Public Safety Advocate: Did You Know?
Public Safety FirstNet (Built with AT&T); Existing and New Radio Systems Most of you know why the public safety community worked so hard for the spectrum and some money to…
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Public Safety Advocate: Still Undecided about Joining FirstNet?
Today there are more than 4 million users on the FirstNet network representing 23K+ agencies. If your agency has not yet joined FirstNet, here are some things to think about….
Public Safety Advocate: January 2022 to January 2023, What Was Done, What Was Not
I have to admit that from year to year I have been overly optimistic about the status of various technologies needed by public safety. Upon learning where they rank, I…
Public Safety Advocate: Back to Three-Part Series—Wireless Networks and Devices for Public Safety
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday regardless of what you celebrated and now you are rejuvenated and ready to return to work. As Advocate readers may recall, toward the…
Public Safety Advocate: FirstNet Only, LMR Only, or Both
Those who read last week’s Advocate are expecting the third article of the series in which I outline current and future devices for public safety covering Land Mobile Radio (LMR), LMR multichannel,…
Public Safety Advocate: Communications Devices for Public Safety (Part 2 of 3)
Last week we spent our time examining networks, some of the functions that are necessary, and how networks are being expanded to add flexibility to the FirstNet network. This week…
Public Safety Advocate: Communications Hubs and Devices for Public Safety (Part 1)
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and remembered to thank those who worked through the holiday to keep us safe. What Is a Communications Hub? Descriptions found in Google…
Public Safety Advocate: Already November 2022, What Is Still Missing from FirstNet?
FirstNet was created in 2012 and in early 2017, the FirstNet Authority awarded a contract to AT&T to build, maintain, and manage what was to become the first and only…
Public Safety Advocate: Good News; From One-To-One to One-To-Many
It’s always nice to be able to start an Advocate with good news, especially for both FirstNet and the public safety community. FirstNet (Built with AT&T) updated its subscriber numbers as follows:…
Public Safety Advocate: Part 2 — Wireless Networks and Devices for Public Safety, Even PTT Part 2
Last week in Part 1 of this Advocate, I covered a lot of history and hopefully provided insight into how long public safety has been looking for more good voice service….
Public Safety Advocate: Part 1 – Wireless Networks and Devices for Public Safety, Even PTT
Now for something different… This Advocate will be published in two parts starting this week and finishing next week. This first part features some history of LMR, other forms of…
Public Safety Advocate: Hurricane Ian and Public Safety Communications, the Rest of the Story; Vision Summit 2022; FirstNet Authority Search for CEO
After doing serious damage to Puerto Rico, which still has no power, hurricane Ian hit the west coast of Florida last week and then moved east across Florida and up…
Public Safety Advocate: Push-To-Talk Is Public Safety’s Lifeline
At the time the Public Safety Alliance (PSA) set its sights on acquiring spectrum and some funding for a nationwide broadband network, most Members of Congress and their staffers had…
Public Safety Advocate: FCC Receiver NOI; Will Broadband Replace LMR? (Yet Again)
All Things FirstNet continues with ‘The Best of Andy’ 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…
Public Safety Advocate: FCC 4.9 GHz Reply Comments; FirstNet Authority and FirstNet (Built with AT&T)–Still Being Confused; Broadband/LMR PTT Nationwide Interoperability–Still Waiting
Unfortunately Andy is still unable to write his Public Safety Advocate. Therefore, once again, ATFN staff is posting “The Best of Andy” past articles. As you saw, last week we…