Public Safety Advocate: UK Public-Safety Broadband Network Update
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…
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Public Safety Advocate: FirstNet and WiFi, FCC to License 4-9 GHz Spectrum to States
I have several things on my mind this week. The first concerns how WiFi fits into FirstNet communications. The second is the sudden decision by…
Public Safety Advocate: Why Is the FCC Rushing to Strip Public Safety of Vital Spectrum?
About 4.9-GHz Spectrum The 4.9-GHz band is 50 MHz of spectrum that was allocated to public safety in 2002 on the heels of the 9/11…
Public Safety Advocate: Why Are We Waiting for a PTT Interoperability Solution?
A number of committees are working toward solving both the Land Mobile Radio (LMR)/LTE Push-To-Talk (PTT) interoperability issues and LTE/LTE PTT interoperability issues. Meanwhile, the…
Public Safety Advocate: Off-Network Communications Revisited, Rural Broadband
Welcome to September, 2020. I wonder what else 2020 will throw our way. Ignited mostly by lightening, wildfires continue in California, Arizona, and other states,…
Public Safety Advocate: Communications—The Systems Approach
BFN (Before FirstNet) and before Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG911), the public-safety communications world was fairly organized. A few companies offered complete systems consisting of base stations,…
Public Safety Advocate: Feds Not Listening, New Products
There is a lot happening this month. Unfortunately, since Congress is taking its usual August break, there won’t be any further action to repeal the…
Public Safety Advocate: Meet the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA)
Those who have followed public-safety communications over the past dozen or so years probably know about the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) and the Public…
Public Safety Advocate: Congressional and FCC Missteps Keep Future Uncertain
In last week’s Advocate, I said one good thing had resulted from the pandemic because changing circumstances influenced more public-safety agencies to join the FirstNet network. I…
Public Safety Advocate: FirstNet—Stats and Contract Updates, Upgrade to 5G
Early in 2020 as we were learning about the pandemic and decisions were being made to work from home and for students to study from…
Public Safety Advocate: Throw-Back Thursday—July 26, 2010, Before FirstNet
While continuing research for my book on FirstNet, I happened across an Advocate published on July 26, 2010 entitled, “Mr. Seybold Goes to Washington.” I believe this…
Public Safety Advocate: FCC Starts Process to Auction the T-Band
Last week, the FCC issued Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) PS Docket No. 13-42 to implement Section 6103 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and…
Public Safety Advocate: P25 and MCPTT Feature Comparison
Over the years, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) has developed and published a large number of documents to provide Land Mobile Radio (LMR)…
Public Safety Advocate: FCC’s New Approach, FirstNet’s Future
This week’s Advocate opens with a discussion of a recent article in Urgent Communications based on statements made by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. “FCC officials are taking…
Public Safety Advocate: FirstNet—A Three-Way Partnership
When FirstNet was signed into law, The FirstNet Authority was created as an independent authority reporting to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) under…