All 50 U.S. States Join FirstNet, a Nationwide Cell Network for First Responders...

All 50 U.S. States Join FirstNet, a Nationwide Cell Network for First Responders... xda-developers Dec 30, 2017 3:00 AM • by Doug Lynch All 50 U.S. States Join FirstNet, a Nationwide Cell Network for First Responders In the United States, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and other first responders are at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to mobile communications. Congestion on commercial networks can impede their ability to communicate with team members, and local jurisdictions use technologies that aren't always interoperable. Those were the motivations behind FirstNet, a nationwide mobile broadband network reserved for emergency services. It's making progress: As of this week, all 50 states have opted into the program. Congress passed the legislation that established FirstNet in 2012, and AT&T, which won the contract to build it, got to work, drawing funding from $7 billion in proceeds from a government airwave auction (funded by a 2015 FCC auction). The legislation didn't force states to join FirstNet, but the deadline for enrollment ended this month, and all 50 states — including Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico — decided to opt in. Here's how FirstNet works, courtesy Axios: "Fast lane": First responders get their own "fast lane" on the network to communicate during emergencies or large events. The core network will be built by Spring 2018, with the full network being complete over 3 to 5 years. Boon for AT&T: The company gets access to a sizable swatch of airwaves, which are extremely valuable because they can travel decent distances and through obstructions like trees and buildings. Sharing bandwidth: When the airwaves are not in use by public safety agencies, AT&T can use these airwaves to supplement their own commercial wireless coverage — a significant incentive to agree to the government requirements for building the network. The catch: If first responders need to use the network, commercial applications will be slowed down or bumped off to give first responders priority access. This will also be a boon for cell-site tower companies that will be needed to build the nationwide network in both cities and rural areas. App Store: FirstNet will have an app store with approved mobile apps that are optimized for public safety use. Security: The network will provide full encryption of public safety data, and states will have access to a dedicated Security Operations Center. No matter how you slice it, FirstNet's progress is good news for emergency service workers. Here's hoping it rolls out as planned. Source: Axios Android Advices Nov 24, 2017 2:17 PM • by Teja Chedalla CENTRiC A1 Smartphone Launched with 5.5″ Full HD Display & Quick Charge 3.0 Support Earlier this year, the Indian smartphone brand CENTRiC had launched four new budget smartphones – CENTRiC L1, CENTRiC P1, CENTRiC P1 Plus and CENTRiC G1. All these devices are priced under Rs. 10,000 and came with 4G VoLTE support. Now, the company is all set to launch a new smartphone called Centric A1. It is priced at Rs. 10,999 and offers unibody metal design. The smartphone will be available in Metallic Earl Grey, White & Peach Gold, Gold & Peach Gold color options. Unlike many other smartphones in the budget segment, the CENTRiC A1 packs uncompromised specifications. It sports a 5.5-inch In-cell display with Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) and includes Dragontrail Glass protection on the top. Under the hood, the CENTRiC A1 is powered by a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 (MSM8937) Octa-core processor coupled with Adreno 505 GPU. It includes 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded additionally up to 256GB via a MicroSD card. On the rear of the device is a 13MP camera with PDAF, 5P lens, and dual LED flash. There is an 8MP front-facing camera with LED flash and 90-degree Field-of-View for wider selfies. The device supports dual SIM dual standby using the hybrid SIM slot. It is backed by a 3,000mAh non-removable that is rated to give up to 15 hours of talk time and lasts up to 210 hours in standby mode. The CENTRiC A1 also supports Quick Charge 3.0 that can give 4 hours of talk time with just 10 minutes of charging. The fingerprint sensor is placed on the rear of the device. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, FM Radio, 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB Type-C port. It runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, and there is no information about the Android 8.0 Oreo update. It also includes a bunch of sensors including Gyroscope, E-Compass, G-Sensor, Light sensor, Proximity sensor, and Hall sensor. The CENTRiC A1 measures 152 x 76 x 7.8 mm and weighs 160 grams. Beneath the display are the three capacitive navigation button for back, home, and multitasking (left to right). Let us know, would you be interested in using a smartphone from a relatively new brand. Share your opinion with us by commenting down below. This email has been sent by Froze ONE (isnanmm0@gmail.com). It is the potion result of 'Tech: Topic watch' from the dashboard 'Personal Dashboard', tab 'Tech > Android'. Unsubscribe © Netvibes 2005-2017 | Terms of service | Privacy Policy Find Netvibes also on: Facebook Twitter Google+ Flickr

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