Preparing for the Network This week FirstNet held both its committee and board of director’s meetings in Chicago. During these meetings, FirstNet put a number of items in place to better prepare for working with the chosen partner when the contract is awarded. It is adding positions and taking actions to ensure that once the award is made, both FirstNet and the partner can hit the ground running. There is still a lot of work to be done but FirstNet is not standing still waiting on the award, which is a good thing. Two of the new positions created are Chief Customer Officer (CCO), responsible for coordination with the states and Public Safety and Network Program Officer (NPO), the office that will work with the commercial partner during all phases of the build-out.
At least one of the board members mentioned comments made in the Senate sub-committee hearing about rural coverage. The law states that coverage needs to be spread out in all areas of the populated United States and as far into rural areas as possible. The RFP spells out clearly that the winning partner is to spend time building out metro, suburban, and rural areas for each of the milestones identified, and further, that rural carriers can partner with the winning partner moving forward. FirstNet also identified many rural unpopulated areas that it refers to as “on-demand” coverage, meaning cells on wheels, drones, vehicles equipped with satellite backhaul, etc. can be sent to an area as needed during an incident.
Today, in a broad-brush sense, the multitude of Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks for Public Safety have better over-all coverage than any of the existing commercial networks and because LMR radios are much higher power, they cover better inside buildings. In reviewing some of the state-submitted coverage requirements there are some interesting differences worth noting. Some states basically indicated that the coverage they expect is about equal to the two largest commercial networks today, some went beyond that to try to mimic their LMR coverage, and a few went for broke and indicated they did not want a single square mile of their state left uncovered. It will be interesting to see how all of these various requirements will be reconciled. This needs to be done in such a way that a state cannot cry foul because another state seems to gain more in the way of coverage, and there certainly cannot be political implications as to why one state received a better coverage commitment than another state. This will be a balancing act that will take a lot of very smart people some time to work out.
If you are not yet familiar with the NPSTC organization (pronounced ‘NIPSTICK’), it is the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and it is primarily staffed by volunteers who take on projects for the betterment of Public Safety. FirstNet, via the Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC), has received a great deal of valuable input from this organization including material defining Public Safety-Grade with which APCO also assisted. NPSTC has also delivered documents on expected network operations requirements, mission-critical PTT, and much more. All of this is at no charge to anyone, for the good of the Public Safety community. Those who volunteer hundreds of hours include some within the Public Safety community, the vendor community, and from the consulting community. The result is a set of documents that defines what Public Safety needs and wants.
The most recent document to be produced is entitled, “Intrastate Channel Naming Recommendations” and it provides recommendations on the assignment of standardized names for regional and statewide interoperability LMR channels. With most if not all radios now equipped with the ability to name channels instead of assigning a number or color code, common naming for channels is an important concept. During major multi-agency incidents and in the heat of the engagement is not the time to fiddle around trying to find the interoperability channel assigned to a given incident or sub-group of an incident. If channels are uniformly named the same, it will be easy for all personnel to find the correct channel quickly. NPSTC’s meetings are open to all who have an interest in the type of work it is doing and I suggest you sit in on one of the meetings, or at least look at the website (NPSTC.org) to get an idea of the tremendous amount of work it produces each year for the benefit of Public Safety.
I hope each and every one of you has a safe and sane 4th of July. And I hope that those in the drought-stricken west will respect mother nature and leave the fireworks to the experts this year. Andy Seybold Upcoming Webinars: I will be presenting two webinars in July the first is for The Mobility Development Group (mobilitydg.org) which is titled: Next Generation E9-1-1, FirstNet and Public Safety and it will be held on July 12, 2016 at 9 am PDT. The second one is for IWCE/Urgent Communications and the title of it is: Transition from LMR to LTE and it will be held on July 28, 2016 at 2 pm EDT. This should be a fun webinar for me and I will be exploring both the co-existence and the transition of LMR and LTE.
Poth indicates that FirstNet will have final say whether to execute contractor award – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Jun 30 16:00 An evaluation team is in the process of selecting the best proposal to build the much-anticipated nationwide public-safety broadband network, but …
TV Stations Set Surprisingly High Price To Sell Spectrum In FCC Auction – Deadline via Google Alerts Jun 29 15:10 TV stations set a startlingly high price in the FCC’s auction that could allow wireless broadband companies to buy some of the airwave spectrum now …
FirstNet Approves PSAC, Boulder Facility Resolutions, Details Customer, Network Offices – National Public Safety Telecommunications Council – npstc via Google Alerts Jul 1 04:30 Two First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) committees today approved …
FirstNet Takes Action to Prepare Organization, Network for Successful Public-Private Partnership – FirstNet via Google Alerts Jul 1 02:05 (CHICAGO) The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is moving …
FirstNet announces new staff positions as organization prepares for post-award challenges – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Jun 30 19:01 … procurement process to build a nationwide public-safety broadband network to one that is prepared to deliver services to first-responder customers, …
Kansas City is a rare market of broadband competition in a fast-consolidating world – Kansas City Star via Google Alerts Jun 30 17:10 For instance, the FCC insisted that the Charter-Time Warner Cable deal go …
Emergency services need 21st-century comms – Critical Comms via Google Alerts Jun 30 15:01 An interoperable public safety mobile broadband capability would clearly benefit our police forces and emergency services. They could move from …
FCC – Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Provides Guidance To US Public Safety … – Colorado Media.Net via Google Alerts Jun 30 15:01 From the FCC: Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Provides Guidance To U.S. Public Safety Agencies Along The Canada Border Seeking …
Video: Parallel Wireless Band 14 Public Safety LTE at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – lte-applications.com via Google Alerts Jun 29 10:00 Parallel Wireless and ecosystem partners deployed a band 14 public safety # LTE network at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to show public safety …
Big-picture question about FirstNet’s commercial role bubbles to the surface – Urgent Communications via Google Alerts Jun 28 20:01 … 14 700 MHz public-safety broadband system is supposed to be finished. …
FirstNet Weekly Update to the Public Safety Advisory Committee – National Public Safety Telecommunications Council – npstc via Google Alerts Jun 28 02:35 The meeting was co-chaired by Public Safety Canada and the U.S. …
End-to-End NB-IoT Solution by Huawei to go commercial by December 2016 – Indiantelevision.com via Google Alerts Jul 1 08:50 NEW DELHI: An end-to-end Narrow-band IoT (NB-IoT) Solution developed by Huawei to help global operators expand their IoT services into new …
Comcast, AT&T: Clinton FCC Policy Like Obama’s? Trump A Wild Card – Investor’s Business Daily via Google Alerts Jul 1 08:10 The Federal Communications Commission won a big court victory in June on net neutrality rules governing broadband networks. Led by Chairman …
Italy gets EU go-ahead on national broadband plan – Total Telecom Jul 1 06:01 European Commission rules Italian plan will not distort competition nor inhibit private investment.
Site Navigation – mccmag.com via Google Alerts Jul 1 02:35 In a public notice, the FCC provided guidance to U.S. public-safety licensees seeking to roam into Canada with their mobile or handheld portable …
National Telecommunications and Information Administration – UAV Expert News via Google Alerts Jul 1 01:45 Tag – National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Four things to know about the FAA’s rules about commercial drone usage …
New NTIA Facial Recognition Best Practices Advance Research and Consumer Privacy – Marketing Research Association via Google Alerts Jul 1 01:45 Launched on February 6, 2014, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) convened a varied stakeholder group of …
Prototype for narrowband Internet-of-Things system – Newsclip via Google Alerts Jun 30 15:15 411. [Technology] Prototype for narrowband Internet-of-Things system. “Prototype for narrowband Internet-of-Things system”, phys.org. Read more.
Canada eyes $2.4 billion Arctic satellite communications constellation – SpaceNews via Google Alerts Jun 30 10:16 That program would feature X-band and Ka-band communications as well as ultra-high frequency narrowband communications over the North Pole.
ASTRI, Huawei see ‘remarkable results’ in 3GPP meeting – Telecompaper via Google Alerts Jun 30 08:10 Event participants shared the common objectives of facilitating the standardisation progress of Narrow Band IOT (NB-IOT) and LTE-Advanced timely.
TechPLEX launches full-scale operations – globalheadlines.uk via Google Alerts Jun 29 23:05 TechPLEX launches full-scale operations of next-generation narrowband IoT project TechPLEX, a producer of mobile communications modules, …
DOJ to repay police, fire $500K for San Bernardino terror attack response – Police News via Google Alerts Jun 29 19:55 … Year 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill on March 23. The first responders, who bravely went above the call of duty, must have …
Facial Recognition Guidelines issued by NTIA and approved by IBIA – Data Privacy + Security Insider via Google Alerts Jun 29 15:01 On June 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued its facial …
Commerce Panel OKs Bills Improving Rural Calls, Emergency Wireless Access – Morning Consult via Google Alerts Jun 29 12:20 … or the SANDy Act, would direct the Federal Communications Commission to conduct a study on the public safety benefits and cost of creating Wi-Fi …
Cellular NB-IoT module – Ferret via Google Alerts Jun 29 10:15 u-blox has announced the availability of its SARA-N2 Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) module, which the company claims is the world’s first cellular radio …
Power line carrier communication & poe controller market worth 12.31 billion USD by 2022 – WhaTech via Google Alerts Jun 29 04:20 … Carrier Communication Market by Technology (Broadband & Narrowband), Application (Smart Grid & Indoor Networking), & PoE Controller Market …
LTE Cat-M1, LTE Cat-NB1 to become mainstream IoT technology, says Qualcomm – Tech Investor News via Google Alerts Jun 29 03:50 While 5G mobile communication technology is expected to play an essential role in IoT (Internet of Things) applications, two narrowband LTE …
FCC Proposes Rules to Expedite Initial Stages of the Team Telecom Application Review Process – Lexology via Google Alerts Jun 29 03:45 In a May 2016 request from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), NTIA proposed rule changes designed to …
Hillary Clinton proposes broadband for all by 2020 – UPI.com via Google Alerts Jun 28 22:05 Clinton is on record supporting the FCC’s so-called “net neutrality” ruling, which regulates the Internet the same as other public utilities. Internet service …
Ohio Sees Future of Broadband-Led First Response – Newsroom – Motorola Solutions via Google Alerts Jun 28 21:01 Broadband Day highlights weeklong exercises with police, fire and …
D.C. Circuit Upholds FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules – JD Supra via Google Alerts Jun 28 19:01 Conceptually, net neutrality is the principle that broadband providers (such …
FCC’s Tom Wheeler looks to extend his chokehold on ISPs with broadband privacy rules – IPWatchdog.com via Google Alerts Jun 28 08:10 The FCC’s proposed rules create an opt-out/opt-in scheme for consumers …
FCC – Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Launches EAS Test Reporting System – Colorado Media.Net via Google Alerts Jun 27 21:00 From the FCC: Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Launches EAS Test Reporting System (ETRS) and Seeks Comment on EAS Operating …