Technology
Radio Plays an Important Role in Our Lives
September 21, 2011Radio remains accessible when other modes of communication go down in emergencies. … Disaster communication ultimately hinges on a surefire signal that’s accessible, and radio provides this. As we pick ourselves up and prepare for what might come our way next, it is important that our lawmakers safeguard radio’s incomparable link to public safety.
Read full articleKanawha County, W.Va., Hopes to Patch Gaps in 9-1-1 Radio System
September 15, 2011Kanawha County spent between $3 million and $4 million on digital radios for fire departments around the county in 2008, but coverage gaps are keeping most departments from using the equipment.
Read full articleNationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative
September 1, 2011Every day, law enforcement officers at all levels of government—state, local, tribal and federal—observe suspicious behaviors or receive reports from concerned civilians, private security and other government agencies about behaviors that could have a potential nexus to terrorism. Until recently, this information was generally stored at the local level and shared within the agency—or, at the most, regionally shared—as part of an incident reporting system. Enter the Nationwide SAR Initiative.
Read full articleEFJohnson Awarded Order from Wise County for $1.5 Million Radio System
September 1, 2011IRVING, Texas – August 29, 2011 – EF Johnson Technologies, Inc., one of the nation’s leading developers and manufacturers of…
Read full articlePublic Safety Communications Announces First-Ever People’s Choice Award
August 18, 2011DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.: Public Safety Communications (PSC), a monthly publication published by Elsevier Public Safety on behalf of the Association…
Read full articleNew Digital Radio System Lets Palm Beach Dispatchers Vocalize Info More Quickly
August 16, 2011PALM BEACH, Fla. — Gone are the old analog radios and scanners, available for years at Radio Shack. Palm Beach police now talk to each other on a digital telecommunications system called OpenSky, and Fire-Rescue will soon do the same. While some communities are feuding over its quality, Palm Beach is pleased with the OpenSky system’s performance, officials here said.
Read full article10 Years Later, N.Y. Responders Communicate Better
August 10, 2011Sept. 11 was a convergence of the worst possible problems in communication technology — a jammed commercial network made cell phone use impossible. Police and firefighter radio networks were not compatible. But the main problem, the FDNY says, was the damage done to infrastructure called repeaters, which made radio signals work at the twin towers. That left many commanders and firefighters unable to talk to each other. Firefighters in the stairwells couldn’t hear the evacuation order and as a result, 343 died.
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 articleL.A. County Starting over on Emergency Communications System
August 1, 2011LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of millions in federal funds are at risk and years of planning are scrapped over concerns that the project’s nearly completed contract violates state rules on how it must be structured and awarded.
Read full articleCounties Will Save $3 Million on 9-1-1 Switch
August 1, 2011WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — Westmoreland County and two of its neighbors won’t have to pick up the tab on implementation of a new switching system for the 9-1-1 emergency dispatch system, and as a result, each will save nearly $1 million.
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