D Block reauction may be pushed into 2009

Jul 17, 2008 4:23 PM, By Donny Jackson

An additional layer of comments regarding rulemaking for the 700 MHz D Block will make it difficult for the FCC to auction the spectrum this year as proposed...

Exalt announces deployment with New York county

Jul 16, 2008 5:29 PM, By Donny Jackson

Wireless-backhaul vendor Exalt Communication yesterday announced that Orleans County, N.Y., has deployed its 4.9 GHz solution to replace a microwave system that the county opted to discontinue after less than a year of usage....

Sprint Nextel tweaks its interleaved-channel request

Jul 11, 2008 12:19 PM, By Donny Jackson

Sprint Nextel altered its proposal for clearing interleaved channels as part of 800 MHz rebanding but told the FCC this week that a recent public-safety proposal could disrupt the carrier’s iDEN network services a year from now....

Hughes Telematics partners with Intrado for in-vehicle 911

Jul 9, 2008 5:30 PM, By Donny Jackson

Hughes Telematics yesterday announced an exclusive partnership with Intrado to provide emergency call-center services and route appropriate in-vehicle calls to the nearest public-safety answering point (PSAP) in the 911 network....

IAFC releases interim report on digital radios

Jul 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Donny Jackson

Difficulties associated with digital-radio communications in a fireground environment could require several changes, including FCC reconsideration of its narrowbanding plans below 512 MHz...

Expand Networks' technology deployed by Air Force

Jun 30, 2008 2:08 PM, By Mary Rose Roberts

Expand Networks announced today that its wireless accelerators are part of the U.S. Air Force’s airborne battle-management platform, or Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) beyond-line-of-sight communication system, for application acceleration and bandwidth optimization....

Buffalo PD installs video surveillance system, catches perps

Jun 27, 2008 11:03 AM, By Mary Rose Roberts

Buffalo, N.Y., citizens now have an extra layer of security with the installation of wireless surveillance cameras throughout the city....

Public safety responds to Sprint Nextel waiver request

Jun 24, 2008 5:16 PM, By Donny Jackson

Three key public-safety organizations today filed a joint letter with the FCC indicating that they would agree with a portion of Sprint Nextel’s proposal to vacate its interleaved channels in the 800 MHz band in stages....

APCO, NENA seek changes in PSST

Jun 24, 2008 2:50 PM, By Donny Jackson

Two of the highest-profile public-safety-communications organizations have asked the FCC to change the governance of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST)...

Sprint Nextel gets one rebanding waiver, seeks another

Jun 20, 2008 10:01 AM, By Donny Jackson

Wireless carrier Sprint Nextel this week received notice from the FCC that it has received an expected waiver from completing rebanding as originally scheduled next week and asked the agency to provide it relief from a deadline regarding other 800 MHz frequencies that a federal court recently upheld....

FCC approves rebanding waivers

Jun 18, 2008 1:38 PM, By Donny Jackson

As expected, the FCC yesterday granted more than 500 waivers to NPSPAC licensees seeking relief from the commission’s original June 26 deadline for the completion of 800 MHz rebanding....

Senate passes 911 bill

Jun 17, 2008 4:45 PM, By Donny Jackson

U.S. senators yesterday passed legislation designed to help public-safety answering points (PSAPs) migrate to next-generation 911 by clarifying some policy issues that have been considered barriers to the transition....

Sprint says public safety will benefit from proposed WiMAX venture

Jun 17, 2008 3:39 PM, By Glenn Bischoff

Sprint Nextel said in a recent FCC filing that the new company being formed in partnership with Clearwire not only is expected to provide wireless broadband services via WiMAX technology at data speeds up to 6 Mb/s to American consumers but also to public-safety agencies and educational institutions....

Motorola to cut 150 jobs with R&D restructuring

Jun 16, 2008 5:38 PM, By Donny Jackson

Motorola has announced a research-and-development (R&D) restructuring as part of its strategic review process that is expected to result in 150 job cuts, according to a company spokeswoman...

Genesis lands large UK contract

Jun 13, 2008 12:39 PM, By Donny Jackson

Airwave, operator of a Motorola TETRA system serving public-safety organizations throughout the United Kingdom, this week confirmed that it has contracted with The Genesis Group to use the Texas-based company’s network-management software solutions in its network...

Memorylink sues Motorola over video streaming technology

Jun 11, 2008 2:40 PM, By Mary Rose Roberts

Wireless broadband technology provider Memorylink filed suit this week against Motorola charging the company breached a memorandum of understanding contract concerning a proprietary wireless video-streaming technology....

Positron launches new CAD system

Jun 11, 2008 12:43 PM, By Donny Jackson

TAMPA--Positron Public Safety Systems announced VIPER CAD, its new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system that features a flexible, scalable architecture and a unique user interface, at the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) annual conference this week....

Arch Rock unveils OEM version of wireless networking suite

Jun 10, 2008 4:19 PM, By Mary Rose Roberts

Arch Rock today unveiled an original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, version of its IP-based PhyNet technology suite that now can be embedded into third-party sensing and control devices for the public safety, utility and municipal sectors...

OnStar says slowdown feature will be on 2009 model vehicles

Jun 10, 2008 1:00 PM, By Donny Jackson

TAMPA--Production will begin next month on General Motors vehicles that will include a remote-slowdown feature that is designed to prevent unnecessary high-speed chases in the event that the vehicle is stolen, officials for OnStar said yesterday during a demonstration of the capability...

Transition to next-gen 911 filled with challenges

Jun 10, 2008 12:58 PM, By Donny Jackson

TAMPA--Specifications outlining what next-generation 911 systems will look like are expected to be completed this year, but it could be another year before similar documents are available that describe the migratory path legacy public safety answering points (PSAPs) should take to reach next-generation status. So said panelists speaking yesterday at the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) annual conference...