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Too Early for LMR vs. FirstNet Rhetoric: It appears as though the more public safety agencies join FirstNet the more those following the progress as “outsiders” (not public safety personnel) are making noises about how FirstNet will “soon” become the only public safety network needed. It is not clear why vendors, pundits, and researchers are pushing this model. It is clear why elected officials in Congress, the states, and local jurisdictions are promoting the one network approach: They want to stop funding existing Land Mobile Radio systems (LMR) that are currently the nearest thing public safety has to mission-critical networks. Further, some in Congress seem to believe LMR spectrum below 470 MHz can be auctioned for lots of money. I am not sure why some think LMR spectrum is so valuable when it has already been proven that the T-Band 470-512 MHz spectrum used by public safety in eleven major metro areas is not worth much when it comes to auctions. If we continue to allow those who believe giving up the LMR spectrum and putting all of the public safety community onto a single radio system is both the most prudent and economical way forward, we are missing the real issue: What, exactly, are the public safety community’s requirements (not our view but theirs)? We need to let those using the communications networks decide what and where one or both networks will be needed. As I have said before, simply because a technology appears to be ready for prime time, unless it is something the public safety community believes it can trust lives to, it won’t be adopted as the only public safety network regardless of what others say. I bring this subject up because of the number of related sessions and panels at the recent IWCE conference in Orlando, articles in the trade press, and planned for the upcoming PSCR event in San Diego, the APCO conference in Las Vegas in August, the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP), and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). Technology in the United States, at least, has a tendency to get out ahead of the need or is looked at by those whose smartphone is bonded to their hand, that everything needed in the way of communications can be found either on the smartphone or over the network that powers it. Yet the reality is that while FirstNet is making great strides there are still some limitations with LTE and FirstNet that have not been solved or that have, perhaps, been solved but have not been proven in real-world testing and operation. Read the Entire Post Here JEMS.com Apr 19 04:45 For many years, I’ve been talking to my fellow paramedics and colleagues in EMS about the promise of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network. There were a lot of whens and ifs and we expect in those discussions. Today, it’s exciting to no longer have to say this groundbreaking … Agri-Pulse Apr 18 16:45 Among the benefits he listed from e-connectivity are precision agriculture, telemedicine, distance education, and improvements to public safety. Pai, meanwhile, assured the audience that expanding e-connectivity to the entire country remains one of his top priorities. Representatives from five partner … Urgent Communications Apr 18 10:16 … it proceeds with building the nationwide public-safety broadband network for FirstNet, according to an AT&T spokesperson. This better supports our existing network, as well as building out new macro and small-cell sites, the AT&T spokesperson said in an e-mail to IWCE’s Urgent Communications. MissionCritical Apr 18 10:03 In a public notice, the FCC disseminated lessons learned from major network outages and reminded communications service providers to review industry best practices to ensure network reliability. The commission also touted its new network reliability page on its website to help ensure that network providers, public-safety entities and the public can readily find the FCC’s work in promoting industry best practices. read more MissionCritical Apr 18 10:03 The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Association (FNA) announced three new initiatives to boost membership. read more Wired: Epicenter Apr 18 09:39 An FCC program promised to bring high-speed internet to remote schools. Instead, they’ve mostly gotten red tape. Multichannel News Apr 18 00:20 The FCC also asks whether and what particular rules should apply to the auctions, such as prohibiting certain communications, for example. The 5G auctions will be the first since the broadcast incentive auction freed up TV spectrum for wireless broadband. Clyburn’s less-than-enthusiastic support … Urgent Communications Apr 12 12:35 For example, we audited and verified testing of public safety-focused features and functions of wireless devices currently published on the NIST list. This includes Band 14 functionality when applicable, FirstNet UICC [universal integrated circuit card] or SIM functionality, as well as functionality with the … Kdminer Apr 12 09:45 The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials is honoring thousands of women and men who work the phones for public safety agencies this week. They’re our lifeline, for sure, Undersheriff Ed Trafecanty said. Even when I was on boat patrol, I had the utmost respect for them. They have … Markets Insider Apr 19 11:45 … he acted as president and Chairman of the Board for the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), which represents 11,000 fire chiefs internationally and was the primary fire service representative to lobby for the historic legislation that created the first national broadband network for public safety … ITbriefing.net Apr 19 10:50 Raipur, India, April 19, 2018 — Narrowband IoT Chipset Market to Reach US$ 287 Million by 2023. Report Sellers has added a new market research report Narrowband IoT Chipset – Global Market Outlook (2017-23) to its offerings. According to the report, Global Narrowband IoT Chipset Market is … AirMed and Rescue Magazine Apr 19 09:15 The companies will combine FLIR’s advanced thermal imagining payloads for UASs with DroneSense’s comprehensive solution for UAS first responders to enhance situational awareness, act as a force multiplier and help organisations to save more lives. This alliance with DroneSense will help bring to … The Internet of Business Apr 19 04:20 The Cumulocity IoT platform is an IoT-as-a-Service offering, which comes with multi-cluster deployment options. Features include code-free integration of devices supporting Low Power WAN (LPWAN) technologies used for long-term, low-bandwidth remote monitoring Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), … Computerworld Australia Apr 19 00:35 Earlier this year Fleet Space announced a partnership with Reekoh, and Australian developer and operator of a cloud-based IoT platform. Fleet Space said the partnership would see the integration of data from Fleet’s narrowband satellite communications with Reekoh’s enterprise IoT platform.. The Hustle Apr 18 18:45 The bad service is a big problem, and — as the FCC points out in its order — one that not only cuts families off from their city-slicker relatives, but also negatively impacts rural businesses, and can delay public safety communications. Yet, despite the FCC’s case resting on T-Mobile harming consumers, … The Hustle Apr 18 12:35 The bad service is a big problem, and as the FCC points out in its order one that not only cuts families off from their city-slicker relatives, but also negatively impacts rural businesses, and can delay public safety communications. Yet, despite the FCC’s case resting on T-Mobile harming consumers, … Boy Genius Report Apr 18 09:39 Brace yourself, because this might come as a shock: A former telecoms executive who was tapped to run the FCC’s rural broadband panel has been charged with a $250 million fraud scheme relating to her time running an Alaskan telecoms company. According to the Wall Street Journal , Elizabeth Ann Pierce was the CEO of Quintillion Networks LLC, a company that claimed it would run high-speed fiber-optic cables to Alaska, and use that capacity to offer high-speed service to businesses and resident Telecompaper Apr 18 08:25 Around 54 percent of telecommunications customers paying between MXN 501 and MXN 700 a month subscribed to triple-play plans with pay-TV, fixed broadband and mobile services at the end of 2017, up from 23.5 percent a year earlier, according to a report from regulator IFT. However, less than 6 … The Daily Caller Apr 17 23:35 Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States, specifically citing the public safety benefits of doing so. Last year, Craig Fugate, former head of the … Light Reading Apr 17 23:20 Google is asking the FCC for permission to hold more tests on 3.5GHz-based CBRS LTE-based services in Texas, which — beyond 2018 — could enable the shared mid-band spectrum to be used for localized multi-megabit public and private 4G broadband services, as well as expanding coverage for … Light Reading Apr 17 17:45 And calls may be delayed, inaudible, or labeled with an inaccurate caller ID. These call completion problems have serious economic and personal costs, and potentially threaten public safety in local communities. Today, the FCC adopted new measures and proposed others to better tackle the problem … RadioResource Media Group Apr 17 14:45 Earlier this month, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International questioned the validity of an analysis of unlicensed services in the 6 GHz band in discussions with FCC officials. Last October, several mission-critical communications groups submitted comments to the … Radio World Apr 17 12:15 The Federal Communication Commission wants fresh comments about how and whether to support multimedia content in Wireless Emergency Alert messages. Its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau noted recent steps taken to strengthen WEA including better geographical targeting; … FierceTelecom Apr 12 14:25 This streamlined process should not apply, however, to equipment that is not incidental to overlashed telecommunications lines, such as strand-mounted antennas and other RF-emitting devices, batteries, and power supplies, because such equipment is much more likely to present safety and load … In Compliance Apr 12 11:45 Other areas of potential focus include communications technologies critical to public safety, homeland security, healthcare, energy, education and transportation. The FCC says that those selected to participate in the Honors Engineering Program will be eligible for continued employment at the agency. Bloomberg Big Law Business Apr 12 10:45 Federal law prohibits operating broadcast radio or TV stations without an FCC license. Such operations can interfere with licensed broadcasters’ programming and public safety messages, the FCC says. Fighting unlawful broadcasts is a top enforcement priority for the FCC, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said … The Wellsboro Gazette Apr 12 09:40 In 2017, Pennsylvania opted into the deployment of the interoperable Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, Smith said. The network will be available through a public-private partnership with FirstNet and AT&T to provide the first reliable broadband network for first responders acrross the state, … wtip.org Apr 12 09:16 … the broadband network, which many say has been set aside for public safety. It’s worth pointing out, specifically for the Gunflint Trail area, that when not in use for emergencies, AT&T can use it for commercial business. This, simply put, means people can use the network for their personal cell phones. Techdirt Corporate Intelligence Apr 12 08:13 Last year, FCC boss Ajit Pai repeatedly hyped the creation of a new “Broadband Deployment Advisory Council” (BDAC) purportedly tasked with coming up with solutions to the nation’s broadband problem. Unfortunately, reports just as quickly began to circulate that this panel was little more than a who’s who of entrenched telecom operators with a vested interest in protecting the status quo. What’s more, the panel featured few representatives from the countless towns and cities… TechNode Apr 12 01:50 China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology last year began allowing operators to deploy narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) technology, which enables devices that use small amounts of data to communicate almost anywhere, over the GSM band. There were over 888 million people .. |
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