The plaintiffs in a privacy lawsuit against the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) asked that the court not allow AT&T to file an amicus curiae brief in the case.

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.

AT&T filed an amicus curiae brief in a privacy lawsuit against the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), arguing that the FirstNet national public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) is not subject to a government privacy law because it is operated and maintained by a private entity.

Four vendor partners — Motorola Solutions, Sapient Consulting, Inmarsat Government and General Dynamics — were announced in conjunction with AT&T’s 2017 contract with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to build the nationwide public-safety broadband network. Following is an update on how each of the four companies is working with AT&T on the contract.

Siyata Mobile announced that the Uniden UV350 in-vehicle mounted phablet is FirstNet Ready, making it tested and approved for use with services on the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) communications platform. The UV350 is the first in-vehicle mounted phablet that has been tested and approved to operate on FirstNet.

An AT&T executive said the company expects to hit its next two First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) buildout milestones at least six months in advance.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) announced two new band 14 cell sites — one on the Red Cliff Reservation in Wisconsin and one in Preston County, West Virginia.

The Fort Pierce (Florida) Police Department joined the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) for public safety. The Fort Pierce Police Department is using FirstNet on its department-issued phones and hot spots.

Leadership from SAFECOM and the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) signed and endorsed the draft 2019 National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) at a joint meeting last month.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) released its annual report to Congress for fiscal year 2018. The year saw the beginning of the deployment of the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN).