The Obama administration launched a smart cities initiative that includes a $160 million investment in federal research for more than 25 technology collaborations, a White House news release said Monday. Researchers will use the new funding to create test beds for IoT applications and to develop multisector collaborative models for the technology, it said. The initiative also will focus on intercity collaborations and harnessing information technology to tackle local problems, as well as building off of sensor networks, cybersecurity and broadband infrastructure research, it said. The National Science Foundation will invest more than $35 million in smart city research and grants, including a $3 million award for the University of Chicago to create the array of things -- a network infrastructure to support the development of and deployment of sensors, embedded systems and communications systems, it said. The Department of Homeland Security plans to invest $50 million through five years to develop emergency response systems and technologies for smart cities, the White House said. DHS joins the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Census Bureau in smart cities investment. To coincide with the launch of the initiative, the White House hosted a Smart Cities Forum Monday, where representatives of government agencies and the private sector discussed the impact smart cities could have on urban life and touted various programs currently in the works.
The Obama administration launched a smart cities initiative that includes a $160 million investment in federal research for more than 25 technology collaborations, a White House news release said Monday. Researchers will use the new funding to create test beds for IoT applications and to develop multisector collaborative models for the technology, it said. The initiative also will focus on intercity collaborations and harnessing information technology to tackle local problems, as well as building off of sensor networks, cybersecurity and broadband infrastructure research, it said. The National Science Foundation will invest more than $35 million in smart city research and grants, including a $3 million award for the University of Chicago to create the array of things -- a network infrastructure to support the development of and deployment of sensors, embedded systems and communications systems, it said. The Department of Homeland Security plans to invest $50 million through five years to develop emergency response systems and technologies for smart cities, the White House said. DHS joins the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Census Bureau in smart cities investment. To coincide with the launch of the initiative, the White House hosted a Smart Cities Forum Monday, where representatives of government agencies and the private sector discussed the impact smart cities could have on urban life and touted various programs currently in the works.
Honolulu Police Department officials will implement Smart911, a free national public safety service that allows residents to provide the information dispatchers need, before an emergency happens, said a news release from Smart911. Honolulu is the first city in the state to use the system, the release said. Smart911 enables citizens to create a free safety profile online that can include any information about their households that they want 911 to have in an emergency, the release said. When a resident makes an emergency call, that person's safety profile is automatically displayed to the 911 call taker, "allowing them to send the right response teams to the right location with the right information," it said. Smart911 is available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities, the release said. Smart911 data is private and secure, and is used only for emergency responses and available in the event of an emergency call, the release said.
Honolulu Police Department officials will implement Smart911, a free national public safety service that allows residents to provide the information dispatchers need, before an emergency happens, said a news release from Smart911. Honolulu is the first city in the state to use the system, the release said. Smart911 enables citizens to create a free safety profile online that can include any information about their households that they want 911 to have in an emergency, the release said. When a resident makes an emergency call, that person's safety profile is automatically displayed to the 911 call taker, "allowing them to send the right response teams to the right location with the right information," it said. Smart911 is available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities, the release said. Smart911 data is private and secure, and is used only for emergency responses and available in the event of an emergency call, the release said.
Most state commissions and organizations representing state interests believe it's a bad idea to streamline the eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designation process for the Lifeline program. The filings in docket 11-42, among others, were in response to the FCC’s NPRM, for which comments were due Monday. Many of the state commissions believe the best way to curb waste, fraud and abuse within the program is to let the states continue to use their own designation process. Others believe this process will have to be revisited once the program is updated, because the FCC will need to see if things are working and be open to changing the things that aren’t. None of the states said it was a bad choice to include broadband in the coverage, but some of the state organizations recognized the need for a cap of some sort to keep the program from swelling too much.
Most state commissions and organizations representing state interests believe it's a bad idea to streamline the eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designation process for the Lifeline program. The filings in docket 11-42, among others, were in response to the FCC’s NPRM, for which comments were due Monday. Many of the state commissions believe the best way to curb waste, fraud and abuse within the program is to let the states continue to use their own designation process. Others believe this process will have to be revisited once the program is updated, because the FCC will need to see if things are working and be open to changing the things that aren’t. None of the states said it was a bad choice to include broadband in the coverage, but some of the state organizations recognized the need for a cap of some sort to keep the program from swelling too much.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved PTC-220’s grant of the Alaska portion of five nationwide 220-222 MHz band licenses to the Alaska Railroad so the company can implement positive train control. PTC-220 is a joint venture of the nation’s seven Class I freight railroads. The Alaska Railroad provides freight and passenger service “linking ports and communities to major metropolitan centers such as Anchorage, Fairbanks, and other communities throughout South-central and Interior Alaska,” the bureau said. PTC emerged as a big issue after the deadly May 12 Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia (see 1505150047). “PTC systems, once implemented, are intended to reduce the risk of rail accidents caused by human error, including train-to-train collisions, derailments caused by excessive speed, and unauthorized train movements in work zones,” the bureau said.
The FCC proposed that railroad police be given access to various channels, including in TV spectrum, so they can communicate with other public safety officials. In a May 2014 petition, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) asked the FCC to make railroad police eligible to use the interoperability channels.
Emergency alert system officials are conflicted about the possibilities of giving electronic messaging and social media an increased role in emergency alerting, according to panelists at an FCC EAS workshop Thursday. There are ways to use multimedia to get information to the public and get information from the public, said Jay English, APCO director-communications center and 911 service. Combining EAS and wireless messages and social media makes Maine Association of Broadcasters CEO Suzanne Goucher “very nervous,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of serious top-level questions” to answer before such changes are implemented, Goucher said.
Emergency alert system officials are conflicted about the possibilities of giving electronic messaging and social media an increased role in emergency alerting, according to panelists at an FCC EAS workshop Thursday. There are ways to use multimedia to get information to the public and get information from the public, said Jay English, APCO director-communications center and 911 service. Combining EAS and wireless messages and social media makes Maine Association of Broadcasters CEO Suzanne Goucher “very nervous,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of serious top-level questions” to answer before such changes are implemented, Goucher said.