FirstNet subscribers also boosting AT&T service revenues
As it expands the reach of its gigabit LTE (5G Evolution) offering and turns up standards-based 5G beginning later this year, AT&T will simultaneously create new revenue opportunities while beginning to reap the benefits of its long-term investment...
AT&T spending more than $40 billion on FirstNet build
During the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) show in Las Vegas, several companies have announced that they have received FirstNet Ready status and approval. Motorola Solutions and Cradlepoint made announcements today, hitting on use cases...
Commscope also highlighted the firm is well-positioned to capture business opportunities in the 5G field
Commscope expects to see future benefits from partnerships with large North American customers despite some impacts in the firm’s margins, the firm’s CFO Alexander Pease said on a conference call...
AT&T taking 'one-touch, one-tower' approach to FirstNet build
In providing a second quarter update on the carrier's financial performance, AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan provided an update on the FirstNet deployment. AT&T is investing more than $40 billion in construction of a nationwide LTE network...
Agencies across the U.S. are preparing for the nation’s first cellular broadband network dedicated to public safety. This network will provide more reliable communication for first responders, enabling better device interoperability across different agencies.
With this new technology, first responder vehicles, traffic control and transit...
AT&T has activated FirstNet spectrum at some 2,500 sites
As the carrier activates the FirstNet LTE network dedicated for use by first responders, while simultaneously augmenting its own consumer-facing network capabilities, AT&T reports Band 14 support has been added to around 2,500 wireless sites around...
The First Responder Network was created to provide a nationwide, prioritized communication network for first responders and public health and safety agencies. This initiative creates a significant business opportunities for companies with the knowledge and expertise to create the robust, interoperable devices first responders...
ETSI plugtest event was the first to test mission-critical data, video interoperability
More than 2,000 tests of LTE mission critical push-to-talk, MC data and MC video at a Texas plugtest event resulted in a 92% test success rate, according to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute....
AT&T expands FirstNet distribution channels
AT&T continues to expand FirstNet's retail presence, with the launch of a new dealer program aimed at expanding the distribution channels and increase adoption among public safety users.
The move follows on recent news that AT&T has made FirstNet products available...
The maturity of LTE is increasingly enabling commercial mobile network operators to offer mission-critical, rather than best-effort, infrastructure and services, according to Patrik Ringqvist, principal solutions architect for Ericsson North America.
Ringqvist, who focuses on critical communications, said that he considers "mission-critical" to be "the...
Public Safety Standards Alliance says it complements standards work
A new public safety communications organization says that it seeks to help vendors, carriers and public safety communications users agree on the best standards for public safety comms needs and ensure interoperability among them.
The Public Safety...
The PSTA, the recently formed public safety open standards group, adds Verizon to its list of members.
Verizon announced on Monday that it supports the newly formed Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA), a non-profit group that formed to promote open standards for public safety services.
The...
Able to fly in tough conditions, AT&T's all-weather Flying COW drone will help first responders, FirstNet.
AT&T has designed an all-weather drone to keep its wireless network “flying” in a disaster. The all-weather Flying COW drone -- designed by AT&T with help from manufacturers and...
Last December, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in northern Virginia used a drone to help search for a 92-year-old hunter who had gotten stranded overnight in the woods. Within 20 minutes, they had sighted the man, who was then rescued safely.
Public safety agencies are...
What is MCPTT over LTE?
Mission-critical push-to-talk over LTE, or MCPTT over LTE, is an LTE feature that was first introduced in Release 13 in 2016 as the Third Generation Partnership Project sought to include LTE features that allowed the technology to better address the...
FirstNet build also supports growth in consumer market
Using its deployment of FirstNet to provide a dedicated, nationwide network to first responders, AT&T can reach deeper into rural consumer markets that typically fall to chief competitor Verizon, according to AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan. Speaking...
Join 600+ senior-level attendees from the wireless eco-system for three days of in-depth educational programming on the challenges and opportunities associated with next generation mobile networks at the DAS & Small Cells Congress in Las Vegas, June 11-13, 2018.
With 80% of mobile data traffic...
In a lofty shared workspace in San Francisco, more than 200 developers and public safety officials recently gathered to work on developing new applications first responders. It was the first official hackathon for FirstNet, which seeks to support a comprehensive ecosystem of relevant applications...
Competition for public safety customers continues to heat up, with AT&T launching its network core for the First Responders Network Authority -- and Verizon responding with the general availability of its own public safety network core.
FirstNet said that AT&T has launched the core and...
Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Rivada Networks loses...
ORLANDO, Fla.--The battle over public safety wireless customers has been joined. At this year's International Wireless Communications Expo, Verizon defended its position as the market leader in providing service to first responders, while AT&T and partner FirstNet touted the potential and innovation that they...
AT&T plans to add Band 14 to one-third of its cell sites this year
ORLANDO, Fla.--One year into the public-private partnership between AT&T and the First Responders Network Authority, the focus has significantly shifted from the years-long planning and outreach process gathering support for state...
In a keynote presentation this week at the Deutsche Bank 2018 Media, Telecom and Business Services Conference, AT&T SVP and CFO John Stephens likened the carrier's build out of FirstNet to building a house and leaving room to add 5G.
Stephens said the unanimous opt-in...
ORLANDO, Fla.--FirstNet CEO Mike Poth missed last year's International Wireless Communications Expo because the First Responders Network Authority's 25-year contract with AT&T for a national public safety broadband network was in the process of initial execution. This year, he was on-stage giving a keynote...
