Rajant conducted tests that show the national average time for authorities to respond to a verified home alarm — seven minutes — can be drastically reduced if alarm companies use unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to supplement their current infrastructure.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T launched the first developer program geared toward U.S. first responders.

Recently, there has been some debate on the meaning and definition of “public safety grade.” The recent hurricanes underscore the need for clarity on what it means and what public safety needs with regard to reliable data. A National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) document published in 2014 provided a definition that the overall system design enables system and service to achieve 99.999 percent availability.

The Connecticut Department of Administrative Services (DAS) issued a request for proposals (RFP) from qualified contractors to offer a no-cost statewide 700 MHz broadband system. This system will include a statewide Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network (RAN) that will be interoperable with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) nationwide network.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced her decision to accept the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T plan to deliver a wireless, broadband network to the state’s public-safety community.

Avaya was awarded a project to deliver next-generation emergency services communications solutions in Turkey. The deal, part of Turkey's NGCC112 emergency number project, will see Avaya equip Turkey’s emergency services with its eCall vehicle accident aid system, as well as enable emergency responders to communicate more effectively at the scene of any incident.

Comments for the FCC’s notice of inquiry (NoI) were mixed in response to a petition to realign the 900 MHz band for broadband operations, with most utilities opposing any realignment and other critical infrastructure industries (CII) entities saying it would benefit future networks and licensees.

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) plenary meetings in Sapporo, Japan, 11 – 14 September addressed standards in several areas relevant to public-safety Long Term Evolution (LTE). The 3GPP plenary meetings consisted of three separate plenary group meetings.

The FCC granted a request filed by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) for a temporary waiver to permit amateur data transmissions at a higher symbol rate than is permitted by the commission’s rules to facilitate hurricane relief.

The FCC will consider a notice of proposed rulemaking that would seek comment and propose changes to the priority access license rules in the 3.5 GHz band at its Oct. 24 meeting.