The Wireless Future of Public Safety: GET ARCHITECTS, The Wireless Future of Public Safety

Nearly six years after the 9/11 Commission Report urged the deployment of a nationwide interoperable public safety communications network, this gap still exists. High-capacity mobile broadband networks have the potential to vastly improve the tools and effectiveness of public safety agencies, yet the debate about the nature and cost of the network grinds on. A central question has been whether and how public safety should share and leverage spectrum and network infrastructure with commercial providers that are in the process of upgrading to far faster 4th Generation services. In its recent National Broadband Plan, the FCC recommended that a portion of the TV Band spectrum requested by public safety for reallocation (the "D Block") be auctioned quickly for commercial use - and that it would be technically feasible and most cost-effective for public safety to leverage commercial network infrastructure. At this event, the FCC will release its analysis concluding that the 10 MHz of dedicated TV band spectrum already available to public safety is ample for most of public safety's needs if, unlike most current public safety networks, the new network is deployed leveraging commercial technologies and a cellular architecture. In those rare cases when the public safety network is unavailable or congested, the FCC's recommendations provide for roaming and priority access on commercial broadband networks operating in upwards of 70 MHz of additional spectrum. Responding to the FCC's ...

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