Well, as you are all well aware, I assume, the FCC yesterday passed the new Net Neutrality rules and to no one’s surprise the vote was 3 to 2 with the 2 dissenting votes being the minority party Commissioners. There are members of Congress who are already looking at changing the FCC’s new rules, and the industry seems to be divided between those who think that this is a great thing for the Internet and those who believe that this will hinder innovation and growth.

It may not seem like this whole debate is really of interest to the Public Safety community but it has far reaching effects regarding who is doing what with the Internet, Internet security, and capacity issues and all of our ability to access information when and where we need it.

Public Safety News is light this week mostly because of the Net Neutrality pushed a lot of other news stories off the page but FirstNet continues its push to move forward and meet all of its self-imposed deadlines. One news story that did not end up in our list of stories was the most recent Urgent Communications story written by Donny Jackson. This story is worth a read and it is worth reading all of it because of the comments of others quoted in the article which drives home some of the issues many within the Public Safety community, and myself, believe are hampering FirstNet’s ability to move forward faster. The story is here: http://urgentcomm.com/blog/three-years-after-its-creation-it-time-firstnet-begin-making-key-decisions Have a great week end! Andy
FCC approves net neutrality rules, classifies broadband as utility – Financial Express Feb 27 14:02 The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to regulate broadband Internet service…

Republican bill would overturn FCC municipal broadband decision – InfoWorld Feb 27 09:01 It didn’t take long for congressional Republicans to attack the Federal Communications Commission’s vote to strike down two state laws that prevent municipal broadband networks from expanding. Seven Republican lawmakers introduced a bill on Thursday, just hours after the FCC vote , that would prohibit the agency from preempting state laws that limit municipal broadband networks. The main sponsors of the bill are Representative Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee, and Senator Thom Tillis, of North Carolina. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Sonim Ultra-rugged, FirstNet-Ready Smartphones To Be Used in Denver-area Demonstration of … – Public Safety Communications – APCO International via Google Alerts Feb 27 02:30 Adams County is one of seven areas that have received federal grants to begin early deployments of a public safety LTE broadband network utilizing …

911’s deadly flaw: Lack of location data – Mansfield News Journal via Google Alerts Feb 27 01:31 David Simpson, chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, acknowledged the system is not capable of solving the problem …

Senator Asks FCC To Explain Its Involvement In The Proliferation Of Stingray Devices – Techdirt via Google Alerts Feb 26 18:20 … Commission (FCC), contingent upon the conditions that StingRay’s manufacturer sell these devices solely to federal, state, and local public safety …

Feds, FirstNet Build Public Safety LTE Network – PSCR via Google Alerts Feb 21 05:10 OEC had spent years helping Boston’s public safety community improve …

To Amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization ACT to … – Google Docs via Google Alerts Feb 21 00:45 To Amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization ACT to Facilitate the Reallocation of Spectrum from …

FirstNet putting safety first with all-LTE network – Cel-Fi via Google Alerts Feb 20 22:21 FirstNet, the U.S. public safety first-responder network, is upgrading to LTE across the board. This is a huge deal not only in terms of the dollar …

Czech TV will not expand DTT, waiting for 700 MHz strategy – Telecompaper via Google Alerts Feb 20 04:40 The company cannot invest in network development under unclear conditions. CT uses a capacity of 22 Mbps in the Regional network 7 (RS7) of the …

Why the Arizona Tech Council is against net neutrality – xmlpush Feb 27 14:30 The Federal Communications Commission’s ruling on adopting net neutrality has the Arizona Technology Council up in arms. The FCC voted 3-2 Feb. 26 to require broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic the same. The rules prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or degrading access to lawful content, or providing faster connections to websites that pay extra for this prioritization, according to American City Business Journal’s Washington Bureau Chief Kent Hoover. Arizona Technology…

Internet providers say FCC decision was unnecessary – New Haven Register via Google Alerts Feb 27 14:25 Thursday’s Federal Communications Commission decision to regulate Internet broadband services as a public utility was hailed by many as …

Republicans strike back: FCC member invokes Star Wars in net neutrality fight – Guardian Feb 27 14:01 Republican Ajit Pai quotes Emperor Palpatine, of Star Wars’s evil galactic empire, in attack on new broadband rules regulating the internet

11 Things Cities Should Know About the FCC’s Broadband Vote – Next City via Google Alerts Feb 27 13:25 Other cities governed by state restrictions are out of luck, for now. …

Ericsson Sues to Block Apple IPhone in US Amid Patent Spat – Techmeme via Google Alerts Feb 27 05:50 FCC enforces net neutrality, voting to regulate broadband providers as common carriers under Title II and ban paid fast lanes FCC votes for net …

FCC Preempts State Laws That Restrict Municipal Broadband Networks – Channel Partners via Google Alerts Feb 26 15:50 Taking a position favored by the Obama administration, the Federal …

Cellphone-Mate SureCall CM700A-32dB 700 MHz 4G LTE Direct Connect Signal Booster – Solid Signal via Google Alerts Feb 21 04:35 FEATURES. Single Band 700 MHz (4G-LTE Band). 32 dB Gain. Automatic Level Control to help prevent overload. Sophisticated power control …

FCC Net Neutrality Plan Won’t Lead To Broadband Price Regulation – Popist via Google Alerts Feb 21 04:26 FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler says his plan will specifically reject that power. Will the proposal built on reclassifying the Internet as a …

Patent Issued for Canceling Narrowband Interfering Signals in a Distributed Antenna System – ViralNewsChart via Google Alerts Feb 21 01:20 (4-traders.com) By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Journal of Engineering — A patent by the inventors Ranson, Christopher Goodman (Concord, …

RI lawmakers want to study, regulate drones – Providence Eyewitness News via Google Alerts Feb 20 22:55 Meantime, Rep. Gallison tells Eyewitness News he’s considering exceptions for law enforcement and first responders in his bill. If there’s someone in …

T-Mobile: FCC’s net neutrality rules won’t hurt our business – Ars Technica via Google Alerts Feb 20 10:45 The FCC plans to reclassify fixed and mobile broadband as a common …

Net Neutrality From Muskets To Megabits – Huffington Post Feb 20 08:30 On Feb. 26, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will do something that few have ever accused the government of doing. It will recognize reality and act appropriately. That, in a nutshell, is the debate over Net Neutrality. Just as plain telephone service connected people and was regulated, now it’s data services. Calls or video are all just megabits. Telephone companies couldn’t discriminate in their traffic then, neither should they or cable companies be able to play favorites or manipulate customers now. That basic, regulated fairness is what allowed the Internet to develop, a point some current opponents seem to miss,…

12 News Defenders: Can 911 find you? – WSFA via Google Alerts Feb 20 06:35 Meanwhile, the FCC is addressing the concern with the help of public safety organizations (APCO and NINA). Newly approved FCC rules will now …

Patent Issued for Canceling Narrowband Interfering Signals in a Distributed Antenna System – 4 Traders via Google Alerts Feb 20 03:20 Overdriving the receiver of a remote antenna unit can cause inter-modulation distortion, thereby degrading channels adjacent to a narrowband GSM …

T-Mobile Joins Sprint In Downplaying FCC’s Broadband Reclassification – Wall Street Journal via Google Alerts Feb 20 00:20 T-Mobile US Inc. said Thursday the regulatory reclassification of the Internet as a utility would not be an impediment to its business, aligning itself with …

The FCC rules against state limits on city-run Internet – Washington Post via Google Alerts Feb 26 19:35 Republican lawmakers have warned that FCC intervention on municipal broadband would be an example of government overreach. And other critics …