LMR, FirstNet, WiFi, Just to be Clear, and More. Last week’s Advocate discussed the integration, over time, of NG9-1-1, FirstNet, Land Mobile Radio (LMR), and WiFi into a homogenous communications system for public safety. Before last week, I had written multiple Advocates about LMR and FirstNet working hand-in-hand and in recent months I have been promoting a way to integrate FirstNet, LMR, and WiFi into a solid, interactive communications platform for all of the public safety community.
It was, therefore, a shock to me to read a response to last week’s Advocate from a gentleman I have conversed with and met on several occasions. The response to my columns is moderated on AllThingsFirstNet.com but I have never chosen to not accept any comment, good or bad, as that goes with the territory.
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, after I approved the comment for inclusion at the bottom of the Advocate and typed in my response, the site went down. The web folks were able to save a copy of the comment and my response, which is directly below:
“Welcome back Andy, I have been a little disappointed in the past few articles since they have been focused on FirstNet and the possibilities making it seem like you were advocating to replace LMR today. I agree that the current radio will evolve to include data/text/video, but as you stated in todays article, it will be a while until all the pieces fit together.”
My response: “First of all thank you for the comment but I am horrified that anyone reading my Advocate would believe that I am about replacing LMR with FirstNet, I think you will find that I have always stated that LMR is a vital and important part of overall public safety communications. I have been very vocal in my call for LMR to LTE PTT solutions and I have, I thought been very clear about the fact that LMR is a vital portion of the public safety communications picture and will be for many, many Years. Best regards, Andy”
The comments he made indicated that even though he was a long-time reader he apparently thought that in a number of my articles I was making a case for FirstNet as the only network for public safety. This is what surprised me. I have, for many, many years, said that FirstNet and LMR (and WiFi) will work in concert with each other and that LMR has a long life left within the public safety community. In the most recent hurricanes, both LMR and FirstNet were up and running and where one was not, the other was. So, to be very clear, my vision of public safety going forward is robust and up-to-date NG9-1-1 systems, LMR, FirstNet, and WiFi where available. I believe this will provide the best of all worlds.
Read the Entire Post Here .
Here are the articles I have selected with the help of Discovery Patterns artificial intelligence
FirstNet board gets five new members, Cox reappointed
Urgent Communications Oct 31 19:00
… deployment of the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN). …
Why Is It So Hard To Text 911?
WFMYNews2.com Oct 31 21:45
… at advocacy group the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials. …
FCC Commissioner calls public broadband ‘ominous threat’ to First Amendment
Technology Oct 31 08:17
A Republican Federal Communications Commission Commissioner called publicly provided broadband a “threat” to the First Amendment, referring to unclear and unspecified censorship. “I would be remiss if my address omitted a discussion of a lesser-…
Special ReportA look at where AT&T and FirstNet are now in the public-safety market
FierceWireless Oct 30 15:50
Of course, despite the vote of confidence that AT&T secured through a federal contract, first responders have options when considering wireless …
New Apps Enhance Public Safety
i-HLS – Israel Homeland Security Oct 28 21:00
The platform was built with AT&T. The FirstNet App Catalog is where FirstNet users can go to get innovative solutions tailored to them. Among those …
Esri Location App OK’d for FirstNet Public Safety Broadband Network Users
ExecutiveBiz Oct 30 15:50
The FirstNet App Catalog now includes the Explorer for ArcGIS app …
Trump FCC official publicly lying about censorship on municipal broadband
Boing Boing Oct 30 15:45
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly gave a speech to the Media Institute in which he falsely claimed that municipal fiber networks (which provide …
‘Technology alone cannot solve our problems’: Top takeaways from Smart Regions Conference
Smart Cities Dive Oct 29 13:40
Similar to some of the innovations being touted for the FirstNet nationwide public safety communications platform, 911 Go uses AR to deliver training …
Esri Location Intelligence Technology Now Offered on FirstNet
Associated Press Oct 29 13:40
FirstNet is here to highlight these needs, and we are thrilled to have industry partners like Esri join the growing ecosystem for public safety broadband …
California to Sit On Its Own Net Neutrality Law Until Federal Case Resolved
Phone Scoop Oct 27 10:03
California today said it has agreed not to enforce its own net neutrality law until a final decision is reached concerning the FCC’s scrapping of Obama-era regulations. In December 2017, the FCC voted to get rid of the previous administration’s net neutrality rules, which classified broadband as a utility under Title II and set bright line rules regarding internet traffic. The FCC’s move became official in June 2018, but the agency was beset by numerous lawsuits from various groups, including 22
T-Mobile says Dish is hoarding spectrum, urges FCC to do something about it
TmoNews Oct 27 09:45
T-Mobile says that Dish’s plan to build a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network by 2020 would only use around 2 percent of its 95MHz of …
Technology company announces new board chairman
Business Observer Oct 25 16:35
The independent authority established a single nationwide public safety broadband network for first responders to have voice and data …
FCC Fines for Misuse of Public Safety Radio Communications
In Compliance Oct 25 09:35
Hinson reportedly later told law enforcement officials that he had made the two unauthorized transmissions from a mobile radio in his personal vehicle.
One in seven people on Earth now connected through broadband
MediaNama.com Oct 25 06:45
There were 81.3 million narrowband connections in the country, a number which has been on the decline, possibly as more people switch to …