Those who have been reading the Advocate for any length of time know I rarely feature individuals in my articles but when I do, it is to impart information that is unique in some way. This first issue in May is written to tell you more about one of the people who made FirstNet possible and then joined the FirstNet Authority to serve as its CEO for almost nine years. Now he has decided to take his talents to the private sector to pursue a new opportunity.
Many articles have been written about Ed Parkinson this past week, but I have yet to see one that reaches back to when Ed was a staff member for the House of Representatives, Homeland Security Committee, Chaired by Representative King…
For almost a century, radios have been the primary means of communication within the public safety community, linking personnel to their dispatchers and each other. Since the advent of Project 25 (P25) more than 30 years ago, land mobile radio (LMR) systems have become interoperable and acquired a long list of enhanced features and capabilities. While designed primarily for group and individual voice services, LMR systems today offer end-to-end encryption and low-speed, non-broadband data applications for location services, over-the-air rekeying (OTAR), and limited data exchange. The Joint SAFECOM/National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) P25 User Needs Working Group (UNWG) developed the Land Mobile Radio (LMR)/Long Term Evolution (LTE) Integration: Best Practices whitepaper to share a snapshot of best practices and integration use cases identified by a variety of public safety members across the country during interviews conducted by P25 UNWG members and supported by CISA…
In 1993, Congress established the world’s first spectrum auction authority, empowering the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct bidding for radio frequency licenses. The innovation has exceeded expectations, earning Nobel prize recognition in 2020 and bringing $230 billion in revenue to the Treasury. The FCC has conducted over 100 auctions with the recent C-band earning more than a record $90 billion. These monies have been used for taxpayer relief, the FirstNet public safety communications network, and funding to the Department of Defense and other agencies…
Proximity Services (ProSe), first introduced in Release 12 of the 3GPP specifications, is a D2D (Device-to-Device) technology that allows LTE devices to detect each other and to communicate directly.
In comparison to existing D2D and proximity networking technologies, ProSe offers a number of distinct benefits including better scalability, manageability, privacy, security and battery-efficiency. Current efforts to commercialize ProSe are being spearheaded by the public safety and critical communications sector. However, although initial investments in ProSe-enabled devices will be driven by these two sectors, there also exists a much larger opportunity in the commercial arena. Mobile operators can leverage ProSe to offer a range of B2B, B2B2C and B2C services that rely on proximity, including advertising, social networking, gaming, relaying traffic for wearables and V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) connectivity, among others…
Welcome to the last Advocate for the month of April 2022. This month’s FirstNet (Built with AT&T) statistics as of the 22nd show two significant milestones have been reached: There are now 3.3M FirstNet connections and 20.5K+ agency subscribers.
The first topic that warrants a discussion this week is the FCC release of a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) for Receiver specifications. As you may know, there have been FCC rules for transmitters used in Land Mobile Radio (LMR) for many years. The purpose of these rules is to assure transmitters stay on their assigned channel and do not put out spurious emissions. Spurious emissions occur when the transmitted signal drifts from its licensed channel and spews out noise on either side of the channel…
First Responders Network Authority CEO Edward Parkinson is leaving his role in two weeks, for a position in the private sector.
The FirstNet Authority said that its deputy CEO, Lisa Casias, will step into the position of acting CEO as of May 10. FirstNet will conduct a search to select its next CEO.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the public safety community and deliver the communications network they’ve needed for so long,” said Parkinson…
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
