Wireless Industry, Public Safety Push for Firm DTV Transition Deadline
Setting a firm deadline for DTV transition and clearing the 700 MHz band of broadcast operations is essential to satisfy public-safety spectrum needs, the wireless industry and public safety officials agreed in comments to the FCC. But safety officials said that, while valuable, the spectrum allocated in the 700 MHz band and elsewhere isn’t enough for safety-oriented users. The wireless industry disagreed, saying emergency response providers’ biggest challenge isn’t how much spectrum they have, but how best to use spectrum already allocated. They said instead of allocating more spectrum, the govt. should help finance emergency response communications networks and advanced public safety solutions.
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The comments came as the FCC prepares a report to Congress assessing spectrum needs of federal, state and local emergency response providers. The review was required by the 2004 Intelligence Reform & Terrorism Prevention Act. The report is due to Congress Dec. 17.
CTIA backed a Dec. 31, 2006, deadline for analog TV licensees’ vacating the 700 MHz spectrum. It urged the FCC to support clearing that spectrum “as quickly as possible.” The FCC has allocated 24 MHz in the 700 MHz band for public safety, and adopted public safety interoperability standards, but emergency response providers can’t use that spectrum until the DTV transition is done.
“The real obstacle to public safety operations is not inadequate spectrum allocation in the 700 MHz (or any other) band, but rather the inability of public safety licensees to commence operations in the band at all,” said T-Mobile, a member of new High Tech DTV Coalition (CD April 28 p1) pushing for a firm digital transition deadline. The Coalition didn’t specify a date, simply saying it stands behind House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.). Barton wants a Dec. 31, 2006, deadline, but has indicated he could accept a later date. “Rather than focus on spectrum allocations, the government should consider allocating more funds to upgrade [public safety’s] outdated equipment and provide additional public safety personnel,” T-Mobile said. The National Assn. of Manufacturers and Qualcomm, also High Tech DTV Coalition members, agreed.
“Emergency response spectrum can and should be used more efficiently,” CTIA said. New technology deployment and consolidation of networks could help do that, the group said. Citing members’ experience, CTIA said because it is hard to gain access to newly available spectrum, new wireless communications capabilities often are provided through “increased efficient use of existing spectrum by deploying technological enhancements, rather through access to additional spectrum. The reality is that spectrum is scarce resource.” CTIA said with 78 MHz of newly allocated spectrum dedicated to public safety use, “emergency responders can develop and deploy broadband wireless networks that utilize cutting edge technology.” CTIA also suggested public safety could get the same wireless communications capabilities with less spectrum by consolidating its systems. That would enhance system interoperability, it said.
Public safety said Congress should allocate more spectrum in the 700 MHz and other bands. The Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials - International (APCO) and the National Public Safety Telecom Council (NPSTC) told the FCC in joint comments they hoped Congress will adopt a date-certain for DTV transition, making the 700 MHz spectrum band available for public safety and other users. But they said while the 24 MHz allocated in the 700 MHz band will “address many public safety communications requirements, by itself, it will not respond to public safety’s growing need for wide-area, broadband mobile communications.” Other public safety groups voiced kindred concerns. The Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety said spectrum allocations at 700 MHz and 4.9 GHz for wireless data don’t meet public safety needs.
Public safety also needs additional spectrum in the VHF High Band and the 900 MHz band, APCO and NPSTC said. They said the VHF High Band is “overcrowded, with virtually no opportunity for expanded operations.” Additional spectrum in that band, they said, would provide capacity for new interoperability channels and “green space” to facilitate more efficient channel assignments and perhaps expanded use of trunking technology. APCO and NPSTC also recommended that the business, industrial and land transportation pools in the 896-901/935-940 MHz bands be made available for public safety paging system use. They said the FCC should audit the 900 MHz paging frequencies to see if any are underutilized, and if so, “some or all could be made available to public safety.”
Commenters disagreed whether public safety should rely more on commercial wireless technologies. CTIA said use of commercial systems would benefit emergency response providers by cutting the cost of equipment and maintaining myriad state and regional voice and data networks. But APCO and NPSTC said “mission critical public safety communications are unlikely to be provided by commercial services.” They said in low-revenue areas commercial networks typically have coverage gaps that raise reliability and security concerns.
The Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety echoed APCO and NPSTC concerns but said use of commercial networks has merit. It said public safety organizations could work with commercial service providers particularly in: (1) Use of commercial wireless networks to support roaming when public safety has no coverage and as back-up public safety networks. (2) Operation/leaseback of networks built for public safety use by the commercial service providers. “This would leverage expertise and share costs while maintaining the overall level of control required of a public safety network,” Spectrum Coalition said.