by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 25, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
LAS VEGAS—Perceived primarily as a data-centric network, FirstNet connectivity is gaining traction as a mission-critical-voice alternative to traditional land-mobile-radio (LMR) technology, as speakers during IWCE 2022 conference sessions have noted this week.
Push-to-talk (PTT) solution ESChat was one of the first applications included in the FirstNet App Catalog when it was established years ago, but all forms of PTT over FirstNet primarily have been used as augmentations to LMR systems, which has been a foundation of public-safety communication for more than 60 years. But that situation is changing, with multiple entities this week unveiling plans to use PTT over FirstNet for their primary mission-critical voice communications while shuttering aging LMR networks that would have required costly upgrades…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 24, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
Executive Mosaic is honored to recognize Jason Porter, president of public sector and FirstNet at AT&T, as a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient, for leading significant company growth as FirstNet has been able to reach over 99 percent of the U.S. population and 95 percent Band 14 coverage in just the last five years.
In addition, Porter has received the most prestigious award in government contracting (GovCon) for driving 5G capabilities for federal agencies as well as the education market, and his focus on supporting and delivering mission-centric products for public safety entities. Visit Wash100.com to cast a vote for Jason Porter as one of your TEN votes to advocate for your favorite leaders in the federal and GovCon sectors.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 23, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
The work-from-home evolution sparked by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic two years ago wasn’t just limited to the commercial sector; many telecommunicators also found themselves suddenly logging in from the couch.
“The pandemic has caused more of a need for remote and backup dispatch operations,” said Jack Kelly, vice president of Catalyst Communications Technologies, a company that facilitates radio over internet protocol communications. He was speaking at a talk titled “Work from home alternatives for dispatchers—What the pandemic taught us” at this year’s 2022 International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), held this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. The expo started Monday and will continue through Thursday…
by ECC Editor | Mar 22, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
Come July, Americans experiencing a mental health crisis can press three digits on their phones, “9-8-8,” and reach the suicide prevention hotline.
The vision: The new, easy-to-use number is being billed as the “911” for mental health care. It’s a dramatic revamp of the system that builds on the current crisis line, where Americans can call, text or online chat call centers nationwide and receive counseling. The ultimate goal is to be able to dispatch mobile crisis teams immediately to anyone in need, no matter where they live… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 17, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
We will be attending the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) trade show next week so there won’t be time to publish an issue of the Advocate. We will be back the following week and share our take on IWCE 2022.
Last September, IWCE held a “placeholder” conference. It was a good event with many great educational sessions, but the exhibit area was very small as was the crowd. Even so, IWCE 2021 was the best it could have been given the pandemic conditions at the time…
by AllThingsECC.com | Mar 16, 2022 | Articles, Comm Center News
While cybersecurity is a growing concern in this day and age, general public safety and good ol’ physical security should not fall to the wayside, as these areas will easily benefit from technological gains in the years to come.
Communications are key to public safety
Effective communication avenues are an area that is often taken for granted when it comes to public safety. Emergency services need to be able to communicate instantly and securely among teams, especially during a crisis, where frontliners need clear instruction and direction from dispatchers or their commanding officers to properly coordinate effective and strategic use of their services…
