In a letter filed with the FCC July 31, the seven business/industrial/land transportation (B/ILT)-certified frequency advisory committees (FACs) asked the FCC to confirm certain policies influencing the certification of frequencies sought by B/ILT applicants, specifically rules that affect the availability of exclusive use governed by FCC Rule Section 90.187.

Catalyst Communications Technologies plans to release a line of products to address interworking between LMR systems and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. Catalyst plans to augment existing efforts to define a Project 25 (P25) Inter RF Subsystem Interface (ISSI) to LTE interface with a solution that also enables other LMR technologies.

A new FCC proposal would maintain the commission’s existing RF exposure limits for handheld devices. The proposal follows more than six years of public input and review, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), in partnership with Erillisverkot, the Finnish TETRA operator, and the support of TCCA and the European Commission, will organize the fourth MCX Plugtests event 23 – 27 September at the Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Kuopio, Finland.

Several companies released new products at the 2019 Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International annual conference and exhibition in Baltimore.

In 2017, Shaoyang Traffic Police Detachment of China’s Hunan Province established the Red Eagle Motorcycle Squad, which consists of 66 traffic officers and parapolice. As higher demands are posed to law enforcement, besides guaranteed mission-critical voice service, the police's requirement on data service including multimedia and mobile working has been increasing.

Since its establishment in 2018, PrioCom has taken major steps as a secure mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in mission-critical communications using 4G in the Netherlands. A new bilingual website emphasizes the organization’s position and offers its resellers support through a personal online portal.

The FCC issued a $39,278 fine against Ocean Hinson of Surry County, North Carolina, for intentional misuse of a local public-safety radio communications network in violation of the Communications Act of 1934. Hinson impersonated first responders in unauthorized radio communications on Surry County’s licensed public-safety frequency.

Siemens Mobility and Softil announced an agreement to bring a range of next-generation communications solutions to market for use in Long Term Evolution-Railway (LTE-R) railways as well as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT) metro applications such as underground, trams and buses.

A Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) subcommittee identified the Project 25 (P25) Digital Fixed Station Interface (DFSI) as the best integration protocol standard for LMR and Long Term Evolution (LTE) interoperability. The subcommittee said an enhanced radio over IP (RoIP) protocol could also be developed to address DFSI’s shortcomings.