The latest Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meetings set out a list of approved content for Release 17, including mission-critical features, set to be finalized by September 2021. (16-12-2019)
The 5G era must be mission-critical and secure by design During my ‘Critical Communications all the way to the Edge’ keynote presentation at November’s Comms Connect Melbourne, I didn’t really have the opportunity to emphasise the absolutely massive and fundamental role that critical communications will play in the rapidly approaching 5G era, which itself will lead to highly disruptive digital transformation of societies and economies. (Critical Comms 16/12/ 2019)
Higher data speeds are the focus of current 5G deployments, but some of the performance characteristics that are expected to prove most valuable to public safety—low latency, high reliability and network slicing—likely are at least a year away, according to industry and first-responder experts. (Urgent Communications 11/12/2019)
Deployment of FirstNet on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum is more than 75% complete, with the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) supporting more than 1 million connections from more than 10,000 subscribed first-responder agencies, according to statistics released yesterday by contractor AT&T.(Urgent Communications 4/12/2019)
L’introduzione di una nuova tecnologia, essendo lo spettro radio una risorsa pregiata, richiede la tutela dei sistemi esistenti che occupano le stesse frequenze al fine di garantire un funzionamento coerente e armonico di tutte le tecnologie in campo. (Agenda Digitale 20/11/2019)
Prioritisation on LTE and 5G networks is technically feasible, but there are a number of legal issues that need to be carefully addressed.(Critical Comms 5/11/2019)
Dubai, UAE. October 20th, 2019: SNS Telecom & IT‘s latest research report indicates that annual investments in private LTE and 5G network infrastructure – which includes RAN (Radio Access Network), mobile core and transport network equipment – will reach US$8 billion by the end of 2023. (IOT NOW MAGAZINE 23-10-2019)
It has become a reference point for anyone facing disruption. In January 2012, Kodak, a company synonymous with photography, filed for bankruptcy after years of decline. Its error was to miss the shift from photographic film to screens, or so the story goes (Light Reading 31-10-2019)
FirstNet Authority board members yesterday voted unanimously to have the organization’s staff begin procurement processes to reinvest funding into making the FirstNet LTE core ready for 5G services and to expand the FirstNet deployable-network program (Urgent communications 19/09/2019)
Greater use of data in the field, via applications, can dramatically increase efficiency and situational awareness, but deployment across the critical comms sector is patchy. (Critical Communications Today 18/09/2019)
The question of when Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks might replace LMR systems is an ongoing industry debate. During recent months, I have covered several industry stories that lead me to think full replacement might never happen, and if it does, it’s going to take a long time — at least 20 years (Mission Critical Communications 10/09/2019)
FirstNet users will have access to AT&T’s 5G services that are set to be available nationwide by the middle of next year, but the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum will continue to leverage 4G LTE for years to protect public-safety device investments and key functionality, according to the leader of AT&T’s FirstNet team. (IWCE’s UC Today 11/09/2019)
High-altitude balloons, long-duration UAV and centimetre-accurate positioning are under test in Japan. (Critical comms 3/09/2019)
The two-way radio industry has survived and flourished, despite the rise of mobile networks and smartphones. But what are its current challenges and opportunities? Sam Fenwick investigates (Landmobile 20/08/2019)
BALTIMORE—FirstNet users soon may be able use high-power user equipment (HPUE) on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum that is expected to extend the effective range from a cell site by 80% triple the effective coverage area and enhance in-building coverage—characteristics that AT&T’s FirstNet leader calls a “game changer.” (Urgent Comm 13/08/2019)
In North America, the trend is for larger, interoperable, regional P25 systems complemented by broadband data services, as James Atkinson reports (Critical Communications today 29/07/2019)
AT&T’s FirstNet 700 MHz Band 14 deployment was about 60% finished at the end of June, and the carrier giant hopes to reach the 70% completion mark by the end of the year, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said this week (Urgent Communications 26/07/2019)
Wireless technologies such as 5G, SDR, backscatter, millimetre wave and V2X will lead the way in the next five years. New forms of wireless technology will become pivotal for emerging technologies such as robotics, drones and self-driving vehicles, according to Gartner (Critical Comms 24/07/2019)
Gli accordi firmati prevedono l’integrazione delle rispettive infrastrutture passive di rete in Inwit che darà vita a un colosso con oltre 22 mila torri. Sinergie attese pari a oltre 800 milioni per ciascuna società nei prossimi 10 anni, a cui si aggiunge un beneficio atteso in termini di Ebitda per la newco di oltre 200 milioni di euro al 2026 (Corcom 26/07/2019)
The Service and System Aspects (SA) working group that outlined mission-critical features in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards is pushing forward with those same features and expanded offerings for 5G technology in Release 17 of the standards. (Mission Critical Communications 12/6/2019)
SMR technology was revolutionized by Nextel Communications when it established its digital system in 1987. With its overwhelming success, Nextel continued to build out sites throughout the United States and expanded worldwide using an LMR-based system developed by Motorola Solutions. (Mission Critical Communications 18-6-2019)
A disruptive innovation creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market-leading firms, products and alliances (Mission Critical Communications 18-6-2019)
First responders in the United Kingdom (UK) should be able to use push-to-talk-over-cellular (PoC) technology on the Emergency Services Network (ESN) nationwide public-safety LTE network next year, according to Bryan Clark, Home Office’s program director leading the ESN project. (IWCE’s Urgent Communications 26/6/2019)
Australia’s future public safety mobile broadband system was a hot topic at Comms Connect Sydney. (Comms Critical 25/6/2019)
France’s work to transition to mission-critical broadband is well under way, with much of the initial conceptual work complete and the first wave of commercial partners on board. Sam Fenwick summarises the state of play, with the help of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) (Critical Communications Today 19/06/2019)
Our most important challenge is the future of critical communications and our public-safety networks. I am not talking about only tomorrow and the network modernizations ongoing in many countries. I am also talking about the future beyond tomorrow (Radio Resource 01/07/2019)
While carriers are scrambling to be first in the 5G race, determining a clear winner is no simple matter. (IWCE’s UC Today 11/06/2019)
TCCA has said in a white paper – ‘public safety prioritisation on commercial networks’ – that while from a technological perspective prioritisation of first responders connected to a shared commercial RAN is no longer a challenge, there are legal issues that must be addressed on a country-by-country basis to allow pre-emption and national roaming. (Critical Communications Today 07/06/2019)
The UK Home Office has published details of the changes to its contract with Motorola Solutions for the delivery of the Emergency Services Network (ESN) Lot 2 User Services contract in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) (Critical Communications Today 09/05/2019)
The UK’s National Audit Office (NAO), which aims to ensure public money isn’t being wasted on government-funded projects, has slammed the lack of progress being made on and cost overruns of the delayed 4G-based Emergency Services Network (ESN), which is intended to replace the existing Airwave service (LightReading 10/05/2019).
Airbus has officially launched MXLINK, its secure mobile virtual network operator (SMVNO) for Mexican public safety and defence authorities. MXLINK is the first of its kind in Mexico and Latin America, and offers multi-operator coverage, interoperability with the National Radiocommunication Tetrapol Network, and end-to-end voice and data security from the most reliable telecom and data centre platform in the country (Critical Communications 07/05/2019)
Samsung Electronics signed an expansion contract with KT to provide public-safety Long Term Evolution (PS-LTE) network solutions based on Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard Release 13 for 10 major metropolitan regions in South Korea including Seoul by 2020. In addition, the two companies will deliver what they called the world’s first narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) service through the PS-LTE network (Mission Critical Communications 02/05/2019)
The French Ministry of Interior (MoI) Home Affairs Technologies and Information Systems Department ST(SI)2 has selected most of the suppliers for its critical communications broadband solution. The selections follow a process that started in 2015 in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks (Mission Critical Communications 02/05/2019)
AT&T expects to reach 60 percent completion of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) buildout by the end of the third quarter, said AT&T Chief Financial Officer (CFO) John Stephens. (Mission Critical Communications 25/04/2019)
The next step has been taken on the road to enabling a pan-European mobile broadband system for public protection and disaster relief. (Critical Comms 15/04/2019)
Norway is moving forward with a governmental decision process to roll out mission-critical broadband services in the country with a population of 5.3 million (Mission Critical Communications 1/04/2019)
Czech mobile operator Nordic Telecom and Nokia will establish a mission-critical communication-ready LTE network in the recently opened up 410-430MHz band. (Critical Communications Today 17/04/2019)
Nordic Telecom is developing ans LTE network in the 410-430 MHz frequency band, which was newly harmonised by CEPT primarily for the purpose of providing broadband services for critical communications. (Mission Critical LTE Tecnology 18/03/2019)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) is moving forward on the Project 25 (P25) Inter RF Subsystem (ISSI) and Console Subsystem Interface (CSSI) conformance testing program, with progress on the laboratory to conduct the tests and a test tool. Several documents around the P25 Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) ISSI/CSSI conformance testing program are also out for public comment with a March 14 due date. (Radio Resource 26/2/ 2019)
Motorola Solutions has signed a contract worth a total of $1.45 billion to extend the life of the Airwave TETRA network in the United Kingdom through the end of 2022, and the company officials yesterday outlined expectations for the overall growth of the business to continue this year and through at least 2021 (Urgent Communications 8/02/ 2019)
As the public-safety community migrates to Long Term Evolution (LTE) broadband technology for its communications, it is imperative that standards-compliant solutions are used by everyone to ensure emergency response is not compromised by lack of interoperability between agencies. (Mission Critical Communications 4/02/2019)
On 18 January, the president of Finland confirmed an electronic communications services law that will come into force at the start of February (Critical Communications 22/01/2019)
New white paper details timelines for introduction of critical broadband capability. There has been much debate and discussion about the introduction of broadband for critical communications – when will the standards be ready, who will be the early adopters, how will the new systems be introduced to ensure continuity of service for critical users? A new white paper from TCCA presents the current roadmap to operational use of mission critical broadband. The paper is for organisations looking to move away from narrowband networks, or to introduce critical broadband to complement their existing services. (The Critical Communications Review 10/01/2019)
The December quarterly Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meetings in Sorrento, Italy, addressed standards in several areas relevant to mission-critical broadband in three separate plenary group meetings. (Mission Critical Communications 4/01/2019)
Public Safety Communications Europe (PSCE) released a white paper addressing new 5G capabilities and potential benefits for public protection and disaster response (PPDR) users (Mission Critical Communications 14/12/2018)
As the industry begins to adopt Long Term Evolution (LTE) for its broadband data needs and many mission-critical features are standardized in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) process, one area where many questions remain is LTE device-to-device (D2D) communications. (Mission Critical Communications 10/12/ 2018)
A market research firm said the global market for licensed mobile radio infrastructure and system integration increased 14 percent, reaching $4.6 billion in 2017. Significant growth was noted in Asia, as revenues increased by 26 percent. However, Europe also experienced 8 percent growth in infrastructure and system integration revenue (Radio Resource Mission Critical Communications 21/11/2018)
The first phase of testing is currently taking place across England and Wales, using an initial roll out of one hundred mobile devices issued to a variety of different emergency services staff. Assure is an app-based product, developed by Telent and specifically designed to test broadband signal coverage (Critical Communications Today 23/11/2018)
A market research firm said the global market for licensed mobile radio infrastructure and system integration increased 14 percent, reaching $4.6 billion in 2017. Significant growth was noted in Asia, as revenues increased by 26 percent. However, Europe also experienced 8 percent growth in infrastructure and system integration revenue. (Mission Critical Communicasions 19/11/2018)
South Korea’s Ministry of Science & Information and Communication Technology (ICT) announced South Korea will extend the use of its voice mobile radio networks for disaster safety. (Mission Critical Communicasions 19/11/2018)
Mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) services based on the LTE standard approved by 3GPP are expected to be available to end users next year, but several aspects of the ecosystem need to evolve before such offerings can match the performance of LMR voice, according to panelists at IWCE’s Critical LTE Communications Forum in Chicago. (Urgent Communications 16/11/2018)
Defence Research and Development Canada’s Centre for Security Science (DRDC CSS), working with Motorola Solutions and Ericsson, have announced that they have successfully completed their research trial of a dedicated public safety broadband network using LTE technology (Critical Communications Today 7/11/2018)
The Finnish government has proposed several changes to the law in anticipation of the roll-out of public safety mission-critical broadband in the form of its Virve 2.0 network. Critical Communications today 13/11/2018)
Becca Jones, Emergency Services Network customer engagement director at ESMCP, has given an update on the programme following its recent comprehensive review, indicating that potentially bringing the project to an end was indeed part of the discussion (Land Mobile 5/11/2018)
Europe has completed studies into using 400 MHz spectrum for private mobile radio, including public protection disaster response (PPDR) broadband networks. Under the developments, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) proposed that the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) consider standardization activities for Long Term Evolution (LTE)-based systems for 410 – 430 MHz spectrum (Radio Resource 5/11/2018)
Even when you can anticipate that something is going to happen, it can be difficult to predict whether it will scare you to death or result in sweet rewards that can put a smile on your face. A similar sense of anxious expectation is surrounding the critical-communications arena, which already has experienced changes at an unprecedented pace, fueled largely by broadband innovations. (Urgent Communications 31/10/2018)
Europe is halfway into an ambitious project to deploy a cross-border public safety mobile broadband communications system (Critical Comms 24/10/ 2018)
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Finnish gear maker Nokia Tuesday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities in the public safety space as a joint initiative (The Critical Communications Review – 23/10/ 2018)
The United Nations has selected Ericsson to supply peacekeeping missions around the globe with their own LTE networks providing mission-critical communications capabilities (The Critical Communications Review – 25/10/ 2018)
Device-to-device communications with Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology faces several challenges (Radio Resource International Quarter 4 2018)
The South Korean government released a request for proposal (RFP) for its nationwide public-safety Long Term Evolution (LTE) network following its second pilot project, which ended in March (Radio Resource International Quarter 4 2018)
A letter from Sir Philip Rutnam, permanent secretary at the Home Office, together with oral testimony during a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on 10 October has provided some additional details on the status of the project to roll out the Emergency Services Network (ESN) (Land mobile 11/10/2018)
The document addresses the current state of emergency services and the challenges linked to the evolution towards Next Generation emergency communications. The paper puts forward the vision of the H2020 EMYNOS project, aimed at designing and implementing a Next Generation emergency services framework (PSC Europe – Public Safety Communication Europe – 01/10/2018)
New Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards targeting the rail industry are moving forward alongside public-safety standards. (Radio Resource – 8/10/2018)
The National Police Headquarters in Warsaw, Poland announced a long-awaited tender with the aim to modernise the radio communication system for the polish police according to the TETRA standard. (The Critical Communications Review – 3/09/2018)
An agreement has been established between Motorola Solutions and the UK Home Office with regards to the implementation of the UK Emergency Services Network (ESN). The agreement also covers terms to extend the Airwave nationwide digital radio network. (Critical Comms – 24/09/2018)
Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) agencies are in need of mobile broadband (BB) data communication services. So far, the existing PPDR mobile service has been provided utilising mainly narrowband (NB) technologies and, therefore, the services of commercial networks are already used for non-mission-critical data communication. These commercial networks could be upgraded to fulfil functionality and security requirements, but the question has been raised as to whether those networks are able to fulfil availability requirements (Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering– 2018)
Coverage, reliability and security are the top concerns for first responders for adopting commercial networks, according to an industry survey, and a market research executive said he doesn’t expect Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks to replace LMR for the next 10 to 15 years. (Radio Resource – 18/09/2018)
The French Ministry of Interior has launched a request for information (RFI) to help it identify and resolve the remaining technical and organisational barriers to the creation of the Radio Network of the Future (RRF), which is intended to provide all of the country’s emergency services personnel with access to modern and secure means of communication (Critical Communications Today – 20/09/2018)
A white paper ‘TETRA Connectivity to LTE’ produced by TCCA’s TETRA Industry Group (TIG) provides an overview of the different approaches to enabling TETRA/LTE interworking, with several methods described. (The Critical Communications Review – 18/09/2018)
The renewal of C2000, the communication system for the emergency services in The Netherlands will be live at the earliest next year, Minister Ferd Grapperhaus (Justice and Security) informed the House of Representatives (The Critical Communications Review – 17 Settembre 2019)
The South Korean government released a request for proposals (RFP) for its nationwide public-safety Long Term Evolution (LTE) network following its second pilot project, which ended in March (Redio Resource – 28 Agosto 2018)
The UK government has announced the latest round of Police Transformation Fund awards, pledging to hand out around £100 million to help forces improve their use of digital technology. (Land Mobile – 2 Agosto 2018)
Hytera’s position remains that its products sold in the US do not infringe MSI’s patents, and that the initial determination is incorrect. (The Critical Technologies Review – 18 Luglio 2018)
The Regional Court of Mannheim has ruled in favour of Motorola Solutions, in relation to a patent infringement complaint made against Hytera Mobilfunk in Germany (Land Mobile – 19 Luglio 2018)
The architecture for interworking between mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) and legacy LMR systems was completed and approved at the latest Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meetings 19 – 23 March in Chennai, India (Radio Resource International – Quarter 3 2018, Pag 1)
While systems like TETRA are not yet near the end of their useful life and can be tweaked to continue to provide services for years to come, there is no denying that broadband critical comms networks and services running on 4G and 5G technologies and encompassing 3GPP open standards would do the job more effectively and that, in the long run, the shift to broadband will have to be effected. The question is, “just how long is the long run?” It might be closer than expected. (Telecom TV – Giugno 2018)
Some nations are planning to create nationwide wireless networks dedicated to first responders. An estimated 30 countries are actively examining the possibility of providing priority on a reliable, secure broadband network for public safety (Radio Resource International – Quarter 3 2018, Pag.8)
There is light at the end of the tunnel for the provision of public safety mobile broadband for Australia (Critical Comms magazine 21/06/2018)
A new study from the TCCA highlights the need for commercial mobile network operators to participate in delivering next-generation critical communications solutions, not only for societal benefits but also for potential business gain (Critical Comms magazine 25/06/2018)
Mobile network operators to play a key role in next generation critical communications solutions (The Critical Communications Review 20/06/2018)
The effective delivery of critical communications is crucial to ensuring public safety and to enabling businesses to protect personnel and property during major planned and unplanned events. At the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution, the industry is looking to see how 5G, big data, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) can be harnessed to further enhance critical communications in the context of an ever-changing technological landscape (Mission Critical Communications/ Radio Resource International Wednesday 1/06/2018).
During an update on the Emergency Services Network (ESN) at the BAPCO Satellite Series event in Edinburgh, Richard Hewlett, head of technology and the head of live services, ESMCP (Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme), revealed that the programme is considering dropping the pre-standard user functionality (Public Safety Communication System – PSCS) being developed by Motorola Solutions in favour of a 3GPP-compliant solution provided by Kodiak, a Motorola Solutions company. (Land Mobile 14/06/2018)
Mission Critical Communications/ Radio Resource International 07/06/ 2018)
Millions could be spent extending today’s tech until some ‘future date’ (The Register, 30/05/2018)
The wave of innovation in technology for public safety is crashing against long-established laws and regulations (Critical Communications Today, 18/04/2018)
AT&T plans to deploy public-safety LTE service on 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum more quickly than expected, with about one-third of the projected buildout to be completed by next April (Urgent Communications, 31/05/2018 Donny Jackson)
Officials from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), the Finnish State Security Networks Group and Norway’s Directorate of Emergency Communication (DNK) signed a letter of intent (LoI) to start a three-country project to design communications possibilities among emergency services in all three countries (Mission Critical Communications/ Radio Resource International Wednesday, 16/05/2018)
In the US, AT&T has launched the FirstNet network core, which will process and carry public safety users’ vital information, unlock critical capabilities like FirstNet’s First Priority feature (see below) and form the basis for what the company describes as “the unified, interoperable and nationwide communications system that public safety envisioned.” (Critical Communications Today, 27/03/2018)
TETRA radio manufacturers are divided on whether to make their devices more like smartphones or stick with traditional form factors (Critical Communications Today, 06/02/2018)
The doors to more than 5,300 AT&T* retail stores across the country are now open to verified1 first responders interested in signing themselves up for FirstNet service. This makes the groundbreaking technology locally available to first responders. Verified first responders also have the option to sign up online (NEWS PROVIDED BY AT&T Inc., 11/07/2018)
BDBOS é l’agenzia federale per i radio collegamenti digitali delle public-safety in Germania e intende aggiornare, dando vita a una piattaforma digitale per le applicazioni larga banda, la più grande rete radio TETRA al mondo, che attualmente gestisce, e che è costituita da 4,600 stazioni radio base, in grado di assicurare la copertura del 99% del territorio alle forze di polizia, ai vigili del fuoco e ad altre organizzazioni per un totale di circa 777,000 utenti.
Il Sistema ESN (Emergency Services Network), che sarà utilizzato in Gran Bretagna dai 3 principali Servizi di emergenza e da altre public utility e che sarà basato sulla tecnologia (LTE), per sostituire l’attuale rete Tetra nazionale Airwave, sembra presentare ulteriori ritardi nella realizzazione.
DSB (Directorate for Civil Protection) ipotizza diverse alternative per realizzare in Norvegia un sistema a banda larga mission critical, supportato da una rete commerciale degli Operatori, per sostituire, in una visione a lungo termine, Nødnett, l’attuale rete radio basata sullo standard TETRA, che include circa 2.100 siti radio e serve 55,000 utilizzatori.