Avaya and Komutel, in close collaboration with Combat Networks, Bell Canada and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) conducted the first next-generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) test call transfer in Canada. NG 9-1-1 carries the promise of more effective call handling for public-safety personnel with the goal of improving outcomes in emergency situations, including those that are life-threatening.

Next-generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) went live May 20 in Elko County, Nevada and May 22 in West Wendover, Nevada. The public-safety answering points (PSAPs) cut over for the sixth-largest county in the nation with a population traversing 17,000 square miles to the new cloud-based NG 9-1-1 emergency service IP network (ESInet) and call processing equipment (CPE) solution marks the first of its kind.

Verizon announced a successful test of its Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) technology, which executives said will help the carrier more quickly deploy 5G coverage across its network and provide 5G coverage to public safety through deployables. Additionally, Verizon announced the five companies participating in the next cohort of its 5G First Responder Lab.

Thailand Siriraj Hospital and Thailand local operator TRUE reached a 5G network strategic cooperation agreement to promote the development of an intelligent and efficient medical industry in Thailand. Hytera cooperated with TRUE to jointly develop an integrated broadband solution for the local healthcare customer.

Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) announced a new funding opportunity for innovators in public-safety focused communications technology.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) released a new report on mission-critical push to talk (MCPTT) technology and consoles.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Switzerland Federal Office of Civil Aviation reached an agreement on harmonizing domestic and international safety standards for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The agreement builds on U.S and Swiss efforts to ensure the fastest growing and broadest segment of aviation is integrated safely, efficiently and seamlessly around the world.

A Smart City Interoperability Reference Architecture (SCIRA) pilot in St. Louis brought together tech providers and public-safety stakeholders in a first-of-its-kind exercise that involved five emergency scenarios. SCIRA is a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) framework to facilitate the integration and operability of disparate IT systems.

Hytera introduced a carrier-integrated mission-critical version of its push-to-talk (PTT) over cellular (PoC) broadband solution. The HyTalk MC end-to-end solution supports Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) mission-critical PTT (MCPTT), mission-critical data (MCData) and mission-critical video (MCVideo) services for mission- and business-critical communications users.

To help agencies determine public-safety communications solutions that strike the balance between cost and value, federal groups released a guide that compiles recommendations, best practices and considerations for public-safety agencies to evaluate equipment cost effectiveness.