Public Safety Advocate: Who Knows Best, PTT Update, FirstNet/LMR Interoperability

Who knows more about what public-safety and critical-communications users need? I think the answer has changed several times over the years, and today it is those within the public-safety community itself who best know which communications capabilities they need and which capabilities they would like to have.

Public-safety communications turned from landline to two-way radio starting in the 1920s and further matured in the 1930s. At that time, the main players in the public-safety communications arena were Link Communications and Motorola. Both companies provided radio equipment and technology during World War II, and when the war was over, they returned to the public-safety market where a number of significant advancements had been made…

FCC approves stay order to halt leasing rules for 4.9 GHz spectrum

FCC commissioners this week released an order that grants a request from the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA), indefinitely suspending the 4.9 GHz rules passed last year that would have let states lease the longtime public-safety spectrum to commercial entities.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington delivered the three supporting votes for the stay order, which will stay in place for an indefinite period of time while the commission deliberate on petitions for reconsideration for the 4.9 GHz order that was approved last fall. At that time, the Republican FCC led by Chairman Ajit Pai passed the measure in a 3-2 party-line vote…

 

Bipartisan bill would close ‘national security loophole’ exploited by Huawei

Bipartisan bill would close ‘national security loophole’ exploited by Huawei

The Next Generation of Dispatchers with Lori Henricksen | AEDR Journal

Lori Henricksen, director of the emergency telecommunications program for high schoolers at the Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy in Las Vegas (Nevada), discusses the creation of her program and the challenges it presents, as well as the benefits of training teenagers for careers in first response…

 

FirstNet Connects Tribal First Responders During Pandemic

By Adam Geisler, National Tribal Government Liaison, First Responder Network Authority

For the past year, the National Tribal Emergency Management Council (NTEMC)(link is external) has served as a critical lifeline to tribal nations battling the coronavirus. Responsible for leading the logistics and distribution of supplies for tribal nations in 35 states, NTEMC and sister non-profit Farmer Frog have delivered 38.5 million pounds of food and $7 million worth of personal protective equipment to tribes across the country.

This nationwide effort has been a massive undertaking for the non-profit, which traditionally helps tribes build sustainable emergency management programs. NTEMC established an incident command center in partnership with Farmer Frog to help manage operations. Tucked just north of Seattle in Woodinville, Washington, the center is situated in a remote area. While the location was considered ideal for serving the tribes, it was problematic in terms of communications.

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Leonardo and Ericsson partner to bring 5G benefits to public safety and industrial sectors

Leonardo and Ericsson partner to bring 5G benefits to public safety and industrial sectors

The collaboration agreement, which has an international scope, aims to drive solutions that enable industries to transform operations, increase safety and security, and deliver innovative products and services.

Emerging next-generation use and business cases will demand more reliable, higher performance wireless solutions from 4G and 5G mobile networks. The collaboration will see Ericsson and Leonardo sharing R&D capabilities and competences spanning cyber security, 5G networks and service evolution.

The  partnership will also address cyber security while threats are becoming more complex in particular for strategic critical infrastructures.

In certain specific projects and opportunities, the collaboration will also be open to communications service providers and other ecosystem partners…