WASHINGTON-The debate is officially on. And the clock is ticking.
Six months after receiving Cyren Call Communications Inc.’s plan for a public-safety wireless broadband network the private sector would build and share with first responders, the Federal Communications Commission is now asking for public comment on the controversial initiative. The plan, which pushes for additional public-safety spectrum, has attracted support from police, firefighters and medics, and has prompted the wireless industry to offer a number of alternatives.
“Over the last six months, we have traveled around the country seeking support for the principles underlying our proposal from public safety, industry and government leaders,” Cyren Call Chairman Morgan O’Brien said. “The next 30 days are the time for all of those leaders to formally tell the FCC what they’ve been saying publicly for months: A new solution is needed for public-safety’s communications challenges.”
Comments are due at the FCC in late November.
Cyren Call wants the FCC to create a Public Safety Broadband Trust to hold a license for a 30-megahertz chunk of the 700 MHz band, valued at billions of dollars. As part of the digital TV transition, Congress has designated that the 30 megahertz be auctioned by Jan. 28, 2008. The 30 megahertz sought by Cyren Call for the Public Safety Broadband Trust is different from the 24 megahertz at 700 MHz Congress earmarked for public safety.
Cyren Call said the 24 megahertz, and the rules governing it, make that spectrum block inadequate for satisfying public-safety broadband wireless requirements in the 21st century.
Cyren Call has a relatively small window to make its case and win any necessary regulatory and legislative approvals.
“Congress will have the final say over how best to use this valuable spectrum resource,” O’Brien said. “Cyren Call has been working closely with public-safety leaders in drafting legislation that addresses both the statutory authority of the FCC to adopt new rules as well as the budget implications of removing the spectrum from the scheduled auction. Given the strong backing that public safety has expressed for preserving this spectrum for public use, we are confident this legislation will receive significant support.”
Ridge backs approach
The public-safety interoperability problem, for a variety of reasons, has festered for years. The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks raised the profile of the issue, but have not led to a solution.
“First responders know there is an urgent need to fix our communications problems, and they are interested in innovative new approaches like the Cyren Call plan,” said former homeland security secretary Tom Ridge. “The events of Sept. 11, 2001, were a tragic exclamation point on a need that has existed within the public-safety community for decades. This announcement is a very important step that I hope results in the creation of a national communications system for those who put their lives on the line every day.”
Initially, the Cyren Call plan drew criticism from the wireless industry and from Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House telecom and Internet subcommittee. But Upton’s position could end up carrying substantially less weight if Democrats reclaim the House in the Nov. 7 midterm elections. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) likely would take over the telecom panel if such a change occurs.
Now, in addition to policy and budgetary implications raised by Cyren Call’s plan, there is a whiff of a commercial battle in the air. The Cyren Call proposal has spawned a cottage industry of public-safety options, all promising communications interoperability and delivery of video and data-rich applications on high-speed wireless pipes.
Real-world obstacles
Veteran industry analyst Andrew Seybold has suggested the various proposals, while conceptually on the right track toward achieving public-safety interoperability and broadband capability, may be overlooking-or at least underestimating-whether equipment vendors and network operators comprehend real-world operational requirements of first responders.
“The two most important of these requirements are the need for one-to-many communications and off-network or simplex communications for on-scene incident control. Neither of these has been addressed in today’s 2G and 3G commercial technologies, nor to my knowledge, in newer technologies being planned,” said Seybold in a recent commentary. “One-to-many communications is technically possible using today’s commercial technologies, but has not been deployed except for `groups’ enabled in PTT systems. And the entire concept of off-network (peer-to-peer) or simplex communications appears to be foreign to many in the commercial wireless space.
“Many within the commercial wireless community don’t understand why commercial systems can’t be used to provide simplex and one-to-many communications. Part of the answer lies in the number of channels needed as incidents grow. Another part is that often these incidents don’t happen where there is commercial wireless coverage. In the first-responder community, being out of range is not good, but at least units on the scene can communicate with each other. Being out of a commercial wireless networks’ coverage means no contact with anyone, which is simply not acceptable in the world of first responders.”
Alternatives
Verizon Wireless, which uses CDMA technology, has been floating an alternative solution that would use 12 of the 24 megahertz set aside at 700 MHz for a public-safety network that could utilize Verizon Wireless’ infrastructure. CTIA, the national cell-phone association, also is examining whether it can develop a plan for commercial/public-safety sharing.
GSM proponents insist their technology is also well suited to address public safety’s broadband wireless needs.
Likewise, IPWireless Inc. has trumpeted the benefits of its UMTS TD-CDMA technology for public-safety applications. The company and Northrop Grumman Corp. plan to deploy the technology in New York City as part of a $500 million public-safety communications contract.
Elsewhere, 700 MHz guard-band licensees petitioned the FCC to scrap existing band rules governing how they operate and to adopt a plan they claim would give public-safety users a nationwide interoperable wireless broadband network. The plan, submitted by Access Spectrum L.L.C. and Pegasus Communications Corp., also would allow the guard-band licensees to offer commercial wireless services on their existing channels, as well as buy more spectrum on adjacent 700 MHz frequencies. Under the plan, bidding credits would be given to licensees that establish partnerships with public-safety users, effectively lowering the price licensees pay for the 700 MHz spectrum set to be sold at auction. RCR
