First this week, an item that has nothing to do with Public Safety, but it is an example of what has happened to customer service, especially in the wireless Industry. I recently went online to order a new DirecTV Genie device so we could watch DirecTV in a third room. I could not find the price, so I clicked on chat and a nice person (or perhaps a smart bot) came on the line and asked what I wanted. When I explained that I wanted to purchase another Genie receiver to add to my existing DirecTV system I was told that I would have to call the 800-number. So I called the number, went through a bunch of automatic voice prompts and inputs on my part, and then went to hold for 15 minutes. When I finally got a real person she told me she was not the right person and she would transfer me to the correct person. The call was then disconnected. At that point I gave up. I decided it was not worth the effort to contribute to an increase in DirecTV’s monthly revenue when it apparently did not want to rent or sell me the box. I cite this instance not only because AT&T now owns DirecTV but also because most of us have been caught in similar telephone nightmares before and will be again. I don’t have the time or the energy to cope with such nonsense when all I want to do is place an order!

Now, on to the Public Safety and wireless news of the week. The first item is that FirstNet announced and then published its new and revised Appendix 7 (https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=39caa36578fa8af2ee4c289cc9a325a7&_cview=0). I opened the spreadsheet version of the file and right away I wanted to sort it in a different manner but the file is protected so I cannot re-arrange how the tasks are listed. I am hoping that the email I sent to FirstNet will result in a way to accomplish this. Between now and the end of the year when the final RFP is due out, I expect to see many revised documents released based on the input FirstNet received during the draft RFP comment period.

I am sure FirstNet is trying hard to provide us with the best possible RFP to ensure that there will be a number of interested parties responding, but as I have said before, the existing wording does not seem to provide the flexibility that the FirstNet C level executives really want to give bidders to be creative and to offer up solutions that might differ in some ways from the RFP. So the question now is if a company bids on the RFP but takes exception to a number of the requirements and requests a meeting to discuss alternatives, will it be given the opportunity or simply be dismissed as being non-compliant?

Soon there will be a new flavor of LTE or 4th-generation broadband and it will be known as narrowband LTE. (I’m not sure but it sounds like narrowband broadband!) We are told it will be perfect for IoT (Internet of Things). This is confusing to me since IoT used to be called Machine-to-Machine or M2M communications and was pioneered by companies such as Aeris, a Silicon Valley startup that is either still around or has been reincarnated. It had a great series of products and offered them using slow 1G and 2G cellular systems even when the network operators were not interested in the business. In those days we talked about there being more machines than people in the world but the commercial operators were very lukewarm about getting into the M2M business. Today it is a big business, enabling machines to communicate over existing wireless networks, moving small amounts of data around under the radar so to speak.

It has taken a long time but now that it is yet again the “next big thing,” it is only proper that we have a new type of communications media for it. So watch out for NB-LTE coming to a standards body near you soon. There are already a dozen or more ways to transmit small data segments using 2G and 3G, which at some point will go away, replaced by LTE, but there are also Land Mobile Radio systems that transmit and receive data at speeds up to 34 Kbps. The object of NB-LTE is to make it more affordable, easy on the battery, and capable of sending small amounts of data at slower speeds like we did using RAM Mobile Data, Ardis, and even CDPD in the 1980s and 1990s. But it is new, it is exciting, and it is now! Just goes to show that even narrowband systems are being developed using broadband technology instead of simply using existing narrowband technology. Go figure! Have a great weekend, Andy

Wireless Hall of Fame inducts four – Network World via Google Alerts Sep 15 23:25 She currently serves as chairwoman of FirstNet, which is building a nationwide LTE network for police, firefighters and other emergency responders.

FirstNet Updates Operational Architecture – National Public Safety Telecommunications Council – NPSTC via Google Alerts Sep 14 21:15 The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) today released an updated operational architecture in response to comments and other feedback it …

Ericsson, Intel, Nokia Back Narrowband LTE for IoT – Wireless and Networking World via Google Alerts Sep 17 04:00 One week before the proposals for narrowband LTE (NB-LTE) are to be voted by 3GPP RAN group meeting, Ericsson AB, Intel and Nokia have …

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Telecommunications and Information Administration … – s3.amazonaws.com via Google Alerts Sep 16 22:15 SUMMARY: The Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) will convene an open public …

Public safety group advises states on how to fund Next Generation 911 – Fierce Mobile Government via Google Alerts Sep 16 16:21 The Federal Communications Commission-led effort to modernize public safety communications as more calls are received by mobile phone than …

Ultra Wideband Wireless Communication Systems Under Narrowband Interference and Noisy … – TezPDF via Google Alerts Sep 16 05:55 : Ultra Wideband Wireless Communication Systems Under Narrowband Interference and Noisy Environments .

Sprint Serves Mobile Broadband to the LAPD – ABI Research via Google Alerts Sep 16 04:11 by Joe Hoffman. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) completes the rollout of 250 of the 860 phase-one body cam deployments, accompanied …

Ron Smith Talks the Realities of the Market for Smaller Carriers – Wireless Week via Google Alerts Sep 16 02:10 The industry has become four technology and business ecosystem silos driven by the 700 MHz LTE bands. While interoperability will be required …

Telstra announces voice calls over 4G LTE data network – The Australian via Google Alerts Sep 16 02:10 The 4GX network is an amalgam of the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz networks along with the 700 MHz spectrum Telstra bought at auction in 2013 for $1.3 …

FCC: Net neutrality rules don’t violate ISPs’ First Amendment rights. FCC defends net neutrality … – GEGO NEWS via Google Alerts Sep 15 19:15 FCC defends net neutrality rules against lawsuit filed by broadband industry. by cm | Sep 15, 2015 | Uncategorized | 0 comments. submitted by speckz

Where will FirstNet be next 9/11? – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Sep 15 17:10 … 2012 legislation to establish a nationwide public-safety network that provides interoperability between all first-responder entities known as FirstNet.

NB LTE: new connectivity technology suitable for the Internet of Things – UnlockPwd via Google Alerts Sep 15 15:25 Nokia Ericsson and Intel announced their participation in the development of Narrow-Band technology Long Term Evolution (LTE-NB) .

September 15, 2015 | New drone bill heads for Brown’s desk – Palm Springs Newswire via Google Alerts Sep 15 13:10 There was no choice except to ground the firefighting aircraft because we can’t put our first responders’ lives at risk, Obernolte said, calling it an …

Eyewitness News anchor Bill Ritter reflects on the 14th anniversary of 9/11 – WABC-TV via Google Alerts Sep 11 01:05 I’m talking about the first responders – those incredibly brave men and women who rushed to Ground Zero. The ones who survived stayed, sometimes …

FirstNet teams up with 911 Community – Pulstar via Google Alerts Sep 10 05:11 NENA and FirstNet, the first high-speed nationwide wireless broadband network provider dedicated to public safety, are helping lead efforts that will …

T-Mobile Lights Up Greater Miami Area with Extended Range LTE – Business Wire Sep 17 12:13 MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–T-Mobile US, Inc. (NYSE: TMUS): What:       The Un-carrierâ„¢ today confirmed its Extended Range LTE, or 700 MHz low band spectrum, which now carries T-Mobile’s LTE signals both farther and deeper indoors, is now live throughout Miami.   With a rapid deployment of a nationwide LTE footprint that reaches over 290 million Americans, “Magic City” is now lit up with T-Mobile’s best in-building coverage offering.   Extended Range LTE Coverage T-Mobile has been rolling out truck

CenturyLink expands gigabit FTTH footprint to six more states – Lightwave Sep 17 07:13 CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) says it now offers gigabit fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband services in parts of Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Mexico, North Carolina, and South Dakota. The footprint expansion brings to 17 the number of states in which CenturyLink offers gigabit FTTH. The service provider says it expects to have more than 700,000 households “enabled” with FTTH by the end of this year.

Part II: The FCC, Amtrak, and Spectrum Sharing – TMCnet via Google Alerts Sep 17 07:00 The FCC cares deeply about public safety and maintains a strong focus on ensuring that the telecommunications networks, both large and small, are …

IoT gets a new wireless technology backed by Intel, Nokia and Ericsson – MyInforms via Google Alerts Sep 17 02:30 IoT has a new wireless technology and it has influential supporters in Intel, Nokia and Ericsson. It is a narrowband version of 4G LTE, dubbed NB-LTE, …

FCC: Net neutrality rules don’t violate ISPs’ First Amendment rights. FCC defends net neutrality … – moomblr! via Google Alerts Sep 16 19:40 FCC: Net neutrality rules don’t violate ISPs’ First Amendment rights. FCC defends net neutrality rules against lawsuit filed by broadband industry.

Icasa seeks public input on radio frequency spectrum licensing – Engineering News Sep 16 03:00 The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has tabled an information memorandum for the licensing of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum for public comment. The memorandum aimed to provide guidance to prospective applicants surrounding the process and criteria for the licensing of the radio frequency spectrum licences within the 2.6 GHz, 800 MHz and 700 MHz bands for the provision of national broadband wireless access services.

Is The FCC A Partisan Or Expert Agency? – Forbes via Google Alerts Sep 15 17:55 However, its recent conclusion that imposing public utility-style regulations on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would work to increase broadband …

Calling All Network Engineers and Computer Scientists: Help Defend Net Neutrality – EFF via Google Alerts Sep 15 05:22 Back in March the FCC released an Order that would prevent broadband ISPs from blocking, throttling, or interfering with their retail customers’ traffic …

How the Pundits & FCC Commissioner Pai Got It Wrong — Fiber Optics Are ‘Title II’; Customers are … – Huffington Post via Google Alerts Sep 15 02:05 Let me uncover some facts about Verizon’s use of Title II and broadband …

JerseyNet Offers First Glimpse of FirstNet – Government Technology News Sep 14 17:30 The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is learning to walk. For the past few years, industry pundits have questioned the organization’s ability to meet its goal of building a nationwide, interoperable first-responder network; to keep pace with a fast-evolving wireless industry; to coordinate with hundreds of conservative public safety agencies around the U.S.; to navigate the bureaucratic mud; or even to maintain a stable executive leadership structure. All bets are off – FirstNet may become…

Mutualink, IP Access Team to Provide New Disaster Resilient Interoperable Communications … – HSToday via Google Alerts Sep 14 13:20 … can use any Internet-enabled connection to reach the network, including wired, wireless, FirstNet and satellite-based broadband connectivity.

Public Safety Answering Point Training – inshomegarden.gq – Home & Garden High Quality Images Gallery of 2015 via Google Alerts Sep 11 08:50 APCO Webcast: Public Safety Quality Assurance Best Practices and Tools. Related Images. The Kestrel, designed by the DRDO was unveiled …