Baltimore became the latest city to deploy Everbridge’s public safety platform as a tool for notifying residents during emergencies, the company said. The solution “enables Baltimore to reach its population through a multi-modal approach, including text, email, mobile app notifications, voice calls, TTY/TDD, and social media,” Everbridge said Monday. “This flexibility ensures that emergency messages can be disseminated quickly across multiple channels, reaching the right people at the right time -- whether citywide or targeted to specific areas affected by an event.”
The National Sheriffs' Association and the California State Sheriffs' Association made their case for staying parts of the FCC’s October order on the 4.9 GHz band. The groups supported arguments by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (see 2503070024), which also sought a stay, and countered arguments by the FCC, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) and Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (see 2503030053).
The FCC has signed off on SpaceX's requested waiver of the aggregate out-of-band power flux density limits that the FCC adopted in its 2024 supplemental coverage from space order (see 2406180006). The FCC Space and Wireless bureaus said in an order Friday (docket 23-135) that supplemental coverage from space service "is at a nascent stage of development, and we find that strict application of the rule risks hindering the widespread deployment of this particular SCS network." The approval is conditioned on SpaceX addressing any harmful interference that occurs. The waiver covers only the five MHz band segments directly adjacent to the PCS G Block where SpaceX will operate.
Global spending on future railway mobile communication system-ready 5G and LTE networks will reach $1.2 billion from 2024-27 and grow 23%, ResearchAndMarkets.com said Friday. “Private 5G and 4G LTE cellular networks … are rapidly gaining popularity across a diverse range of vertical industries,” the report said: The rail industry "is no exception to this trend, as public transport operators increasingly turn to mission-critical LTE networks over aging … systems and other legacy technologies.” The report highlights systems in Australia, China, France, Germany, South Korea and Spain, among other nations.
Wireless ISP Association representatives met with aides to FCC Commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks to urge action on spectrum bands of importance to its members. WISPA members “agree with the position of the Spectrum for the Future coalition that the Commission should reject calls by some companies to substantially increase the power levels” for citizens broadband radio service devices or “substantially change the out-of-band emission levels,” said a filing posted Friday in 25-70 and other dockets. WISPA also weighed in on changes to the 10-10.5 GHz, lower and upper 12 GHz, 37.0-37.6 GHz and 42.0-42.5 GHz bands. In addition, it urged the FCC to finalize rules on unlicensed use of the 5.9 GHz band.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) disagreed sharply with FCC arguments and groups supporting FirstNet that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit shouldn’t stay parts of the FCC’s October order on the 4.9 GHz band. BART, the National Sheriffs' Association and the California State Sheriffs' Association sought a stay, which was opposed by the commission, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance and Public Safety Broadband Technology Association (see 2503030053).
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved 28 more licenses in the 900 MHz broadband segment for PDV Spectrum. All are in Texas. The FCC approved an order in 2020 reallocating a 6 MHz swath in the band for broadband while maintaining 4 MHz for narrowband operations (see 2005130057).
NCTA filed at the FCC results of recent tests that it said justify concerns about proposals to relax in-band emissions limits in the citizens broadband radio service band. The tests by Charter Communications “show up to 60-plus percent degradation in service” from the change, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258. “NCTA’s previously submitted simulation studies and the February … Lab Test Results provide consistent and complementary views of the frequency with which different interference scenarios resulting from elevated, undesired emissions limits will occur in real-world deployments, thus harming the CBRS operating environment,” NCTA said.
Garmin International filed a petition for rulemaking at the FCC asking for a review of technical limitations on the frequency and duration of automated digital data transmissions by handheld general mobile radio service (GMRS) devices. Garmin noted in an undocketed filing that it was required to file the petition as a condition of a January waiver allowing Garmin to offer handheld GMRS devices that transmit digital data communications as often as every five seconds. Current rules allow one transmission during every 30-second period. The proposed modifications to Section 95.1787 of FCC rules “will allow manufacturers to market hand-held GMRS devices that increase public safety by enabling the automatic transmission of digital data, such as GPS data and text messages, utilizing a new protocol,” said the petition, filed Wednesday. “The existing protocol for data transmissions set forth in the Commission’s rules should be maintained as an alternative to Garmin’s proposed new protocol.”
T-Mobile’s SpaceX-enabled text messaging service, T-Mobile Starlink, is just the start of space-based communications the carrier plans to offer, CFO Peter Osvaldik said late Wednesday at a Morgan Stanley financial conference. Much of the discussion was about satellite communications and fiber, demonstrating T-Mobile’s evolving business plan.