Selling public safety on broadband network might be tougher than expectedBy: By Glenn Bischoff ORLANDO--There is little question that the proposed nationwide public safety wireless broadband network for first responders will deliver capabilities—by leveraging next-generation commercial technologies—to first responders in the field that previously were the stuff of fantasy. However, based on the discussion today at the IWCE-MRT Wireless Summit, proponents of the network will have some work to do to convince first responders those capabilities not only are needed but also worth the monthly user fees they’ll have to pay to access the network... Poarch: Financial benefits of national public-safety network could be enormousBy: By Glenn Bischoff ORLANDO--While most in the public-safety community are focused on the exciting applications that will be available to first responders in the field once the 700 MHz high-speed network is deployed several years from now, there might be another benefit that officials will find just as exciting: far less expensive radios in the future. So said Derek Poarch, chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, speaking at today’s IWCE-MRT Summit... Sprint Nextel nixes WiMAX plans with ClearwireBy: By Donny Jackson In a blow to the WiMAX industry in the U.S., Sprint Nextel and Clearwire today terminated their letter of intent to jointly build and operate a nationwide mobile WiMAX network on the companies’ complementary 2.5 GHz spectrum assets... EFJohnson announces agreement with CiscoBy: By Donny Jackson Land-mobile-radio (LMR) manufacturer EFJohnson this week announced it is teaming with networking giant Cisco Systems to combine EFJohnson’s LMR solutions with Cisco’s IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS)... Cisco to buy mobile WiMAX firmBy: By Donny Jackson Cisco System this week announced its intent pay $330 million to acquire Navini Networks, a wireless broadband access equipment maker that boasts several WiMAX deployments and deployments of pre-standard mobile WiMAX technology... Burbank utility deploys Wi-Fi-enabled meters from SmartSynchBy: By Donny Jackson Municipally owned Burbank Water and Power in Burbank, Calif., this week announced it has started deployment of the world’s first Wi-Fi-enabled SmartMeters from Mississippi-based vendor SmartSynch to let the utility more efficiently manage its energy network and read meters automatically... Shared Spectrum secures funds to pursue public-safety applicationsBy: By Donny Jackson Cognitive-radio vendor Shared Spectrum this week announced that that it has been awarded funds from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop a multi-band cognitive radio system designed for public-safety use... Cisco targets government marketBy: By Donny Jackson Cisco Systems this week announced its Cisco Mobile Government solution, which is designed to give public-safety and government workers mobile access to high-speed applications via wireless connections in licensed and unlicensed bands... Magnolia Broadband prepares for large UK testBy: By Donny Jackson Magnolia Broadband’s DiversityPlus solution will be tested late this month or early in November by five of Europe’s largest carriers to determine if the technology can deliver promised gains in data rates, battery life and coverage on UMTS networks, Magnolia Broadband CEO Osmo Hautanen said... ShotSpotter partners with Tropos NetworksBy: By Mary Rose Roberts ShotSpotter announced yesterday that its Gunshot Location System (GLS) would be integrated with Tropos Networks’ Metro-Scale Wi-Fi Mesh solutions so municipalities can deploy a Wi-Fi mesh network that can simultaneously support the transmission of gunfire data to public-safety officials... Anchorage upgrades first responder networkBy: By Donny Jackson Harris Stratex Networks this week announced a deal with the city of Anchorage and Municipal Light and Power (ML&P) to upgrade microwave links in the Anchorage Wide Area Radio Network (AWARN) used by local fire, police and emergency services personnel... DHS launches radio-over-wireless-broadband pilotBy: By Donny Jackson A pilot designed to test ability to integrate new broadband technologies with existing public-safety two-way radio systems could provide information that could be helpful in the buildout of a proposed nationwide broadband wireless network in the 700 MHz band, a government official told MRT... M2Z Networks files suit to overturn FCC rulingBy: By Donny Jackson M2Z Networks has asked a federal appeals court to reverse a recent FCC ruling that denied the fledgling company 20 MHz of 2.1 GHz spectrum needed to make its vision of offering a free, family-friendly broadband wireless service nationwide a reality... Broadcom announces cheaper Wi-Fi chipBy: By Donny Jackson Broadcom this week announced a new low-cost wireless LAN solution that is designed to let manufacturers build smaller, more affordable Wi-Fi products, including products that operate in the 4.9 GHz band dedicated for public-safety use... APCO: Cisco demonstrates ability to link disparate devicesBy: By Glenn Bischoff BALTIMORE--Interoperability, which generally has been defined as the ability of radios operating on different technologies and frequencies to communicate with each other, has been the stated—and often elusive—goal of the public-safety sector for years. At this week’s Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials annual conference, Cisco Systems gave interoperability a twist by demonstrating the ability to link analog and digital two-way radios, voice over IP phones, wireline phones, wireless phones and satellite phones... |
advertisement More from Networks & SystemsNew York gives M/A-COM 45 days to fix first phase of statewide networkNY comptroller to M/A-COM on statewide network: 'Time to fish or cut bait'iRobot unveils robotic chassis for first-responder marketLots of work needed to make 700 MHz proposal a realityMyriad obstacles stand in the way of 911’s bright futureadvertisement Essential ReadingA corner turnedLet the buyer bewareWhen measurements aren't feasibleVerizon, AT&T both plan 2010 launch for LTE networksMotorola shuffles the deck |
