Donny Jackson
FCC commissioners have voted unanimously to approve rules that mandate affected service providers submit Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) reports daily that outline network outages after a disaster and expands the requirement to include cable wireline, wireline and voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that DIRS has existed for more than a decade, […]
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Donny Jackson
FirstNet Authority board members today voted unanimously to fund the completion of the FirstNet system’s ability to deliver full 5G services to public-safety subscribers, although the exact amount of the investment and an implementation schedule were not shared immediately. “This investment will evolve FirstNet to full 5G capabilities and set us on a path to […]
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Donny Jackson
FirstNet provides more than 5.5 million connections to approximately 27,500 public-safety agencies subscribing to the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) as of the end of 2023, according to figures released yesterday by AT&T, the FirstNet Authority contractor tasked with building and maintaining the system. AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches noted the FirstNet adoptions as he highlighted […]
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Donny Jackson
AST SpaceMobile has announced key strategic investments from AT&T, Vodafone and Google that helped the satellite-direct-to-phone broadband provider generate more than $300 million in capital needed to finance significant deployment of its planned low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite constellation. “Being able to announce investment by AT&T, Google and Vodafone is humbling and a true testament to the […]
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Donny Jackson
Jason Mitchell, an associate director with the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team, and Calvin Jackson, a senior manager with the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team, talk about the Verizon Frontline Innovation Program introduced in January. An evolution of Verizon’s former 5G First Responder Lab, is designed to encourage partnerships between Verizon and vendors to develop […]
Donny Jackson
NATE President and CEO Todd Schlekeway outlines some key aspects of NATE Unite 2024–the communications-infrastructure contractor association’s annual event–which will be conducted Feb. 19-22 in Memphis, Tenn. In addition to tower-related training and regulatory content, the NATE Unite 2024 lineup include conference sessions that address new areas of business for NATE members beyond the […]
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A video update of Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, was shared by Elon Musk this week. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, the Tesla CEO wrote “going for a walk with Optimus.” In contrast to previous videos of the robot, Optimus is shown stripped of its external casing, instead displaying its wiring and gears. The demonstration is […]
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2023 marked yet another year of costly wildfires in various parts of the United States. In June, an investigation into the causes of the 2021 Marshall Fire — deemed the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history — had hundreds of litigants lining up to sue Xcel Energy for a dislodged power line that may have ignited part of […]
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As Fulton County in Georgia continues to experience a cyberattack and a power outage, government systems are offline, and it’s unknown when they’ll become operational again. Court filings, tax processing, and other services — including phone and Internet service, as well as the court system website — are reportedly also not functioning as usual. District Attorney Fani […]
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Paul Bremner
In this episode, we delve into the dynamic landscape of private networks with Shahid Ahmed, Group Executive Vice President at NTT Group. The discussion unfolds with an overview of private networks, their growing role in critical infrastructure, and their facilitation of LTE and 5G adoption. |
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| Paul Bremner In
this episode, we take a look at the year ahead and what we're expecting, or wanting, to see for the critical-communicaitons industry through 2024. We're joined by Ildefonso de la Cruz, Principal Analyst at Omdia; Donny Jackson, Editor at IWCE's Urgent Communications; and Erin LeMoine, Event Lead for IWCE. |
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The 3GPP Plenary meetings took place Dec. 11-15, 2023, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Participants made continued progress on Release 18 (R18) features of interest to public safety. The Plenary meetings also included planning for Release 19 (R19) features, and the start of preliminary discussions for Release 20 (R20). The FirstNet Authority served as an active participant […]
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We are 10 weeks away from welcoming 5,000 critical-communications professionals to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. What’s changed in the month since the last “All Things IWCE” column? It’s been a busy start to 2024. We’ll be welcoming more than 40 new sponsors and exhibitors to the show in March, including Carbyne, Panasonic, […]
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Donny Jackson
An official with the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) this week submitted a letter to the FCC expressing opposition to a Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) proposal asking the federal agency to award the FirstNet Authority with a nationwide license in the 4.9 GHz band. “Cal OES appreciates the PSSA’s efforts to preserve […]
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Donny Jackson
A criminal case against Hytera Communications for an alleged conspiracy to steal Motorola Solutions’ DMR trade secrets will not begin next month as originally planned, and may not be scheduled to start until at least the fall, if a federal judge grants the latest motion filed by Hytera. A U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) attorney […]
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Donny Jackson
FCC commissioners this month are scheduled to consider new rules regarding the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS) and the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS), as well as a proposal seeking comments whether FirstNet should have reporting obligations and whether deployable coverage should be reported. Under the proposed new rules, all cable, wireless, wireline and interconnected […]
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Donny Jackson
Public-safety and business-industrial land-mobile-radio (LMR) licensing continued near historically low levels during 2023 but did not establish any new records, according to figures available in the FCC’s online Universal Licensing System (ULS) database. In the public-safety space, FCC officials received 3,029 LMR licensing applications during 2023, with 2,999 of them being granted as of today, […]
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