FCC Proposes Public Safety Wireless Band

Begin forwarded message:

From: Dewayne Hendricks <[email protected]>
Date: December 22, 2006 9:14:35 AM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <[email protected]>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] FCC Proposes Public Safety Wireless Band
Reply-To: [email protected]

FCC Proposes Public Safety Wireless Band

Stephen Lawson, IDG News ServiceWed Dec 20, 6:00 PM ET
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20061220/tc_pcworld/128301>


The U.S. Federal Communications Commission wants to set aside radio  
frequencies for a nationwide public safety network to be built in  
partnership with a private company.

The commission today proposed a national radio system for various  
public safety agencies that would be based on advanced IP (Internet  
Protocol) broadband technologies. Its idea is to use spectrum already  
set aside for public safety and set up a public-private partnership  
to implement the network.

Communication problems following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist  
attacks and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita focused attention on the  
patchwork of radio systems used by different public-safety agencies  
in the U.S. Not being able to communicate can hamper critical  
coordination among federal and local emergency responders.

New Technology

Vendors including Cisco Systems and Motorola have developed IP-based  
wireless systems designed for interoperability among many different  
devices. The FCC wants to take advantage of this new type of  
technology, it said in a statement. By looking into a public-private  
deal, it can tap into new resources to get the network built. The  
spectrum would be assigned to one national licensee that could offer  
public-safety agencies voluntary access to a broadband service for a  
fee.

The common network would use half of a chunk of radio spectrum 24MHz  
wide that is already allocated to public safety. It is in the 700MHz  
band, a highly prized set of frequencies that is good for  
communicating over long distances and penetrating walls.

All five commissioners of the frequently divided commission voiced  
support for the plan in statements released today. By issuing its  
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the agency started a process of  
seeking outside views on the idea.

"Our proposal today talks in very broad strokes and looks to  
commenters to fill in many important details and specifics," wrote  
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.