interoperability

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CHAIRMAN KEVIN MARTIN could face trouble securing support from the agency’s two Democrats for a key component of his 700 MHz plan, but the draft rule could entice Verizon Wireless to become more serious about a possible …

“Serenity now!” yelled the character George Costanza in one episode of the 1990s sitcom, “Seinfeld.”Costanza’s anguished cry underscored the unbridgeable gap between his desperate need for serenity and the angst that gripped his soul.A roughly analogous gap may yawn between …

The public-safety community appears to be gathering behind the 700 MHz plan floated by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, a stark contrast to the volatile reaction to his attempt to impose an open-access-like condition to a third of the …

WHILE FRONTLINE WIRELESS L.L.C., Congress and the mobile-phone industry sound off in the final throes of a testy, high-profile 700 MHz debate, the steady, low-key diplomacy of the public-safety community could prove decisive in determining whether the Federal Communications Commission …

Almost half of early adopters in the United States planning to replace their cellphones want Wi-Fi capability, according to a recent survey by In-Stat. The market research firm noted that there are numerous dual-mode phones in the pipeline to meet …

Stalwarts in media are increasingly bullish on driving their audience’s eyes and ears to just about every channel imaginable. But just as these powerhouses are finally finding their online groove, they’re efforts are being re-doubled on the next frontier in …

Cyren Call Communications Corp., unable to convince policymakers to divert half of the auction-bound 700 MHz spectrum for a national public safety/commercial wireless broadband system, is exploring various options that could still make it a player long after bidding ends. …

The Federal Communications Commission, facing congressionally-mandated deadlines and time pressures to complete 700 MHz rules to give wireless license bidders sufficient time to prepare for the upcoming spectrum auction, suddenly finds itself bogged down trying to balance competition, public safety, …

The notion that government intervention should be an act of last resort when markets fail has gained popularity among economists and policy-makers in recent decades. It was Milton Friedman’s credo. There is less certainty about what to do about government …

The Justice Department said it picked General Dynamics Corp. to deploy a wireless network to be shared by three federal agencies, the selection coming just weeks after the department’s inspector general issued a scathing report on Bush administration problems in …

To accelerate adoption of DVB-H-based mobile TV services, Nokia Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. will work on interoperability of their devices that run on that standard, the two companies announced.The vendors will work in tandem to support solutions based …

The Federal Communications Commission is set to launch a fast-track rulemaking on Frontline Wireless L.L.C.’s public-safety broadband plan and other issues not resolved in next week’s scheduled decision on commercial 700 MHz rules.An apparent casualty of the latest developments is …

A conglomeration of major players in the wireless industry is putting their collective weight behind a mobile TV profile that supports fast implementation and ensures interoperability in Europe. The new profile simplifies the Open Mobile Alliance Mobile Broadcast Services Enabler …

With the intractable Iraqi war having become so divisive after four years and ironically so devastatingly disruptive to the once-overarching homeland security framework for nearly all public policy, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D-N.Y.) statement honoring National Public Safety Telecommunications Week …

EMI Group has become the first major music label to offer digital music tracks without anti-piracy software. The move has some claiming digital rights management (DRM) software is slipping precariously close to its demise, while others are holding out to …

The growing pool of federal dollars for interoperable public-safety communications grants could get even bigger, even though the nearly $3 billion spent to date has largely failed to improve first- responder communications around the country.Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe …

It’s over. There will be presidential statements and appearances, congressional hearings where FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will continue to be roughed up, and all the other familiar trappings of government at work. With the 2008 White House sweepstakes already in …

Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) plans to offer a bill mandating a federal standard for interoperable public-safety communications if one cannot be achieved voluntarily. But emerging technological solutions appear to be altering the broader debate over first-responder spectrum and interoperability and …

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said he soon plans to re-introduce legislation making permanent the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s public-safety interoperability grant program. NTIA, a unit of the Commerce Department, …

VeriSign Inc. announced it will handle regional wireless carrier Dobson Communication Corp.’s voice and data settlement operations, starting in April. In a separate but related announcement, Rural Cellular Corp. said it renewed its settlement deal with Syniverse. Syniverse said it …

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.-Social networking sites and user-generated content have taken the drivers seat in the world of digital media, said Michael Stroud, CEO and co-founder of iHollywood Forum, in opening remarks at last week’s Digital Media Summit here. Hollywood’s stock and …

The Senate last week approved legislation to improve public-safety communications interoperability and location-based wireless 911, two vital homeland security components that remain weak links more than five years after the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the deadly, destructive hurricanes of …

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.-Digital rights management is an inevitable byproduct of the capabilies consumers now have to store and stream large amounts of information, but for it to function properly it must be virtually invisible to the consumer, Albhy Galuten, vice president …

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) is pushing an amendment to a homeland security bill that would ensure Internet Protocol-based solutions are not excluded from government grants aimed at making public-safety communications interoperable.Sununu’s proposed amendment is expected to be voted on this …

The Senate is set to vote this week on a homeland security bill that includes more federal support for interoperable public-safety wireless communications.The legislation addresses a serious first-responder problem highlighted in rescue efforts in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. …