Paige Wireless deployed a carrier-grade, public LoRaWAN network across the state of Nebraska. The network aims to help industries, farmers, businesses, students and communities.

Motorola Solutions opened its first college campus innovation center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Research Park.

The Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is moving forward with the Automated Streams Analysis for Public Safety (ASAPS) challenge.

David Stehlin was named CEO of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). Stehlin succeeds Wes Johnston, who after leading the association the past few years, is joining his family as they relocate to Hawaii.

The FCC requested comment on petitions for declaratory ruling and rulemaking filed by the Boulder Regional Emergency Telephone Service Authority (BRETSA) in Colorado to ensure interoperability with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

When bad things happen, we want good people on the scene as quickly as possible and for those people to have the right tools for the job. First responders have communications needs that include being able to receive calls, check maps and routes, download and upload various information, run several specific applications, and of course, communicate with their colleagues. This often has to take place while on the move and in less-than-ideal circumstances. Public-safety users cannot tolerate dropped calls or slow applications because of congested networks. The dedicated First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) exists to ensure that first responders can make calls and access the data they need, with the best cellular connectivity available.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) operational exercise brought together public-safety leaders to test technologies during a disaster response exercise.

The Department of Interior (DOI) laboratory in Denver, which is on track to conduct Project 25 (P25) Inter RF Subsystem (ISSI) and Console Subsystem Interface (CSSI) conformance testing, should be accredited by the first quarter of 2020. The lab partnered with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) and will use the Valid8 test tool to verify conformance for CSSI/ISSI users.

The question of when Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks might replace LMR systems is an ongoing industry debate. During recent months, I have covered several industry stories that lead me to think full replacement might never happen, and if it does, it’s going to take a long time — at least 20 years.

Several groups supplied Indonesian Federal Police command center vehicles with technology to access satellite broadband on the move.