Government
PSST Authorizes Chairman to Apply for PLMN-ID for Network
August 18, 2011The Public Safety Spectrum Trust’s board of directors today endorsed a position statement adopted by the Association of Public-Safety Communications…
Read full articleFCC Chair Outlines Steps to Accelerate Adoption of NG9-1-1
August 11, 2011The plan for a nationwide broadband network for public safety, NG9-1-1 and funding issues were at the top of the…
Read full articleWorking Toward Interoperability
August 10, 2011“I’m proud to report that our association his healthy and strong,” said APCO International Interim Executive Director Mark Cannon, during the Second General Business Session on Aug. 9. The meeting turned into event, with a presentation from FCC Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau Chief James Arden Barnett Jr.
Read full articleAPCO International Adopts Position on Single PLMN-ID for Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Wireless Network
August 9, 2011APCO believes a single public land mobile network identification (PLMN-ID) should be used for the nationwide public safety broadband wireless…
Read full articleLightSquared Squares Off Against Andy Seybold
August 9, 2011On Aug. 8, during a session at APCO International’s Conference, LightSquared squared off against Andy Seybold in a presentation attended by about 40 people. Geoffrey Stearn, vice president of spectrum development at LightSquared, addressed the concerns regarding its network’s interference with GPS, attempting to dispel the “myths.”
Read full articleEshoo Pushes Funding Bill so 9-1-1 Dispatchers Can Accept Photos, Videos & Text Messages
August 4, 2011Someday soon, a person whose house is being robbed will be able to text 911 for help while hiding inside a closet or send police dispatchers a cellphone video of the thief driving away. As a group of Peninsula cities are moving to implement “Next-Generation 9-1-1” systems that allow emergency dispatch centers to accept photos, videos and text messages that have become standard fare for many cellphone users, Rep. Anna Eshoo is working to advance the systems on a national level.
Read full articleFCC Announces Spectrum-Sharing Agreements with Canada & Mexico
August 2, 2011WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FCC has reached arrangements with Industry Canada and Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation for sharing commercial wireless broadband spectrum in the 700 MHz band along the U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican border areas.
Read full articleFCC Accuracy Requirements for Wireless Carriers
July 29, 2011In its Second Report and Order dated Sept. 23, 2010, the FCC adopted new rules governing the accuracy of location information provided by wireless carriers to PSAPs.[1] There’s much good news in this order. One of the best aspects will require accuracy measurements from the county or PSAP geographic level. Prior to this, carriers had said they wanted to average accuracy levels over larger regional areas. In these cases, large cities where carriers could supply high-accuracy levels would skew the results for rural counties. Not all the news is good, however.
Read full articleMaine EMA Director Tells U.S. Senate Committee Emergency Communications in Maine Is ‘Relatively Healthy’
July 29, 2011The director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency told a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday that emergency communications in the state have improved since the terrorist attacks of 2011, thanks in large part to federal funding.
Read full articleIndustry Experts Join PSA Leadership for a Discussion on Wireless Spectrum and Public Safety
July 25, 2011WASHINGTON, D.C. — On July 28, just two months in advance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Public Safety Alliance will hold a discussion on wireless spectrim and public safety that will shed light on the importance of building a 20 MHz nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network immediately from technical, operational and economic perspectives.
Read full article