One year ago, the Federal Communications Commission laid out a proposal for creating “a cutting-edge public safety communications system” for our nation’s first responders by auctioning the D Block in order to fund the construction [...]
Opponents of the FCC’s proposed D Block auction have argued that public safety requirements cannot be met in a shared commercial network environment. They claim public safety will be unable to gain priority access above [...]
What is often lost in the debate over the fate of the D-Block is the proven reliability of commercial networks. Indeed a great divide exists between the perception by some in the public safety community, [...]
For months, all angles of the D Block debate have been argued by public safety organizations, commercial carriers and legislators, but one issue remains unexamined -- network maintenance. If the D Block is allocated to [...]
When it comes to the ongoing debate over the fate of the D Block, many public safety officials have contended that public safety requirements could not be met in a shared network environment. Will firefighters [...]
Public safety is a core function of local government. The vast majority of law enforcement, firefighters, emergency personnel and first responders are employed by state and local governments. Unfortunately, some in Congress support a government [...]
After 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, America’s first responders were unable to use their communications devices. Public safety found their networks down and incompatible with the available commercial networks. After years of failed efforts, we are [...]
A nationwide, interoperable public safety network should be exactly that – nationwide. All first responders, whether urban, suburban or rural, need access to the same lifesaving broadband communications capabilities to respond to disasters and keep [...]
The 4G Coalition submitted comments arguing that competition among equipment providers to any telecommunications service -- including public safety services -- is critical and that the lack of competition in the public safety communications marketplace [...]
The Coalition for 4G in America submitted a letter and paper supporting the promotion of interoperability across the entire 700 MHz Band to ensure the development of a multiband commercial and public safety device ecosystem. [...]