First Responders
Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS) recently announced that the state of Kansas will become the 14th state in the country to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network that is currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
Motorola Solutions recently announced its next-generation of mission-critical, broadband-based solutions for first responders to use in public safety scenarios at the 2017 Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) show in Denver, Colorado.
According to Bruce Brda, executive... Read More »
As dangerous opioids like fentanyl continue to be an increasing issue for law enforcement, Smiths Detection, Inc. (SDI) recently announced that it has adapted three of its technologies in order to detect and identify fentanyl to limit officers’ exposure to the drug on duty.
Unlike more common... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently began working closely with local first responders to test new technologies, and the New York Police Department (NYPD) has benefited.
The directorate’s First Responder Group (FRG) recently engaged in several... Read More »
The U.S. Senate advanced legislation Wednesday that would reauthorize grant programs that provide funds for training, equipment and staffing to fire and emergency services personnel.
The bill, co-sponsored by John McCain (R-AZ), Jon Tester (D-MT), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Tom Carper (D-DE),... Read More »
Gov. Susana Martinez (R-NM) recently announced that New Mexico will become the eighth state in the country to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network that is currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
Gov. Jim Justice (D-WV) recently announced that West Virginia will become the seventh state in the country to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network that is currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
The Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Workshop Series Act of 2017 was advanced by the House Homeland Security Committee this week in effort to coordinate preparations for terrorist attacks between first responders.
The bill targets first responders at all levels--federal, state and local--by... Read More »
FirstNet’s deployment of an interoperable National Public Safety Broadband Network for first responders is an unprecedented undertaking, CEO Michael Poth testified last week on Capitol Hill.
“Every step forward presents new challenges and requires identification of innovative solutions,”... Read More »
Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) recently announced that New Jersey will become the sixth state in the country to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network that is currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement, FirstNet... Read More »
A bill that would require states that receive federal funds for law enforcement programs to properly document all relevant details surrounding an officer-related shooting that result in the death of a civilian was recently introduced to the Senate by U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Chuck Grassley... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), which is charged with establishing a nationwide wireless broadband network for first responders, should more fully address the concerns voiced by tribal stakeholders and proactively develop a long-term staffing plan as the public-safety project... Read More »
More than 300 public safety professionals representing 20 African nations convened in Khartoum, Sudan for an educational event hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where participants trained in various aspects of response operations, radiological hazards, and emergency public... Read More »
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) recently announced that the state of Iowa would become the fifth state in the country to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network that is currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
The states of Kentucky and Arkansas recently announced that they will become the third and fourth states, respectively, to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
Gov. Matthew Mead (R-WY) recently announced that Wyoming will be the second state in America to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network for first responders, which is being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
Both Republican and Democrat members of the House appeared poised during a Wednesday hearing to reauthorize key FEMA programs providing matching grants for local firefighters, though the level of funding is still up in the air.
Members of both parties appeared convinced the grants, known as the... Read More »
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) signed a letter this week, accepting the plan laid out by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T to build a wireless public safety broadband network throughout Virginia, making it the first state in the country to do so.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released a proposal to add an alert option to the nation’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) that aims to protect law enforcement officers by allowing them to notify the public of various threats to officers and provide information on wanted... Read More »
Legislation from U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) that supports the nation’s efforts to prepare for and respond to terror attacks and emergencies cleared the House Homeland Security Committee last week as part of the Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act.
Donovan, who serves as... Read More »
The first nationwide high-speed network for first responders edged closer to launching this week with the release of individual state plans by AT&T and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to help expedite the network’s buildout.
Officials will have up to 45 days to review plans... Read More »
As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) locks in its budget priorities, on the potential chopping block is the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC)—a potentially devastating public health concern, one expert says.
That center, which aided governmental response... Read More »
AT&T recently selected Motorola Solutions to provide a variety of mobile applications, software and services as part of its rollout of the first nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network for first responders.
AT&T was chosen as the developer of the network by the First Responder... Read More »
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an organization within the U.S. Department of Commerce, recently awarded $38.5 million for 33 different research and development projects that seek to advance broadband communication technologies for first responders.
The grants are... Read More »
Members of the House Homeland Security Committee from both parties expressed opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed budget that would cut funding for training and deployment for local security programs by as much as 30 percent next year, even while the overall funding for the... Read More »
In the weeks since AT&T was awarded a contract to develop the first nationwide broadband network for first responders, FirstNet has since been begun the process of providing each state governor with a notice of completion for the request for proposal process.
While AT&T was awarded with the... Read More »
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee recently held a hearing discussing the nation’s emergency alert systems and how technological advancements could alter their future.
“Outfitting first responders with the robust capabilities of broadband... Read More »
A bill to improve enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws by cracking down on sanctuary city policies was recently introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Reps. Raúl Labrador
(R-ID) and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA).
The Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and... Read More »
A bipartisan bill to assist local fire departments in saving money and hire more trained first responders was recently introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME).
The Firefighters Retention Act of 2017 gives fire departments the ability to use Staffing... Read More »
A team of scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently began an initiative on developing technologies to detect trace amount of fentanyl, heroin, and other substances to help prevent accidental exposure for law enforcement.
Through a research paper... Read More »
Fourteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced this week the First Responders Passport Act, which allows the Secretary of State to waive passport fees for American first responders when making trips abroad to assist in natural disaster response efforts.
The bipartisan group... Read More »
The Georgia Department of Defense and the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency recently co-hosted the Vigilant Guard 17 emergency-response exercise to test emergency first response capabilities during a potential disaster scenario.
The exercise was conducted in response to... Read More »
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing last week to examine the nation’s 911 networks and any weaknesses that may exist within the system itself.
The purpose of the hearing, titled Realizing Nationwide Next-Generation 911, was to... Read More »
Build out of the nation’s first wireless high-speed communications system aimed at connecting all of America’s first responders via a dedicated broadband network will begin this fall, says AT&T, the new primary contractor in a federal government contract valued at $46.5 billion.
The... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross plans to make an announcement on Thursday regarding the signing of a 25-year contract for a public-private partnership to create the first nationwide public safety broadband network.
AT&T is the only publicly known entity that is being considered for the... Read More »
