NPSTC Outreach News September 20, 2013

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September 20, 2013

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) periodically publishes news of interest, including releases from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and links to articles from various trade publications.

First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Meetings this Monday, September 23, and Thursday, October 17:   Special Board Meeting.  There will be a Special Meeting of the FirstNet Board, conducted telephonically, this Monday, September 23rd from 10:30 to 11:30 am EDT.   Information on how to listen to the meeting, open to the public, can be found at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/files/ntia/publications/09232013_firstnet_meeting_notice.pdf

October Board Meeting.  FirstNet has changed the date and location of its October Board meeting to Thursday, October 17th, from 9:30 am to 12 pm PDT, in Concord, California.    https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-22946.pdf

NPSTC Broadband Working Group (BBWG) Hard at Work on Next Phase of Public Safety Broadband Requirements:  Task Groups are actively engaged in the following tasks or beginning operations in the near term.

  • Phase 1 Launch Quantitative Statement of Requirements (SoR):  Adding  metrics to the Phase 1 Statement of Requirements Launch Document to include specific quantitative elements.
  • Phase 2 Year 1-3 Qualitative SOR:  Based on the main broadband SoR, the BBWG will extract what the public safety      community needs in Year 1 through Year 3.  This is the next phase beyond the work that created the Launch SoR.
  • International Standards Coordination:  The BBWG      will ensure NPSTC is actively working with various international groups      regarding 3GPP standards and other LTE standards.  It is important to support international 3GPP standards rather than creating a North American standard.
  • Public Safety Messaging: This group will be looking at necessary requirements for public safety messaging in the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) beyond what is commercially available today.
  •  Public Safety Telephony:  This group will be looking at what requirements are necessary for public safety telephony with the NPSBN beyond what is commercially available today.
  • Voice Over LTE (a living document):  This Task Group is examining Mission Critical Voice over LTE and is coordinating that work with other international groups including results   in the United Kingdom, which has an aggressive timeline to switch to LTE      voice for their public safety agencies.
  • Console LTE Requirements: This group is looking at public safety requirements for integration of NPSBN  with LMR consoles, including other systems (CAD, NG911, etc.)
  • Security Issues:  This group will be working on specific security issues with integration of the NPSBN and local public safety      networks.

November 13-15, 2013:  Save the Date Now for Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Public Safety Broadband Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap Workshop:  PSCR is hosting a workshop to solicit input for PSCR’s Public Safety Broadband Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap.  The workshop will be held November 13 – 15, 2013 at the Department of Commerce Boulder labs.  This3-day meeting will bring together representatives from public safety, federal agencies, FirstNet, industry, and academia.

The roadmap will highlight needs for public safety broadband R&D beyond the short term horizon (18-24 months) and begin to identify research areas that need to be developed over the long term (5-10+ years) in order for a public safety broadband network to fulfill its ultimate goals.  The workshop will provide an opportunity to hear about various efforts underway related to future broadband network capabilities from FirstNet.  FirstNet will speak about R&D research areas and how the topics relate to plans for the FirstNet rollout.  The workshop will also allow for significant engagement among the public safety and vendor communities to help explore and identify priorities for PSCR to consider in making R&D investments in the future.   Due to facility limitations and workshop content, workshop attendance is limited to 150 participants.

For more information, go to http://www.pscr.gov/2013_pscr_psbb_roadmap_workshop.php.  For more information on PSCR, visit www.pscr.gov or email 700MHz@its.bldrdoc.gov

The following links provided courtesy, Charley Bryson, NPSTC Outreach.

AMENDMENT OF SECTIONS 90.20(D)(34) AND 90.265 OF THE COMMISSION’S RULES TO FACILITATE THE USE OF VEHICULAR REPEATER UNITS.   FCC seeking comment on permitting public safety vehicular repeater station operations on six remote control and telemetry frequencies at 173 MHz. by ORDER. (Dkt No. 13-229 RM-11635 ). Action by:  the Commission. Adopted:  09/16/2013 by NPRM. (FCC No. 13-121).  PSHSB  http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-13-121A1.pdf

NTIA Petitions FCC to Allow Device Unlocking  http://www.wirelessweek.com/news/2013/09/ntia-petitions-fcc-allow-device-unlocking?et_cid=3487322&et_rid=54129357&location=top

AT&T’s VoLTE efforts still in the lab  http://www.fiercebroadbandwireless.com/story/atts-volte-efforts-still-lab/2013-09-18?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

LightSquared Auction May Foil $2 Billion Offer, Lenders Say   http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-09-18/lightsquared-auction-may-foil-2-billion-offer-lenders-say-1