I will be out of the office on Friday so sending this out Thursday evening. FirstNet has a busy month, they, of course have all of the comments for the RFP to review, the Financial committee of the Board of Directors has a meeting to start on next year’s budget, the Board of Directors has a special meeting on August 17, and there is an industry day at FirstNet headquarters the afternoon of August 27, 2015. I will be attending this meeting and listening very closely to the questions asked and the answers given.
Also this month is the APCO National Convention which will be held in DC starting on August 16, 2015. APCO seems to favor August and the hottest places they can find to host a conference, the only explanation I have is that this makes the price they have to pay for the facility a lot less and therefore they can offer more room to the vendors and attendees. Timing may be everything.
I mentioned a while ago that I was concerned that the 600 MHz TV spectrum auctions which are scheduled for March of 2016 might impact who bids on the RFP to partner with FirstNet in exchange for use of their secondary spectrum. Some who also follow these happenings think that watching the early results of the auctions may, in fact, forecast if the network operators will bid on the FirstNet RFP. However, from my perspective the 600 MHz auctions will still be going on when the FirstNet RFP is due. I am not expecting this auction to shed much light on who might or might not partner with FirstNet.
I will be at the APCO Conference in DC, as well as the FirstNet event on the 27th of August. I hope to see you at one or both of these events. In the meantime I want to thank all of you, this list keeps getting larger and larger and the subscribers read like a who’s who of not only the Public Safety industry but also the Federal Government, States, vendors and of course those of you who use a different email so that your name and organization will remain hidden. But in any event I appreciate the feed-back I get from you, we all have a common goal and that is to make FirstNet successful! Andy
FirstNet fills key technical jobs, posts additional positions – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Aug 6 15:45 To date, that standards workfunded by FirstNethas been headed by Andrew Thiessen of the Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) …
Huge stakes involved in FCC’s spectrum auction rules – PCWorld via Google Alerts Aug 6 06:10 The 600MHz band TV spectrum is in a low band optimal for sending mobile broadband signals over long distances, meaning fewer expensive cell towers are needed, and Verizon and AT&T together control more than 70 percent of …
Rivada Network – Productivity Commission via Google Alerts Aug 6 04:25 Response to the Productivity Commission’s Technical Questions. Public Safety Mobile Broadband, Issues Paper www.rivada.com. Page 1 of 6.
Texas County Working to Be First in Nation With Public-Safety Broadband Network – Governing via Google Alerts Aug 5 19:45 Someday in the not-too-distant future, first responders may be able to livestream video, vital signs and EKG results while en route with a patient to the …
Wheeler points to 600 MHz for ‘5G coverage layer,’ promises to study spectrum above 6 GHz – FierceWireless via Google Alerts Aug 5 16:21 The FCC currently expects to auction 600 MHz spectrum for mobile broadband sometime next year. The auction is contingent on getting TV …
FCC Announces Workshop To Promote Wider Use Of The Emergency Alert System – Wireless Developer Network via Google Alerts Aug 4 17:50 Washington, DC – The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal …
Arizona FirstNet terminates deals with multiple contractors – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Aug 4 17:45 … Arizona’s single point of contact (SPOC) to FirstNet, the federal authority charged with deploying a nationwide broadband network for public safety.
Railroad Police Item Circulated at FCC – National Public Safety Telecommunications Council – NPSTC via Google Alerts Aug 4 16:45 A draft notice of proposed rulemaking circulated recently proposes to amend the FCC’s part 90 rules to enable railroad police officers to access public …
Chicago LTE pilot tests real-time video for police – GCN.com via Google Alerts Aug 4 15:45 In Chicago, public safety organizations are testing an LTE broadband network to see how well it can transmit data and video in a high-density urban …
FirstNet sets finance meeting for Aug. 6, special board meeting for Aug. 17, Industry Day for Aug. 27 – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Aug 4 15:10 … recent draft-RFP process and stakeholders will be allowed to ask questions about plans to deploy a nationwide broadband network for public safety.
Innovative Research Helps Emergency Responders Better Communicate While Indoors – FirstNet via Google Alerts Aug 4 05:40 … nationwide public safety broadband network it’s been tasked with deploying. …
Wireless Carriers and Text Messaging Providers Should Check PSAP Registry for Text-to-911 … – JD Supra via Google Alerts Jul 31 13:50 In the notice, the FCC said that the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (the Bureau) will no longer announce updates to the Text-to-911 …
CCA urges FirstNet to take ‘granular’ approach to broadband network – Benton Foundation via Google Alerts Jul 31 13:45 … to speed deployment of the nation’s first public safety broadband network. …
FCC to Host Workshop Promoting Wider Use of EAS – TV Technology via Google Alerts Jul 31 01:45 WASHINGTON The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will host a workshop …
Connecticut Statewide Emergency Radio Network 700 Mhz – Scan New England via Google Alerts Jul 31 00:35 updated list of TGs I have logged Show changes Click here to visit Wiki page.
T-Mobile’s Legere open to partnering with Google, Comcast as more firms get into mobile – FierceWireless via Google Alerts Jul 30 19:00 T-Mobile executives said they expected the continued deployment of 700 MHz spectrum to improve network performance and lead to lower churn.
Announcements – Mabas via Google Alerts Jul 30 04:55 This network could replace your wireless Data services you are using today. More information on the FirstNet initiative can be found here www.FirstNet.Illinois.gov. The ITTF Public Safety Broadband Working Group is in need of …
FCC might finally start judging broadband on more than speed – The Verge via Google Alerts Aug 6 16:21 The commission explains why it thinks these changes are important in a news release: “Americans increasingly use both fixed and mobile broadband, …
Chamber Of Commerce Asks Court To Nix Net Neutrality Rules – MediaPost Communications via Google Alerts Aug 6 15:55 The organizations are urging the appellate court to invalidate the FCC’s open Internet order, which reclassifies broadband service as a public utility …
FCC to give company funds to expand internet speeds in Alabama – xmlpush Aug 6 09:15 One Arkansas-based company will be receiving funds from the Federal Communications Commission to expand high-speed internet service in rural areas of Alabama. Windstream Communications Inc. will offer broadband internet and support about 3,800 customers in rural parts of Alabama, according to a report from the Associated Press. Windstream will be on the receiving end of $511,000 in annual, continuing support. Nine counties around central Alabama are expected to receive additional service. The…
NTIA holds UAS privacy stakeholder meeting – UAS Magazine via Google Alerts Aug 6 01:45 The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has held its first drone privacy stakeholder meeting. Previously, the NTIA worked on …
SceneDoc to Present at APCO Conference and Expo, Will Address Emerging Technologies and … – Storage via Google Alerts Aug 5 22:50 The APCO Conference and Expo is recognized as the largest event for the public safety communications industry and will be attended by more than …
FCC to Hold EAS Workshop August 27 – National Public Safety Telecommunications Council – NPSTC via Google Alerts Aug 5 20:45 The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security and Consumer and Governmental Affairs bureaus plan to hold a workshop Aug. 27 on promoting the …
Motorola Solutions at APCO 2015 – Motorola Solutions via Google Alerts Aug 5 19:08 APCO 2015 is the premier event for public safety communications officials, and Motorola Solutions will be on the show floor to keep you updated with …
Complaining to the FCC May Lower Your Broadband Bill – DSL Reports via Google Alerts Aug 5 16:00 Complaining to the FCC could save you money on your broadband bill. Ever since the agency passed new net neutrality rules, we’ve seen numerous …
Unlicensed Spectrum Needs No New FCC Regulation – Somewhat Reasonable – Heartland Institute via Google Alerts Aug 5 14:45 FCC, which held that broadband providers ‘furnish a service’ to edge …
ICANN Proposal: Internet With Less US Oversight – InformationWeek via Google Alerts Aug 5 09:45 … in response to an announcement last year by the US Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Black & Veatch acquires RCC Consultants, eyes growth via FirstNet and planning for public safety … – FierceInstaller via Google Alerts Aug 5 04:55 … consulting firm that provides consulting and planning services for public safety and other networks. …
NTIA Multistakeholder Process For Unmanned Aircraft Systems Takes Flight – HL Chronicle of Data Protection via Google Alerts Aug 5 01:21 Home > Privacy & Security Litigation > NTIA Multistakeholder Process For Unmanned Aircraft Systems Takes Flight. Posted on August 4th, 2015 By …
FirstNet: Coming in 2017 – Inside Towers via Google Alerts Aug 4 20:55 Seybold discussed FirstNet, the first nationwide wireless broadband network for emergency and public safety communications.
Residents troubled by relaxed limits on cellular installations – La Jolla Light via Google Alerts Aug 4 18:00 Ostensibly, the purpose of the Spectrum Act, May said, was to develop and fund FirstNet, a network of communications technology for first …
FCC Announces Workshop To Promote Wider Use Of The Emergency Alert System – Spatial News via Google Alerts Aug 4 14:45 Washington, DC – The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau of the Federal …
US court to hear lawsuits over ‘net neutrality’ in December – Yahoo Canada Sports via Google Alerts Aug 4 13:15 4 in lawsuits that challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s “net neutrality” rules, which prevent broadband providers from blocking or …
Chief Technology Officer, First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) – ITBrander via Google Alerts Aug 4 13:00 The CTO supports current and future operational environments with technology solutions to support FirstNet’s strategic mission…
Telecom Giants Get Their Day in Court Against FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules – Billboard via Google Alerts Aug 4 12:22 … that reclassifying mobile broadband as a common carrier violates years of FCC policy holding that mobile broadband is an information service and …
Crowding Out Broadcasters? – TV Technology via Google Alerts Aug 4 12:10 The FCC proposal that carves out a channel for wireless mics and white-space devices may also shove TV stations into the wireless broadband …
Global Narrowband Land Mobile Radio Industry 2015 Market Research Report – SoForce via Google Alerts Aug 4 06:50 Global Narrowband Land Mobile Radio Market Size, Share, Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies And …
TeleCommunication Systems Launches Lynx Line of Portable Routers for Connected Public … – Telecom Signaling via Google Alerts Aug 4 04:45 … secure and rugged wireless broadband network solutions for mission-critical communications applications, such as public safety, law enforcement, …
Narrowband Land-Mobile Radio Networks (Artech House Mobile Communications Library) – ecigarettereviewed.org via Google Alerts Aug 4 02:50 Get Instant Access to eBook Narrowband Land-Mobile Radio Networks (Artech House Mobile Communications Library) PDF at Our PDF L.
FCC task force suggests NG911 funding model that includes fees for broadband connections – American City & County via Google Alerts Aug 3 15:35 … charged to broadband connectionsis needed to ensure that public-safety …
Net neutrality hasn’t stalled investment after all – Boston Globe via Google Alerts Aug 3 02:05 Since the FCC restored net neutrality protections, we’ve seen Comcast, the nation’s largest broadband provider, begin to roll out 2-gigabit fiber …
CTIA, AT&T Argue Open Internet Rules Unlawful, Arbitrary – Wireless Week via Google Alerts Jul 31 11:55 The filing says the FCC did not “seriously discuss” reclassifying mobile broadband under Title II, noting that there were just three sentences in the …
ISPs File First Formal Legal Briefs in Fight Against Neutrality – DSL Reports via Google Alerts Jul 31 11:10 “America’s global mobile leadership is at risk under the FCC’s heavy-handed net neutrality rules on wireless broadband,” the CTIA complained in a …
Time Warner Cable Shed 45,000 Subscribers in Second Quarter – Advertising Age Jul 31 05:01 Time Warner Cable, awaiting regulatory clearance to merge with Charter Communications, posted second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as program, sales and marketing costs rose. The cable company shed 45,000 video subscribers, its smallest second-quarter loss since 2008, to end the quarter with 10.8 million TV customers. It added 172,000 residential broadband users. This is the first earnings report since Time Warner Cable agreed to be acquired by Charter Communications for $55.1 billion, creating the second-largest cable and broadband provider in the U.S, with 24 million customers. The deal, which needs approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the…
T-Mobile invests $1.2 billion as LTE Capex in Q2 2015 – Telecom Lead via Google Alerts Jul 30 09:45 T-Mobile is deploying Wideband LTE, while at the same time rolling out 4G LTE on its 700 MHz A-Block and 1900 MHz PCS spectrum. Wideband LTE …
IPSC: FirstNet Focus Groups – IN.gov via Google Alerts Jul 30 04:55 Indiana is currently working with the First Responder Network (FirstNet) to plan for a dedicated national public safety broadband network.In order to …