Urgent Communications

Morgan O'Brien reflects on dismissed bid for nationwide FirstNet contract, potential for public safety

Oct 31, 2016

Morgan O'Brien, the co-founder of Nextel Communications who proposed the notion of a nationwide public-safety broadband network a decade ago, explains the processes involved in the development of a proposal by Code3 Broadband—a consortium led by pdvWireless, of which O'Brien is vice chairman—for...

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Is FirstNet obsolete before being built? APCO certainly doesn't think so.
Don’t be too quick to judge New Hampshire harshly for signing deal with Rivada 4
Last week, New Hampshire signed an agreement with Rivada Networks to build the RAN...
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Ohio officials gave high marks to situational-awareness applications operating on a...

Latest Multimedia

Latest Headlines

Oct 31, 2016

Article

Urgent Communications

Arizona changes deadline for public-safety LTE proposals to Nov. 30

Arizona postpones until Nov. 30 the deadline for vendors to submit bids for the state’s request for proposals (RFP) to build a public-safety LTE radio access network (RAN), and another postponement is a “very good possibility,” if FirstNet has not announced its nationwide award by late November, according to a state official....More

Oct 27, 2016

Article

FirstNet contractor will not be announced by Nov. 1 target date, according to FirstNet CEO Poth

FirstNet has made “significant progress” in the evaluation of proposals from bidding teams vying for the right to build and maintain a nationwide public-safety broadband network, but procurement process will extend “beyond the Nov. 1 target date for the award,” FirstNet CEO Mike Poth wrote in a blog published today....More

Oct 27, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

JVCKENWOOD USA announces radio series support for DMR, as well as NXDN and P25 protocols

JVCKENWOOD USA this week announced that support for DMR Tier II has been added to its NX-5000 Series mobile and portable radios, which the are the industry’s first radios capable of operating in three digital protocols—NXDN, P25 Phase I and Phase II, and DMR Tier II—according to the company....More

Oct 25, 2016

Commentary

Latest DDoS attack exposes significant security vulnerability associated with some IoT devices 1

Last Friday's distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that caused significant web-site outages throughout the U.S. should be a wakeup call to the tech industry, as lackluster security on many Internet of Things (IoT) devices is being cited as a key reason the attack was possible....More

Oct 25, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

Alabama delays timeline for statewide public-safety LTE procurement until after national FirstNet announcement

State of Alabama officials have decided to extend the deadline for vendors to submit proposals to build a statewide public-safety LTE radio access network (RAN) that would be integrated with the national FirstNet system, if the governor chooses to pursue the opt-out alternative to FirstNet deploying the system within the state’s borders. The new submission deadline is 15 business days after the announcement of the FirstNet nationwide award....More

Oct 25, 2016

News

Newscan: New Jersey took $1.4 billion from customers’ phone bills for a new 911 system but never delivered

Web Roundup Items from other news organizations New Jersey took $1.4 billion from customers’ phone bills for a new 911 system but never delivered How hackers carried out the DDoS cyberattack with DVRs and cameras...More

Oct 24, 2016

News

FirstNet Leadership to Present Opening Remarks at Penton’s IWCE’s Critical LTE Communications Forum on November 2 in Chicago

FirstNet Leaders to provide an update on its nationwide public-safety broadband network at Forum....More

Oct 20, 2016

Commentary

What the elimination of pdvWireless may indicate about the timing of the overall FirstNet project

Just two weeks before FirstNet's target date of Nov. 1 to announce the winning contractor, pdvWireless disclosed that its bidding team is no longer in contention. A review of federal procurement rules reveals that the notification also may indicate that Nov. 1 is not a realistic date to unveil the contractor—and that's OK, as long as the procurement is executed properly....More

Oct 19, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

pdvWireless dropped from FirstNet consideration

pdvWireless, one of three publicly confirmed companies leading a bidding team that was vying for the right to build FirstNet’s nationwide network for public safety, this week received official written notice that its proposal no longer is being considered for the FirstNet award, according to the company’s latest SEC filing....More

Oct 17, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

L.R. Kimball’s public-safety-communications unit becomes part of Federal Engineering

Federal Engineering announces that it has bolstered its expertise—particularly in the area of 911 consulting—with the addition of L.R Kimball’s public-safety-communications practice to the firm via an agreement with CDI Infrastructure, which owned L.R. Kimball previously....More

Oct 18, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

ESChat announces plans to support 3GPP mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) functionality in future versions of product

Push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) provider ESChat announces plans to develop Mission Critical ESChat (MC-ESChat), which will provide “full compliance” with the new 3GPPP mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) standard as it evolves during the next few years....More

Oct 18, 2016

News

Newscan: Pentagon confronts a new threat from ISIS: Exploding drones

Web Roundup Items from other news organizations Pentagon confronts a new threat from ISIS: Exploding drones Verizon using drones to inspect cell sites in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew...More

Oct 13, 2016

Commentary

Some in-building policy coordination today could reap big communications benefits in the future 1

If in-building efforts and reliability standards can be aligned effectively, the potential impact for both public-safety and commercial communications could be tremendous....More

Oct 13, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

SceneDoc upgrades solution to include e-citation functionality

SceneDoc announces the availability of SceneDoc V4.1, the latest upgrade to its application solution that lets officers process electronic citations (e-citations) from commercially available smartphones and tablets, not just laptops and purpose-built devices dedicated to the task....More

Oct 11, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

Rivada will not bid on state RFPs until FirstNet announces nationwide contractor, co-CEO Ganley says

Rivada Networks and Rivada Mercury will not consider submitting bids in response to any current or future state requests for proposals (RFPs) to build public-safety LTE radio access networks (RANs) until after FirstNet announces the winner of its nationwide RFP sometime next month, according to Rivada Networks co-CEO Declan Ganley....More

Oct 11, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

West’s Safety Services selected to develop and operate database to enhance 911 caller-location data for PSAPs

West’s Safety Services has been chosen to operate and maintain the 911 National Emergency Address Database (NEAD) platform, which will include the location of Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth beacons that can be used to determine the location of 911 callers, even when calling from a cell phone inside of a building....More

Oct 6, 2016

Commentary

State RFPs for FirstNet highlight intriguing issues for public safety’s 700 MHz narrowband spectrum 1

Many in public safety have expressed resistance to the notion that some states are exploring the notion of migrating 700 MHz public-safety narrowband spectrum to broadband use, citing legitimate concerns. But the reality is that public safety needs to examine all options to better utilize this band, or it could risk losing this very valuable spectrum....More

Oct 6, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

FCC privacy proposal would not alter law-enforcement practices, official says 1

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler circulates proposed rules that are designed to protect consumers’ privacy rights in association with their Internet service providers (ISPs), but the proposal would not impact law-enforcement surveillance or investigation efforts, according to a senior FCC official....More

Oct 4, 2016

Commentary

How should states prepare for FirstNet opt-out decision? 2

Most states have not taken any formal actions to prepare for the FirstNet opt-out decisions that their governors are expected to make next year. There is a lot to consider, and approaches can vary dramatically—a fact that is evident in the three state requests for proposals (RFPs) that have been released to date....More

Oct 4, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

PTT-over-cellular improvements could impact new private LMR network builds within five years, speakers say

Advancements in push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) services have evolved to a point where they represent a threat to private land-mobile-radio (LMR) networks, potentially resulting in the construction of new LMR networks dwindling noticeably during the next five years, two speakers said during a recent webinar about PoC offerings....More

Sep 28, 2016

News

Urgent Communications

Arizona becomes third state to issue RFP for statewide public-safety LTE network

The state of Arizona releases a request for proposal (RFP) seeking bids to build and maintain a statewide public-safety LTE radio access network (RAN), if the state opts out of the FirstNet nationwide broadband system for first responders....More

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Oct 13, 2016

APCO 2016 Coverage

Download the latest eZine from IWCE's Urgent Communications....More

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Aug 3, 2016

Education

Urgent Communications

NXDN

Hear from NXDN expert, Mark Jordan as he describes its capabilities, where it is currently being used, and how to make the most out of your current system for future challenges....More

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Featured White Paper

Oct 31, 2016

White Paper

Urgent Communications

Redline Communications: Smart City Wireless Connectivity

Smart meter technology provides utilities with significant operational and customer service benefits. In 2014, Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) began deploying an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)...More

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