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 Chennia, India.

First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) technical staff in Boulder, Colorado, are testing and collaborating with partner AT&T, while also integrating equipment and conducting its own tests in the Innovation and Test Laboratory.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson resigned from his position as a member of the board of Sonim Technologies.

A Department of Commerce Inspector General report found that First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet)’s processes for managing band 14 grants to be reasonable but identified opportunities to address control weaknesses and improve management of the grant program.

The vice chairman of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) joined the board of a vendor that supplies devices to the FirstNet nationwide public-safety broadband network. Jeff Johnson, who has served on the FirstNet board since its inception in 2012, joined the Sonim Technologies board, along with two other executives.

Hytera Communications released its 2017 annual report, noting the firm generated revenues of 5.4 billion Chinese yuan (US$860.6 million) in 2017, up 56 percent year-on-year.

The Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) staff is gearing up for the annual Public Safety Broadband Stakeholder Meeting with some big changes planned for the 2018 event. More than 450 attendees are expected to converge at the San Diego Convention Center Jun 5 – 8, said Dereck Orr, PSCR chief.

The Utilities Technology Council (UTC) asked for federal funds to research and develop technologies that would ensure utilities have resilient communications systems to recover from black sky events in a letter to Congress. UTC said various federal agencies should be encouraged to understand the cross-sector interdependencies that exist so solutions can be developed to address these interdependencies.

AT&T and Crown Castle signed a new agreement simplifying and expanding their long-term leasing deal for wireless network infrastructure. Under the new agreement, leasing management and operations are streamlined to allow AT&T to efficiently deploy new technologies and increase network capacity, a statement said.

SK Telecom (SKT) and Nokia are conducting a trial of Long Term Evolution (LTE) public-safety technologies in South Korea. The trial in Pyeongchang, Jeongsun and Gangneung is being conducted with first responder teams to enhance communications and response time in emergency situations.