The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) conducted its final integration of smart city technologies this week in St. Louis in collaboration with the city, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the T-REX Innovation Center (T-REX).

Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced a new pilot program to deploy vehicle-to-everything (V2X) around the country to help prevent accidents involving first responders.

SFR, the second-largest commercial operator in France, selected Motorola Solutions to provide a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) solution. The next-generation broadband PTT service will be delivered through SFR’s nationwide network, enabling customers to improve operational efficiency, accelerate business productivity and enhance customer service.

The U.K. Emergency Services Network (ESN) notified suppliers that it continues to seek solutions for Long Term Evolution (LTE) direct mode capability for the U.K. public-safety broadband network.

Mission Critical Partners (MCP) acquired URL Integration, an IT consulting company specializing in the criminal-justice and public-safety sectors. The acquisition is the second for MCP this week, after buying Black & Veatch’s Public Safety consulting services earlier this month.

Texas A&M University (TAMU) is expanding its research focus into public safety’s use of 5G technology following an investment from the state of Texas.

Iridium Communications was formally authorized to provide satellite Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service by the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO). Iridium said it brings global coverage and a choice of both network and equipment to the critical emergency service for the first time.

The latest Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) plenary standards meetings set final work items to be standardized in Release 17 (R17), including several public-safety features. LMR to Long Term Evolution (LTE) interworking made big strides as well.

More than 30% of cell sites were down Jan. 8 in Puerto Rico following a 6.4 earthquake Jan. 7. By Jan. 9, the number of cell sites down had improved to 19.5%, according to data from the FCC.

Mission Critical Partners (MCP) announced it acquired Black & Veatch’s Public Safety (BVPS) consulting division. The value of the acquisition was not released.