The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) hired John Howes as government affairs counsel.

Globalstar’s board of directors approved a $62 million non-convertible bridge facility to fund June 2019 principal and interest payments to lenders of its senior credit facility guaranteed by BPIFAE and to maintain compliance under the BPIFAE facility. The new bridge facility, subject to completion of definitive documentation, is expected to close June 28 and to be funded by multiple existing shareholders.

The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) TR-8 engineering committee on mobile and personal private radio standards issued a call for interest for document TIA-102.AABA-C titled Project 25 - Trunking Overview - Digital Radio Technical Standards.

Gwinnett County, Georgia, contracted CentralSquare for CAD, records management and mobile systems. The county’s purchase enables technology sharing between the sheriff’s office, police, fire and emergency services departments.

Ericsson announced plans to build its first fully automated smart factory in the United States. The factory will produce advanced antenna system radios to boost network capacity and coverage, including rural coverage, as well as 5G radios for urban areas, both necessary for rapid 5G deployments in North America.

The city of San Jose´, California, is connecting its first responders and key personnel to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

Ondas Holdings closed its acquisition of licensed spectrum in the 700 MHz band for the state of Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and multiple counties bordering the Gulf. The company is now offering mission-critical wireless connectivity in these regions consisting of 900,000 square miles of surface area.

Ligado Networks petitioned the FCC to move forward on approvals of its license modification applications, filed in 2015, so it can deploy its planned terrestrial/satellite 5G service to benefit critical infrastructure industries (CII).

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) said the road map announced at is March meeting will be released this summer and will advance the public-safety broadband network. At a June 26 meeting in Indianapolis, the FirstNet board supported the direction of the road map and its alignment with public safety’s communications needs.

Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA), a renal care company, was approved to join the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The nationwide public-safety broadband network will help ensure FMCNA employees stay connected during a natural disaster or emergency, allowing them to continue providing life-sustaining access to dialysis treatment for patients with kidney failure.