Feds, States in Rural Broadband Push. I recently saw a posting on Twitter from the governor of South Dakota announcing her state is requesting proposals to cover “all corners” of the state with broadband. By the time I saw the announcement, the time period for submitting proposals had passed but it started me thinking once again about rural broadband and FirstNet (Built with AT&T).
We all should know that when FirstNet was created by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the then President in February of 2012, one requirement called for the FirstNet organization to provide coverage to public safety agencies in rural America. When FirstNet the Authority issued its Request for Proposal (RFP), it stated that Band 14, the public safety broadband spectrum, was to be built out in metro and rural areas essentially at the same time. This was to ensure the winning bidder did not build out Band 14 only in metro areas where it could resell unused spectrum to recoup its costs and that Band 14 would be built out everywhere.
As it turned out, AT&T won the RFP and is not only building out Band 14 public safety, it is providing full pre-emptive access for public safety to all AT&T LTE spectrum. As we continue to conduct our drive tests and follow the build-out, it is clear this mandate is being followed by FirstNet (Built with AT&T). However, where Band 14 is available in rural areas, two things are being missed by those offering grants and loans to various organizations wanting to build out rural broadband.
As I have stated before, the number of different grants from different agencies within the federal government is staggering and they are all different. Some are outright grants, some are low-interest loans, and some are a mixture of the two. The grant applications are all different and most do not provide any ongoing funding for continued operation of the broadband services once the build has been completed. To my way of thinking, another issue is that many of these grants focus only on fiber to the business, house, or farm. Repeating myself, farmers would rather have wireless broadband covering their fields so they can continue to automate their machines and other devices. Read the Entire Column Here .
Here are the articles I have selected with the help of Discovery Patterns artificial intelligence
FirstNet surpasses 600K connections
RCR Wireless News May 7 12:55
AT&T executives have credited the FirstNet build-out with recent improvements in network performance rankings. CEO Randall Stephenson also said …
More than 600000 connections made under FirstNet platform
Homeland Preparedness News May 8 17:20
More than 600,000 devices used by more than 7,250 public-safety agencies have connected to the FirstNet communications platform. FirstNet is …
Pai Lays Out Plans for New Spectrum Auction, 5G Rollout
TV Technology May 8 15:25
In addition, Pai spoke as to why the FCC denied China Mobile USA’s application to provide international telecommunication services in the U.S., citing …
FCC Drone/Unmanned Aircraft Systems Policy
FC Cincinnati May 8 13:15
In the interest of public safety, privacy and security, please be advised that FCC prohibits any unauthorized media and/or individuals from operating …
CBRS Getting Closer; 800 MHz EB/GB Coordination Update; NIST Privacy Framework; Rural …
Lexology May 7 10:20
CBRS Getting Closer. On May 1 the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) concluded its testing stage of five Spectrum …
AT and T Adds IP Access to FirstNet Dealer Program
MissionCritical May 7 10:05
IP Access International joined AT&T’s First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Dealer Program. As a FirstNet dealer, IP Access International can now sell FirstNet services to eligible public-safety customers. read more
FirstNet Association Changes Name
MissionCritical May 7 10:05
The FirstNet Association changed its name to the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (PSBTA) to avoid confusion between the association and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). read more
GD e-Bridge Telemedicine App FirstNet Listed in App Catalog
MissionCritical May 2 10:05
General Devices (GD) announced that its GD e-Bridge application is now certified First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Listed and available via the FirstNet App Catalog. read more
May 1 Deadline for WEA Improvements
MissionCritical May 2 10:05
The FCC reminded commercial mobile service providers participating in wireless emergency alerts (WEA) of their obligations beginning May 1. The carriers must now support longer WEA messages, from 90 to 360 characters, for 4G and future networks and support a new class of alerts, called public-safety messages, to convey recommended actions for saving lives or property. read more
KT, Samsung to expand public safety LTE network coverage in South Korea
Telecompaper May 2 08:30
In addition, the two companies will provide what they call the world’s first narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) service through the PS-LTE network.
Chinese telecom carriers to conduct massive 5G tests
NEWS-DETAIL-CCTVPLUS May 9 05:25
Various of official from China Mobile making announcement about 5G planning 4. Officials of telecom carriers at 5G exhibition 5. Official from China …
Chinadaily USA May 9 05:25
Chinese companies lead in global 5G patent applications with Huawei …
A retrospective look at the future of communications: Dave George
The Internet Of All Things May 9 03:25
… primarily driven by the advent of FirstNet and other LTE networks. …
DNA Finand Tests Fixed 5G Broadband Service using 3.5GHz Frequency
The Fast Mode May 9 02:45
DNA Finand said it has been testing fixed 5G broadband service in Vantaa in a residential area with detached houses using the actual 3.5GHz 5G …
Waymo CTO: 5G will be a self-driving car ‘accelerator and enabler’
VentureBeat May 9 01:25
Waymo CTO Dmitri Dolgov thinks that 5G and next-generation cellular networks will be an enabler of the company’s autonomous car fleets, he told …
FCC Commissioner O’Rielly condemns government-led wholesale 5G proposal
FierceWireless May 8 22:00
Over the last few months, various ideas have been floated about the offering of 5G wireless services via a government-sponsored network, O’Rielly …
Telus CTO: 5G is Letting Us Down
Light Reading May 8 17:15
Above all, if the edge means deploying the telco cloud and IT resources at customer premises, such as a sports stadium, then where is what Gedeon …
Service Providers Look to Enterprises for 5G ROI
Light Reading May 8 16:55
But panelists said customized enterprise services offer a greater potential for revenue from 5G. These may include wireless control of robots on factory …
NIST is preparing recommendations for power companies to protect IIoT devices
HACKER NEWS May 8 16:10
Public discussion of the project will last until June 5 of this year. The National Cyber Center of Excellence (NCCoE) of the US National Institute of …
How Smart Cities Will Be Transformed by 5G Technology
Innovation & Tech Today May 8 16:00
While this may be tolerable for consumers, dropped signals are unacceptable for the mission-critical data in smart city IoT deployments.
Virgin Mobile invites customers to experience the power 5G
Tahawul Tech May 8 13:15
Virgin Mobile has announced that it is offering its customers the chance to be amongst the first to get connected on the new 5G network via a …
Cisco Newsroom May 8 13:00
What you need to know about the new wireless technology from Cisco’s Matt MacPherson and Greg Dorai. To learn more, check out how Wi-Fi 6 and …