What is AT&T Doing to Expand 5G and In-Building Service for FirstNet

AT&T is known as America’s public safety wireless communications provider and the carrier that built FirstNet. Currently, they cover more first responders than any other network in the country. Now they are trying to expand that coverage with 5G. They’re also working on boosting dedicated in-building connectivity and enhancing 9-1-1 resiliency across Tennessee. FirstNet will be used there as a wireless backup.

“Our commitment to first responders is unparalleled. By delivering 5G on FirstNet in this unique way, public safety is getting a head start on the future of connectivity, without compromising on the reliability they require for their critical communications,” said Jason Porter, President, Public Sector and FirstNet, at AT&T. “And with first responder agencies now able to put their network in buildings where they need it most, we’re equipping first responders with a network that’s second-to-none today and for decades to come.”

Expanding 5G

AT&T has expanded 5G on FirstNet to more than 40 cities. Places like Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Minneapolis, Nashville, Phoenix, Seattle and St. Louis can now access AT&T mid-band 5G+ spectrum. The benefits of this ultra-fast connectivity will certainly meet unique mission needs. This means first responders in about 100 markets across the country have access to at least 1 of the 3 flavors of 5G (using low-, mid- and high-band spectrum) that AT&T is delivering on FirstNet. 

Boosting dedicated in-building connectivity

In efforts to further assist first responders, a network investment was sent to AT&T from the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority). This now allows qualified first responder agencies on FirstNet to get FREE Cell Booster Pro systems. Thousands of these will be dispersed and will be used in areas where the agencies have previously experienced connectivity challenges. 

Lisa Casias, the Acting CEO for the First Responder Network Authority, said in a statement to AT&T, “The FirstNet Authority’s investments in the network are guided by the needs of public safety. This unique process is a testament to FirstNet truly being built for and by public safety. We are pleased to work alongside public safety to bring them the tools needed to keep our communities safe.” 

The Cell Booster Pro is an enterprise-grade mini cell site that provides reliable connectivity for public safety on FirstNet. However it will also provide better service for employees and visitors on the AT&T commercial network. The Cell Booster Pro transmits public safety’s high-quality Band 14 spectrum as well as AT&T commercial LTE. With the ability to mesh 3 of these mini cell sites within a building, agencies can increase coverage by up to 45,000 square feet, supporting nearly 200 users. 

Enhancing 9-1-1 resiliency across Tennessee

AT&T is also uniquely positioned to equip 9-1-1 call centers, or public safety answering points (PSAPs), and first responders with an integrated infrastructure. This allows them to be more flexible, resilient and agile. This is the reason they’ve integrated AT&T ESInet with the FirstNet network. It will extend network connectivity to remote PSAPs that are either hard to reach or experiencing an outage. The State of Tennessee is leading the country in deploying this innovative solution at every PSAP across the state. This further protects the nearly 7 million people who call the Volunteer State home.

“We understand that we play a vital role in providing a link to members of our community and first responders,” says Curtis Sutton, Executive Director, Tennessee Emergency Communications Board. “We took key lessons learned following the emergency events in December 2020 and worked with AT&T and other agencies to design a solution to increase our reliability and resiliency. In addition to creating redundancies through traditional connections with AT&T ESInet, we are implementing a wireless connection with FirstNet, which gives us an even more robust dependability than we could have imagined.”

Interoperability with FirstNet enables redundancy, resiliency and agility with AT&T ESInet so that PSAPs can focus on keeping their communities safe. If AT&T ESInet detects a disruption to the primary connection of a 9-1-1 call center, it will automatically route 9-1-1 calls over the FirstNet network to a remote PSAP. This integration strengthens PSAPs to maintain operations. It also creates a path for future Next Generation 9-1-1 technologies, including videos and images. These technologies allow PSAPs to coordinate with first responders more efficiently, improve situational awareness and reduce response times.

Why is this important? 

AT&T is the only carrier that can provide end-to-end emergency communication solutions, from 9-1-1 to dispatch to response. For them, it’s all about where first responders need connectivity. Emergencies are unpredictable and during these critical moments, the public safety community needs reliable, interoperable communications. Today, more than 21,800 agencies and organizations – accounting for 3.7 million connections (as of Q2 2022) – use FirstNet to stay mission-ready. AT&T has seen significant growth in FirstNet because the public safety community recognizes commercial networks aren’t designed to properly handle the specific and niche demands of first responders. And commercial networks are not subject to the rigorous level of oversight and accountability by the federal government. That’s why public safety has FirstNet.

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Updates on 5Gstore’s YouTube Channel

Did you know that 5Gstore.com has a YouTube channel? You may have come across videos on a few of our product pages, but we have much more available than that. 

As new hardware is released, we realize that just reading specs on a page can only tell you so much about the product. Most of us in this industry are very hands-on. We want you to be able to join us as we explore new and existing products as well as discover new tips about those products and how to use them. 

We are now releasing videos daily so be sure to check them out and subscribe for more.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please reach out to our team by phone, email, or chat. We’d love to hear from you!

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What is Cradlepoint NetCloud Exchange?

As our businesses changed with the pandemic, the need for the Internet in remote locations, cloud computing, and security all increased and continues to do so. Among other companies, Cradlepoint was able to assist greatly in these areas. At this time, their company believes that wide area network (WAN) architectures have proven too limited. They’re also too inflexible for securely connecting distributed enterprise sites, vehicles, remote employees and devices.

5G is also quite a big factor here that will assist in evolving the industry standards. Cellular is becoming more essential as an alternative or backup WAN so it is important that it can easily be managed and secured.

As a response, Cradlepoint has released a new version of NetCloud that is designed to address common issues and help “lean IT organizations” amplify their 5G experience. This will assist with advanced SD-WAN, zero-trust capabilities, and security services.

“As organizations continue to undergo digital transformation, IT teams must evolve how they manage the network edge,” said Rohit Mehra, group vice-president of network and telecom infrastructure at leading analyst IDC. “Cradlepoint’s innovation in wireless WAN is enabling enterprises to deploy 5G with the management and security functions needed to scale.”

The new software, called NetCloud Exchange, is based on what is called an agile LTE/5G VPN-like service. More importantly, it’s been designed to enable secure end-to-end connections for thousands of locations in just three steps. Zero-trust principles include IP address cloaking and no default network access to change the traditional VPN paradigm from “connect and then secure”, to “secure and then connect” to provide least privileged-based access.

Advanced SD-WAN features are of course an extension of Cradlepoint’s current SD-WAN capabilities. The advancement is that they have added end-to-end support and advanced application optimization. This adds features such as 5G network slicing, simplified configuration at scale, more advanced cloud integration, more resilient and flexible traffic steering, and more scalable and resilient private and cloud data center terminations.

Zero-trust network access consists of a service that is simple to deploy and uses flexible, granular user, site, application and resource-based policies that use identity, context and 5G attributes to control network access.  

All services are delivered using the NetCloud Exchange Service Gateway offering for private and cloud data centers, which aggregates remote connections, provides flow-level visibility and acts as the policy-enforcement point for the services it supports.

Cradlepoint’s EMEA product manager said, “Most network solutions today are designed for wired-only deployments. With the new NetCloud Exchange extension, NetCloud now offers new 5G and security-first services to support enterprise WAN transformation, including end-to-end secure connectivity, hybrid SD-WAN and zero-trust networking – all lifecycle-managed through a single pane of glass.”

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5Gstore.com Scheduled Maintenance Alert

As with any technology, there are periodic updates that are needed to keep things running smoothly. The same goes for the 5Gstore.com servers. 

To avoid any potential issues, please be aware that our team has scheduled maintenance. This will take place on our main server this Sunday, August 21st from 12pm – 12:30pm CST.  

Once the maintenance is completed, everything with 5Gstore.com will return to normal. Should you experience any issues outside this scheduled period, please reach out to our team by phone, email, or chat. 

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How Important is Latency to 5G Users?

According to Ericsson, user experience is all about “time-to-content” – in other words, how fast does my video start or my webpage load after I click to open it? Based on a study the company recently conducted, they found that latency is rarely a factor when it comes to user satisfaction. 

Reiner Ludwig, Strategic Product Manager in the Business Area Networks at Ericsson wrote a blog on just this – “Latency hardly impacts smartphone user experience in advanced 5G and 4G networks.”

In describing the study, Ludwig says they used high-end smartphones in a controlled environment. These were all requesting popular content (YouTube, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, Uber, etc) in an automated way. 

“For the latency measurements, we have ensured that sufficient up- and download speeds were available to the devices at all times: an uplink throughput “at click” of at least 1 Mbps and a downlink throughput “at click” of at least 20 Mbps,” he said. 

Tools and guidelines for the study were provided by Google on web.dev. This allowed them to see the relationship between time-to-content and latency, and time-to-content and up- and download speeds.

What is Latency?

Ludwig describes latency as the time it takes for a device to send one small ‘echo’ packet to the serving content server and the corresponding ‘echo-reply’ packet to return to the device. This period of time is also called the round-trip time. 

What isn’t latency? It’s NOT the same as time-to-content. This is where many people tend to misunderstand. 

Where is Low Latency Most Helpful? 

While low latency is important to online gamers, it’s more crucial for machines. 

“Machines, not humans, can benefit from the ultra-low and ultra-reliable latencies that only 5G can provide. For example, think about video-controlled high-precision robots in a smart factory. Here, you might see latencies below 10 ms, i.e., ultra-low, and without latency spikes exceeding 10 ms, i.e., ultra-reliable. Meeting these tough requirements is one of the key drivers behind Ericsson’s launch of a new product offering targeted at Time-Critical Communication,” says Ludwig.

Surprisingly, us humans are hardly able to tell the difference between 30 and 50ms of latency. Ludwig explains that 5G and 4G latency in the U.S. is usually less than 50 ms. This came from a 6 month analysis of Ookla’s speed test results, which were gathered from all across the U.S.

The takeaway here is that 5G (human) user experience is determined by speed, not much by latency. However, Ludwig admits, “Once 5G use cases such as virtual and augmented reality become mainstream, some aspects might need to be revisited.”

To view Ludwig’s blog in its entirety, see here.

 

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How do I connect to the internet between two buildings?

The Long Range WiFi Bridge System is a product that so many can take advantage of whether it be for personal or professional use. 

As working from home and continuing education from home continue to become a new norm – many have found that this is a solution to assist in making it easier to do successfully without having issues due to the location or poor WiFi signal. This is specifically useful when you are in need of an Ethernet connection, in a location that does not currently support that. 

  • This system gives you the option of reaping the benefits of Ethernet in location 2 like you have in the main location(where you router is setup) without having to go down the path of working with a company to:
    • Dig up a trench
    • Run Cable
    • Having holes cut/drilled out in the walls for new entry points for ethernet ports. 

Product Highlights:

  1. The Long Range P2P Wireless Ethernet Bridge is built to be waterproof and dustproof
  2. It’s dependable even in a harsh environment
  3. Delivers Long and short range point to point links
  4. Supports a wide range of outdoor applications
  5. Links two networks together so that files can be shared on the Internet.

Use Case: 

The main router is setup in office building 1, and you are in need of a better signal in office building 2.

How It Works:

  1. You would need to connect one of the kit’s antennas to your main router in building 1 via an ethernet cable (Power Is Required). 
    1. This is mounted either in a window or outside the home, but pointed in the direction of building 2. 
  2. The other antenna mounts at building 2 and must connect via Ethernet to another Router, WiFi Access Point, or Ethernet Switch – depending on what’s needed to connect at the building. 
  3. This antenna points back to the antenna in building 1.
  4. Here is a video that also demonstrates how this system works! 

The biggest benefit of doing this is not having to run any cabling to the second location in order to create a bridged network.  You may ask “Why not a WiFi Repeater?,” but that type of solution may not work in this case.

Have questions about the Long Range WiFi Bridge System? Contact us today!

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Where Can I Find a Simple Fax Solution?

Looking for a simple and easy way to fax? No fax machine? No problem! You can now send and receive faxes from anywhere with 5Gstore’s e-fax service. Port your existing fax number or we can get you set-up with a brand new one. Fax from anywhere, anytime, on any device. Big bulky fax machines and paper not required!

5Gstore’s fax service will allow you to send faxes from your email or by logging into your 5Gstore fax account by visiting 5Gstore.com. Received faxes can notify up to 10 recipients via email as an attachment or a link that can be viewed or downloaded. Our fax service supports pdf, .docx, .doc, .jpg .jpeg, .xls and .xlsx files. Send one or multiple documents as a single fax.

You can get started with 5Gstore’s e-fax service for a one time set-up fee of 29.99 or just 9.99 for customers who purchased OneTalk with 5Gstore. Monthly fees are as low as 9.99 with 3 different price plans that you can choose from.

  • Low Usage:
    • Monthly fee: $9.99
    • Pages: 150 pages included, additional pages $0.10/ea
    • Notification recipients: 2
    • Senders: 2
  • Medium Usage:
    • Monthly fee: $14.99
    • Pages: 300 pages included, additional pages $0.07/ea
    • Notification recipients: 5
    • Senders: 5
  • High Usage:
    • Monthly fee: $19.99
    • Pages: 500 pages included, additional pages $0.05/ea
    • Notification recipients: 10
    • Senders: 10

To manage your fax service, set-up user notifications, view usage, billing history, as well as send and receive faxes, log into your account at 5Gstore.com. Navigate to “My Account” and then select “fax”. Click “settings” to view or update settings for your fax line. To add a subject and message as a cover sheet when sending faxes, select “include cover sheet”. You can also add or edit recipients or senders. Senders can send faxes from your fax number via email. Recipients are notified when a fax is received. These notifications can be sent via email or sms with a pdf attachment or link that can be viewed or downloaded.

Faxes can be sent by logging into your 5Gstore account or by email. To send faxes from your 5Gstore account, click the “send fax” link. Enter the fax number, select the attachments that need to be faxed, and fill in the subject and cover letter message (if “include cover letter” is selected) Documents supported by our service are pdf, .docx, .doc, .jpg .jpeg, .xls and .xlsx. To send a fax via email you must be added as a sender in the account settings. Faxes can be sent to any U.S. fax number with your email program. Send your email with attachments to faxnumber@faxmy.email (e.g 2223334444@faxmy.email) and the recipient will receive it just like a traditional fax.

Faxes sent to your fax number will be sent to the users set-up in your account as well as stored in your account. They can be viewed or downloaded by logging into your 5Gstore account. Select My Account, click Fax, and then select “messages”.

In the office or on the go, 5Gstore is here to help you stay connected.

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How Fast Can I Get My Order?

Everybody has things to do, and everybody wants to get things done.  Preferably as fast, easy, and cost efficient as possible.  5Gstore is no different, in our mission statement “Helping You Stay Connected”, we too want to help people get things done with as little hassle as possible. 

The 5Gstore team works hard to have what you need, with the people and knowledge you want to get your desired results.  The only question is how to decide the best way to get what we have to you?  When you order from 5Gstore you can choose to order on your own account with a particular shipper or you can choose to use our account with the discounted rate applied.  When you check out on our website, there’s several options available to you but what is the difference between them all?

Whenever anything is shipped by any shipping company, the first thing to understand is that there are no guarantees.  The estimations for delivery are calculated based on factors such as, where is it coming from, and where is it going to.  What is the item, box, weight and when is the pickup of the package are also factors.  Weather, distance, and available hubs along the route of the package also play a part.  

The map below is our FedEx Ground Delivery guide which shows approximately how long a package should take to reach its destination, it clearly shows that the farther from the starting point (the star in Illinois) the longer it will take to reach the destination. 

As mentioned earlier, there are several options available to you on our website at the time of checkout and we can use an example of a 1 lb. package being shipped from the 5Gstore warehouse to New Orleans, Louisiana as a guide to see how it affects costs.  

  • SmartPost– This is the most cost effective way to do shipping but it may take 10-14 business days to arrive and with the SmartPost feature your package may be handed off to USPS to complete the delivery process.                      
    •  Cost to N.O.L.A.  $12.37
  • Ground– This is the most common means of transportation for packages.  The map above is a good guide for how many days it will take.      
    •  Cost to N.O.L.A.  $17.69
  • Express Saver–  This is the FedEx term for 3 day delivery. This is a rarely used means of delivery since it’s hardly financially beneficial.              
    • Cost to N.O.L.A.  $30.03
  • 2 Day– This is a semi-popular method, especially for those who live further away from the starting point.  When compared to Express Saver it’s the obvious choice since it’s slightly more to get the package a day earlier.                 
    • Cost to N.O.L.A.  $30.99

The above options are helpful when you need your product.   But what about when you need your product right NOW!?  There are 3 different overnight delivery options for you to choose from. 

  • Standard Overnight–  This option will get you your package tomorrow, and it could arrive at any time during the day.
    • Cost to N.O.L.A.  $44.01
  • Priority Overnight– This option will make your package a priority and will be delivered before noon.
    • Cost to N.O.L.A   $49.42
  • First Overnight– This option moves your package to the very top of the priority list, and could be there as early as 7:00 a.m. This could be a risky purchase if you have a business that doesn’t open until 9 or nobody at the house is an early riser.  If you absolutely need it, and you know it will be received then this might also be your best option.  
    • Cost to N.O.L.A.  $151.84

Though the information was for FedEx, all shipping companies operate very similarly regardless of which verbiage they use.  We hope that our example from 5Gstore to New Orleans gives you a better understanding of how costs are affected and what options are available to you.  If ever you are placing an order that is very large, or to a remote location within the country please feel free to call us ahead of making the order so that an estimated shipping quote can be created for you.  

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How Do I Activate My Cellular Device?

Today we’re going to go over some details and tips for activating your cellular modem or router. First, a little background information before you get started. Each cellular device – whether that be your cell phone, a mobile hotspot, or a cellular router – has an IMEI number. This is much like a serial number, as it is used to identify cellular devices. 

Each cellular carrier has a certification process they put cellular modems through. This is essentially a test to verify the modem is compatible with their network and capable of providing the necessary performance. Once certified, you can reach out to the carrier with the modem’s IMEI number and they will confirm compatibility and activate an appropriate data plan. For example, check out the links from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile below. These will provide you a list of all certified devices on their network. 

In cases that you might have a cellular modem that supports the proper frequency bands for your cellular carrier, but is “not” certified, it may still be possible to use this with a pre-activated SIM card. However, this may not work if the modem requires a different SIM card. Such as a 5G SIM card for the new 5G modems. Or if the data plan on the current SIM is not compatible with the modem. We mainly run into this where users have a grandfathered or pre-paid data plan. This also means even with a certified device, if the SIM card and data plan is not supported on the modem, you will need to change your data plan. If this might be the case for you, we advise inquiring with the carrier about making a switch first. 

The SIM card the carrier provides should be the correct size for your modem, but this is also something you’ll want to be clear on before you insert it into your modem. Currently, there are three sizes that modems use. Most require the 2FF size, which is also sometimes referred to as a standard or mini SIM. This is the largest of the three. Next is the 3FF, also called “micro.” And the smallest is known as a 4FF, or nano size. These days you’ll generally get a “combi” or “trio” type SIM card, which allows you to pop out the size your device requires.

Modems will differ slightly with regards to how the SIM card is inserted also. Take time to review the modem setup instructions, along with the diagrams shown on the hardware, as this will illustrate the proper orientation. Please double check this information as inserting the SIM card incorrectly may damage the device and/or the SIM card. 

Are you still looking for more tips? Chat with our team online, give us a call, or send us an email. We look forward to helping you get, and stay connected!

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Does the Simplifi Connect II Work on FirstNet?

Simplifi is known for providing 4G/5G fixed wireless plug and play routers. As of today, they are pleased to announce that its Connect II Router is now certified and approved for use on FirstNet® – the only network built with and for America’s first responders. The service runs off the AT&T network and solves many challenges that public safety workers face. 

FirstNet has been evolving with the help of feedback from the public safety community. Part of that evolution is adding easy to use hardware such as the Simplifi Connect II LTE Router. First responders, emergency services, and support teams will now have more access to the critical information they need. 

“Our collaboration with FirstNet could not have come at a better time. Working closely with FirstNet, Simplifi provides a highly scalable, simple-to-install LTE Router and traditional phone Line replacement solution managed remotely through Simplifi Cloud,” said Nick Shevillo, CEO of Simplifi. “Our products provide first responders and emergency teams with easy-to-deploy LTE connectivity and traditional phone line replacement while supporting the transition  to more advanced technologies for mission-critical systems. Simplifi’s Connect II Router, Voicelink Smart Adaptor, and Simplifi Cloud management tools reduce installation and maintenance costs by up to 75% and the overall cost of network ownership by as much as 50%.”

Public safety crews have several choices with FirstNet support, but many can be expensive solutions that are difficult to manage and sometimes even to install. The Simplifi Connect II Router is designed with simplicity in mind – both in management and installation. In fact, they say users should be up and running in under two minutes. 

The Connect II also works with something called Simplifi Voicelink – it establishes a secure connection to the Internet and opens a direct line of communication for analog devices to stay connected. The Connect II Router + Voicelink Smart Adaptor creates a secure line for emergency response teams to communicate seamlessly and a robust network that uses the FirstNet platform for all traffic in and out.

Here are some of the key features of the Connect II + Voicelink Adaptor:

  • Enterprise-Grade Routing Stack
  • VPN IPSEC – Secure access for emergency response teams.
  • Wire Guard
  • IP Pass-Through
  • Port Forwarding
  • Captive Portal
  • Splash Page
  • Radius Server
  • Cellular Voice and Data
  • Wired Line Connection
  • Failover
  • App Experience
  • WiFi 32 Simultaneous Connections
  • Website Blacklist/Whitelist – Block devices and websites from network.
  • Device Access Control – Grant or deny device access to network.
  • Call Security – All calls through Voicelink are secured over VoLTE.
  • Router Management – Manage one or 1000+ routers from one screen.
  • Fast Deployment – Setup Connect + Voicelink in minutes.

In order to be certified on FirstNet, devices are subject to hundreds of tests that cover a number of aspects, from security and durability to network impacts. This helps make sure that they can meet the needs of first responders. FirstNet Ready® devices are listed on the FirstNet device page.

“FirstNet devices and modules go through extensive review, so first responders can be confident that Simplifi’s Connect II Router meets our highest standards for reliability, security and performance,” said Matt Walsh, assistant vice president, product management and development, FirstNet Program at AT&T. “The more tools public safety has access to on their network, the more we can help them achieve their mission.”

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