern, high-speed, wireless communication infrastructure for the state’s public safety workers and first responders at no cost to …

Indiana to Transform Communications for Public Safety; Governor Holcomb Approves Buildout … – GuruFocus.com Oct 11 20:00 Through this close collaboration, FirstNet and AT&T crafted a plan to meet Indiana’s …

FirstNet hits 50% ‘opt-in’ threshold as Indiana makes announcement – Urgent Communications Oct 11 17:45 Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announces that he has accepted the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) deployment plan offered by …

FirstNet, AT&T Launch First Developer Program for Public Safety – Markets Insider Oct 12 09:30 It also brings public safety closer to having their own app store where they can find new solutions purpose-built for their needs. “This program will tap …

Drones can help farmers, first responders and all of us – Delmarva Daily Times Oct 12 07:10 The mesh network radio system the men are hoping to test on behalf of the Naval Air Center Aircraft Division would act as a communications …

UTC TO FCC: Protect 6 GHz spectrum for smart grid – Smart Grid Today Oct  5 06:30 Commission flirts with risky broadband service — Expanded use of mid-band spectrum by new wireless broadband services could interfere.

FirstNet, ATandT Launch First Developer Program for Public Safety – Cellular News Oct 12 08:15

Participants in NTIA Internet of Things initiative aim to reach consensus on guides – Oct 12 06:48 Stakeholders participating in a National Telecommunications and Information Administration-led effort to create guidelines for patching and upgrading …

FirstNet and AT&T Launch App Ecosystem for First Responders – ATT.com Oct 11 21:45 AT&T and FirstNet launched the first-ever app ecosystem for public safety, featuring a developer program that will drive ongoing innovation and a …

Vodafone Rolls Out New IoT Network – Lifehacker Australia Oct 11 18:16 The new Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network will connect devices that don’t need stacks of bandwidth. Typically, those devices don’t suck …

FCC’s Claim That One ISP Counts As ‘Competition’ Faces Scrutiny In Court – Slashdot Oct 11 17:00 Jon Brodkin reports via Ars Technica: A Federal Communications Commission decision to eliminate price caps imposed on some business broadband providers should be struck down, advocacy groups told federal judges last week. The FCC failed to justify its claim that a market can be competitive even when there is only one Internet provider, the groups said. Led by Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC’s Republican majority voted in April of this year to eliminate price caps…

Vodafone Australia launches NB-IoT network – ZDNet Oct 11 06:45 Vodafone’s narrowband IoT network is now live in North Sydney, Port Melbourne, and Frankston, and will reach other areas of Melbourne, Sydney, and Canberra by the end of the year.

AT&T disses Incompas’ 1 Gbps broadband definition proposal – FierceTelecom Oct 10 15:35 AT&T says Incompas’ proposal to the FCC to raise the broadband definition from 25/3 Mbps to 1 Gbps will create an unrealistic environment that …

Popular pirate radio station for Haitian music in Miami hit by hefty FCC fine – Miami Herald Oct  5 07:45 There’s nothing funny about pirate radio, which interferes with the lawful use of the airwaves and can disrupt public safety communications, FCC …

SpaceX and OneWeb broadband satellites raise fears about space debris – ArsTechnica: Infinite Loop Oct  5 07:01 Senators warn of “cascade” of collisions, ask FCC to work with NASA and FAA.