AT&T is adding a site for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) network in Chapman township in Clinton County, Pennsylvania. The site, located along Route 120 between Hyner and North Bend, is bringing increased coverage, capacity and capability to first responders across the state, a statement said.

Finland’s Committee of Ministers for Economic Affairs supported the reform of the Virve public-safety communications network. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy 17 December endorsed the replacement of the current Virve service with a new official communications service called Virve 2.0 to meet the needs of the authorities by 2026.

Seoul, South Korea-based communications provider Hanswell will use Softil’s BEEHD technology to build a mission-critical voice and data communications (MCX) system for Korea’s National Police Agency (NPA).

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced $45 million was awarded to 57 counties and New York City to enhance emergency communications across the state. The grant program is funded by cellular surcharge revenue and enables local governments to expand emergency response capabilities and enhance overall public-safety operations.

Lack of funding and resources such as expert staff are the biggest challenges facing public-safety IT and communications managers, according to a recent survey.

During its final meeting of the year, the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) board looked back at 2019 and laid out its priorities for 2020.

InterTalk will work as a subcontractor for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) V Division Radio Modernization project. The project is for a new Project 25 (P25) mission-critical communications system.

As part of the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE) efforts to improve security vulnerabilities along the U.S./Canadian border, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) conducted a field test at USBP Havre Sector, held in Sweetgrass, Montana, in August.

“Location, location, location” applies to the world of public safety as well as the real-estate industry. Location plays a vital role in many aspects of public safety’s daily responsibilities. It is important to know both the location of a 9-1-1 caller and the location of the incident being reported. When dispatched, first responders need to know the location of the incident, and when on the scene, they need to locate citizens who might be trapped in a building or otherwise need to be guided to safety. Finally, while first responders search for people and pets, the incident commander, at minimum, needs to be able to track locations of the responders.

The buildout of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) network was at about 66% as of Nov. 13, and AT&T expects to reach 70% buildout of the nationwide broadband network by the end of the year, Igal Elbaz, vice president, wireless technology, AT&T, said during the Morgan Stanley TMT Conference. The next reimbursement milestone for AT&T under its contract with FirstNet is 80%.