Government
SAFECOM Highlights Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Interoperable Emergency Communications
September 19, 2013The SMART program operates on a nationwide two-way radio network owned by private-sector communications company LightSquared. This public-private partnership is the result of an effort to provide critical, interoperable communications, and was spearheaded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI in 2007.
Read full articleNTIA Awards More SLIGP Grants to Assist FirstNet Planning
September 12, 2013The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) this week awarded grants under the State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP) to help in planning for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).
Read full articleFirstNet Hires TJ Kennedy as Deputy GM and Ed Parkinson for Government Affairs
July 31, 2013Kennedy is a seasoned public safety communications executive, joining FirstNet from Raytheon Co. Parkinson was a staff member for the House Homeland Security Committee and primarily worked on first responder telecommunications issues.
Read full articleU.S. & Canada Reach Agreement on Border Spectrum Sharing Arrangements
May 15, 2013The FCC and its Canadian counterpart, Industry Canada, have agreed, through a process known as an exchange of letters, on 10 interim spectrum sharing arrangements covering operations in their common border area.
Read full articleGeorgia Passes Law to Require Alarm Verification
May 2, 2013News for Georgia: HB 59 will be effective July 1, 2013, and will require alarm companies to use two-call verification when calling in an alarm activation.
Read full articleFormer Lobbyist, Tom Wheeler, Gets FCC Nod
May 1, 2013President Barack Obama on Wednesday tapped a veteran Democratic congressman to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency and a top fundraiser and former lobbyist to head up the Federal Communications Commission.
Read full articleFCC Exploring Whether Enhanced Emergency Communications Requirements Are Needed
April 9, 2013The Federal Communications Commission has launched a proceeding to examine possible new requirements on carriers’ networks in the wake of widespread problems reported regarding the availability of E9-1-1 communications in the event of a major disaster such as the June 2012 “derecho” storm.
Read full articleNew 800 MHz Band Plan for U.S.-Mexico Sharing Zone
April 2, 2013Improving Public Safety Communications in the 800 MHz Band
Read full articleChairman Julius Genachowski Announces He Will Step Down from The Federal Communications Commission in Coming Weeks
March 22, 2013Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced today that he will be stepping down from his post in the coming weeks. Nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2009, Genachowski has led the FCC during a time of rapid growth and transformative change in the Technology, Media & Telecommunications sector, particularly around broadband – high-speed Internet.
Read full articleFCC Takes Action to Ensure Reliability of Calls to 9-1-1 During Times of Emergency; Adopts Key Recommendations from Inquiry into Widespread 9-1-1 Failures During 2012 Derecho Storm
March 21, 2013The Federal Communications Commission today proposed action to improve the reliability and resiliency of America’s 9-1-1 communications networks, especially during disasters, by ensuring that service providers implement vital best practices in network design, maintenance, and operation. The Commission also proposed amending its rules to clarify how service providers can more effectively and uniformly notify 9-1-1 call centers of communications outages and cooperate to restore service as quickly as possible.
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