Public Safety Advocate: Unanswered Questions
Last week I attended and moderated a panel at the IWCE LTE Communications forum in Dallas. The event was well attended, the panel sessions were very good and informative, and…
Last week I attended and moderated a panel at the IWCE LTE Communications forum in Dallas. The event was well attended, the panel sessions were very good and informative, and…
The law that created FirstNet is very clear when it comes to states and territories opting in or out of FirstNet. There are two ways to opt in: The governor…
The T-Band as it is referred to, is radio spectrum at 470 MHz to 512 MHz and in most of the United States, it is where TV channels 14-20 are…
As of today, 27 states and territories have opted in to FirstNet and it appears as though more are preparing to make the move. Once your state opts in, what…
States have until December 28, 2017, to decide to either opt in or opt out of FirstNet. There is a third option available, which is a passive opt in, meaning…
A number of people within the various states and the public safety community are not happy with the coverage AT&T/FirstNet is offering on day one. Perhaps if they had a…
Three major hurricanes in only a few weeks. First, Harvey hit Houston with a lot of wind and an unbelievable amount of rain. Then came Irma, which hit the islands…
As I am preparing a report on the commercial and public safety communications activities during and after Harvey, Irma, and now Maria, which was the worst of the batch, I…
The answer to the title of this week’s blog varies depending on whether you talk to the public safety community versus the technology community. However, you also need to factor…
AT&T recently stated at a congressional hearing that there was no “real” definition for the term, “Public Safety Grade.” The public safety community responded with disbelief, led by the National…
As FirstNet moves forward with more than twenty opt-ins, and the network begins to take shape, questions remain about the types of devices that will be needed and wanted by…
Mid-month August, Denver hosted the annual Public Safety Conference. While those elected to APCO’s executive offices seem to be moving APCO more toward dispatch and training in that area, the…
There still seems to be some confusion about how a state opting into FirstNet will impact the agencies within the state. AT&T has been awarded the FirstNet 25-year contract, a…
In The Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2012 the section known as Title VI created FirstNet and set out the rules for building a nationwide public safety broadband network…
This week’s PSA is based on a question I hear nearly every day. It started when AT&T won the FirstNet contract and offered up its own LTE networks in addition…