D Block reauction may be pushed into 2009 

By: 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...

Sprint Nextel tweaks its interleaved-channel request 

By: 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....

IAFC releases interim report on digital radios 

By: 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...

Public safety responds to Sprint Nextel waiver request 

By: 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 

By: 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 

By: 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 

By: 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 

By: 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....

Memorylink sues Motorola over video streaming technology 

By: 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....

Transition to next-gen 911 filled with challenges 

By: 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...

Updated: FEMA assumes key role in emergency-alert system 

By: By Glenn Bischoff

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced last week that it would perform the unified aggregator/gateway role for the fledgling Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) after all. The system, mandated by the Warning, Alert and Response Network (WARN) Act, would provide the framework for commercial wireless carriers to send text alerts to their customers during emergencies...

CTIA celebrates Wireless Safety Week 

By: By Donny Jackson

Wireless communications such as text messaging are more than a tool for social interaction, they can be used to save lives and help prevent criminal activity—a message commercial wireless trade association CTIA is emphasizing as the organization celebrates Wireless Safety Week this week...

Sprint Nextel seeks license update for rebanding 

By: By Donny Jackson

Sprint Nextel this week asked the FCC to update its spectrum licenses to complete channel swaps with NPSPAC licensees in several areas of the country as part of the 800 MHz rebanding process...

Comment period begins on D Block 

By: By Donny Jackson

The FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the fate of the 10 MHz D Block was published in the Federal Register this week, which officially started the comment period on the open-ended item that seeks input on a number of issues regarding plans for public safety in the 700 MHz band...

Harman proposes PSST funding bill 

By: By Donny Jackson

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) yesterday introduced legislation that would authorize as much as $2 million in grants to the 700 MHz public-safety broadband licensee—currently the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST)—during 2009 and 2010 to pay its operating costs incurred while pursuing a public-private partnership with the winner of the D Block auction for a nationwide network...