The Third Generation Partnership Project, or 3GPP, held Plenary meetings in March 2024. The meetings highlighted progress reported in the 3GPP Radio Access Network and Core Terminal groups related to completing work in Release 18. Additionally, the Service and System Aspects group activities continued to focus on Release 19 as well as planning a 6G workshop in 2025.

Maine is undertaking a statewide project to install FirstNet in all its ambulances — to keep them connected and communicating wherever the call takes them. Integrating FirstNet into ambulances improves pre-hospital care and safety for patients, responders, vehicles, and roads.

Wherever law enforcement officers work, they need fast and reliable connectivity. One of the most important innovations for public safety communications is 5G. With 5G, wireless connectivity can move more data at greater speeds in near real time. 5G will have a big impact on the ability of officers to do their jobs safely and efficiently.

Firefighters need specialized communication tools when battling wildland fires, especially when they threaten wildland urban interfaces. FirstNet was designed for public safety operations and has unique tools for fighting fires in the wildland urban interface, including versatile deployables and high-power user equipment.

This June in Chicago, Illinois, two agencies within the U.S. Department of Commerce are coming together to advance communications technology for public safety. FirstNet Authority and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Public Safety communication Research Division (NIST PSCR) will host the second annual 5x5: The Public Safety Innovation Summit, where leaders in public safety, government, industry, and academia will collaborate to build the future of public safety technology.