Airborne International Response Team (AIRT), a 501(c)3 organization supporting drones for good for emergencies and disaster response, was awarded a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to support drone operations within federal, state and local public-safety agencies and emergency services organizations.

The Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) will cease operation. PSTA Board Member Jeff Johnson confirmed that the organization plans to shut down soon.

The New South Wales government in Australia selected TPG Telecom to deliver a multi-operator public safety mobile broadband (PSMB) network proof of concept (PoC) trial in partnership with Nokia.

In public safety and emergency situations, there are different priorities for people and connected things to communicate with each other and to trigger actions accordingly. This is a complex technical and operational challenge, partly because the scope of connected sensors, automated plant and information display devices varies widely, leading to a large number of integration points. As a result, many public-safety systems focus on single-purpose solutions, missing opportunities to design for cross-silo and interoperable services.

Public-safety networks such as FirstNet are being rolled out so first responders have reliable, resilient, optimized broadband communications when carrying out their respective missions. Such networks are designed to deliver instantaneous, uninterrupted communications, as well as to give government agencies the ability to collect and analyze streaming information for better response.

That tragedy, along with hundreds in the years since, served as the catalyst for groundbreaking new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) tracking and location technology. Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Tracking for Emergency Responders (POINTER) will soon allow agencies to pinpoint their firefighters to within centimeters, helping to navigate them quickly and safely out of potentially disorienting emergency scenarios.

The FCC is conducting an inquiry into several wireless providers’ compliance with the FCC rules that require them to start delivering 9-1-1 callers’ vertical location information by April 3.

AT&T said that it will launch 5G service for FirstNet subscribers in parts of 38 cities and more than 20 venues in April.

Public Safety Communication Europe (PSCE) and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a memorandum of intent (MoI) to support the utilization of satellite applications for public safety.

Australia-based Codan announced that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of U.S.-based Zetron, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD.