Several suppliers are offering free products to first responders to help in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UPS said it would collaborate with German drone maker Wingcopter to develop the next generation of package delivery drones for a variety of use cases in the United States and internationally. Wingcopter’s unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology can deliver a variety of goods over long distances in multiple international settings, the companies said.

The FCC pushed back the start of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Auction 106 until July 23 and postponed indefinitely Auction 106 given the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Project 25 Technology Interest Group (PTIG) highlighted accomplishments and work in progress for 2020 from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) TR-8 committee. New work includes addressing interference with 700/800 MHz cellular systems and security features, among others.

Nokia completed the first phase of a 5G-ready, industrial-grade private wireless network deployment for the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium. The platform will provide private wireless connectivity to more than 100 endpoints across the entire port operations

As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the United States and other countries globally, mission-critical communications organizations are changing how they work to address the resulting COVID-19 disease.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Industry Specification Group on the Augmented Reality Framework (ISG ARF) unveiled ETSI GS ARF 003, a specification toward the interoperability of augmented reality (AR) components. Compliance with the ETSI framework will allow components from different providers to interoperate via the defined interfaces, allowing broader and quicker adoption of AR technology.

The FCC denied requests from two jurisdictions to reinstate terminated licenses.

The FCC released an order to expedite the 800 MHz rebanding program and declared 2,103 licensees as having completed rebanding. The 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA) reported that only four licensees, all in the Mexican border region, have yet to complete physical reconfiguration.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched a global platform to help protect telecommunications networks during the COVID-19 crisis. The new platform will assist governments and the private sector in ensuring that networks are kept resilient, the group said.