The commonwealth of Massachusetts has authorized Verizon, alongside AT&T First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), to offer services to public-safety agencies through the state’s public safety grade wireless data agreement. A Verizon executive said the contract is the first multivendor public-safety wireless data contract.

Deputies in Kit Carson County Sheriff’s Office in Burlington, Colorado, are upgrading their duty vests with Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphones.

The city of San Jose´, California, is connecting its first responders and key personnel to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) said the road map announced at is March meeting will be released this summer and will advance the public-safety broadband network. At a June 26 meeting in Indianapolis, the FirstNet board supported the direction of the road map and its alignment with public safety’s communications needs.

Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), a renal care company, was approved to join the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The nationwide public-safety broadband network will help ensure FMCNA employees stay connected during a natural disaster or emergency, allowing them to continue providing life-sustaining access to dialysis treatment for patients with kidney failure.

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International received final approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) June 11 for an American National Standard (ANS) that identifies hardening requirements for public safety grade sites.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) released a report examining how first responders may use IoT devices and sensors to enhance emergency response while augmenting personnel and scene safety.

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.