McCain, Lieberman make initial DTV move in the Senate 

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) today introduced legislation that would require television broadcasters to clear valuable 700 MHz spectrum for public-safety entities and other users by Jan. 1, 2009...

NAED honors top 911 dispatcher 

Julie Regier, a dispatcher for Austin-Travis (Texas) County EMS emergency dispatch, was honored as the first annual Dispatcher of the Year as selected by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch...

APCO to help train Afghanistan emergency communicators 

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials this week said that the Kabul City Police (KCP) Communications Center Working Group has selected the APCO Institute Public Safety Telecommunicator I course as the standard it will use for training Afghanistan's first public safety communications professionals. ...

Stevens’ FCC efforts foiled again 

Christine Kurth yesterday withdrew her name from consideration for an FCC appointment, marking the second time a candidate backed by powerful Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has opted against pursuing a position on the regulatory body....

House resolution seeks FCC reconsideration of BPL 

By Donny Jackson

ARRL, formerly known as the American Radio Relay League, this week expressed support for a proposed U.S. House of Representatives resolution that asks the FCC to “reconsider and review” its interference policies as they relate to broadband-over-powerline (BPL) deployments....

NENA president wants closer relationship with VoIP sector 

By Glenn Bischoff

CHICAGO--National Emergency Number Association (NENA) President Bill McMurray, speaking yesterday at the 2005 VoIP: Telephony conference, predicted that the FCC’s order requiring voice-over-IP providers to offer the same enhanced 911 services made available by wireline and wireless carriers ultimately would result in technologies that improve the performance of public-safety answering points and first responders in the field...

House debates DTV conversion proposal 

By Donny Jackson

Completing the transition from analog television to digital television by the end of 2008 is realistic, but some sort of subsidized converter is needed to ensure that no consumers are disenfranchised, most members of the House telecommunications subcommittee said during a hearing yesterday...

Bill calls for DTV transition in 2008 

By Donny Jackson

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, has introduced draft legislation that would require television broadcasters to clear valuable spectrum in the 700 MHz band at the end of 2008, to complete the transition to digital television ...

FCC: VoIP offerings must include E-911 

By Donny Jackson

The Federal Communications Commission today unanimously voted to require voice-over-IP providers like Vonage to connect customers’ emergency calls through the established 911 network while providing location and callback information...

CEA chief calls for firm date for digital TV transition 

Congress needs to establish a firm cut-off date for analog television signals, clearing valuable spectrum for commercial wireless and public-safety uses, CEA President Gary Shapiro wrote in a letter to Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas)...

Denver picks M/A-COM for interoperability 

By Donny Jackson

M/A-COM today announced that it was awarded a contract of almost $2 million by the Denver, Colo., police department to deploy its NetworkFirst interoperability solution that will allow first responders on different radio systems to speak with each other...

Law-enforcement group to honor Motorola 

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) tonight will present Motorola officials with its Distinguished Service Award ...

VoIP E-911 on FCC agenda 

As many expected, the agenda for the Federal Communications Commission’s meeting next Thursday features consideration of an order outlining E-911 requirements for voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers...

Appeals court tosses 9/11 firefighters suit  

By Glenn Bischoff

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that the families of firefighters who died when the World Trade Center towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, cannot sue New York City or Motorola over alleged radio failures because they filed claims with the Victim Compensation Fund established by Congress...

Analyst: Martin circulates VoIP 911 order 

By Donny Jackson

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has proposed an order to be considered during the commission’s May 19 meeting that would require voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers to deliver 911 calls to the appropriate public-safety answering point (PSAP), according to an analyst report yesterday...