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.

Comba Telecom named Don Henry as the new North American vice president of sales. Henry has served for three years as Comba’s director of sales, West region and unofficially as the public-safety program manager.

Harris was awarded two contracts totaling $26 million to upgrade the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) mission-critical communications to safeguard the nation’s borders.

Regulatory authorities approved Sweden’s Securitas acquisition of the Kratos Public Safety and Security (KPSS) division from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, a top 10 systems integrator in the United States. The purchase price is about 600 million Swedish kroner (US$69 million) on a cash and debt-free basis.

The city of Portsmouth, Virginia, will deploy a Motorola Solutions Project 25 (P25) network to provide communications technology and interoperable coverage to its first responders. The multimillion-dollar contract will modernize the city’s emergency communications platform and integrate with its about 1,000 P25 APX radios already deployed.

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.

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly posted a blog with updates on the states that diverted 9-1-1 fees to other functions or failed to submit paperwork to the FCC on their 9-1-1 funds.

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.

The Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) asked FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly to help eliminate the sale of noncompliant radio devices distributed by eBay and Amazon.com.