Regional wireless carrier C Spire introduced a new public-safety data priority service designed to help local and state emergency first responders send and receive critical mobile data communications during a crisis or natural disaster.

Representatives from 30 global telecommunications companies will join dozens of observers from U.S. state and federal agencies, as well as international participants, to test public-safety communications and related technologies during the second international Mission Critical Push to Talk (MCPTT) Plugtests event set for June 25 – 29 at Disaster City on the Texas A&M University (TAMU) campus in College Station, USA.

Spectrum policy expert Pierre de Vries, PhD, will deliver the keynote address at the 2018 Wireless Leadership Summit sponsored by the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA). Dr. de Vries will share his analysis of next-generation wireless systems and the difficulties and opportunities these emerging technologies pose for spectrum policy and business development.

Fortinet signed a threat information sharing agreement with INTERPOL to combat global cybercrime and privacy protection.

A new industry organization aimed at promoting open standards does not yet have the support of major standards-making bodies or the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) but will work to encourage support and participation from those groups.

Everbridge expanded the capabilities of the national alerting system that it is powering for Sweden. Going forward, residents and visitors in Sweden will be able to receive short message service (SMS) notifications on their mobile phones if they reside within an area where sudden events such as fire, extreme weather or a terror attack occur.

Brazilian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Porto Seguro Conecta began offering Telit's simWISE solution to its internet of things (IoT) customers across Brazil in verticals including agrobusiness, fleet management and utilities.

The North Carolina general assembly’s program evaluation division (PED) released a report that found the state’s 800 MHz mission-critical communications network and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) services are complementary but do not duplicate functionality.

Three new public-safety agencies announced they subscribed to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) broadband service. The agencies include Fresno County (California) Sheriff-Coroner’s Office; city of Orem, Utah; and the Oglala Sioux Police Department in South Dakota.

More than 5,300 AT&T retail stores will allow “verified” first responders to sign themselves up for First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) service. Verified first responders also have the option to sign up online.