by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 29, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
The City of Chesapeake, Virginia, encompasses 353 square miles in the southeastern region of the Commonwealth, and it’s Bobby Gelormine’s job to make sure that the city is prepared to handle any emergency. As the Senior Planner for the Chesapeake Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Management, Gelormine helps the city plan for everything from hurricanes and flooding to terrorism and other man-made disasters. The city’s five police precincts and 15 fire stations are staffed by nearly a thousand public safety employees to protect its 240,000 citizens…
by ECC Editor | Sep 25, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
Members of a federal working group to guide the nation’s transition to an IP-based 911 system warned during a virtual event Wednesday that the emergency call system has a particularly large attack surface during this transitional period.
States and their emergency call centers have been upgrading their equipment and regional telecommunications infrastructure for several years in anticipation of next-generation 911, which will allow sharing of data like photos and videos… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 25, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to make more efficient use of the 4.9 GHz band, of which 50 megahertz was designated for public safety use back in 2002. But he’s facing opposition from a slew of public safety organizations.
The item, which is on the FCC’s open meeting agenda for September 30, would give states the right to lease 4.9 GHz spectrum to commercial entities, electric utilities and others. According to the chairman, only about 3.5% of potential licensees – or less than 1 out of 25 – are actually using the 4.9 GHz spectrum due to the licensing structure…
by ECC Editor | Sep 24, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
In an effort to prevent suicide deaths and help those struggling with mental health, the FCC said they are working to create a new nationwide, three digit phone number similar to 9-1-1 but instead it will be 9-8-8. It would be a way for those struggling to get direct help from professionals.
Federal authorities say suicide claimed the lives of more than 48,000 Americans in 2018… READ MORE
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 24, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
FirstNet One, recently completed its first real deployment providing public-safety communications, as the tethered the aerostat that acts as an LTE tower in the sky supported the response effort in Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, according to AT&T officials.
“This was our first field deployment in a real incident,” Tom Steele, AT&T’s director of strategy and operation for the FirstNet program, said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications…
by AllThingsECC.com | Sep 24, 2020 | Articles, Comm Center News
The United Kingdom press and some in the United States announced this week that the UK LTE broadband network for public safety that was to have been operational this year will not be ready for prime time until 2024 or 2025. Why is there a delay, when will it finally become live, and what will it offer the UK’s public-safety agencies?
First estimates for network operation were that the network would be ready in 2016, and then 2019. Both dates were missed and the Home Office signed an extension to continue to use the Tetra Airwave system with Motorola Solutions until 2022…
