However, it is my contention, and that of many others, that while the FCC does need to impose some rules that will help ensure nationwide interoperability, many of the items in the FNPRM should remain the purview of the various standards bodies that are working on the LTE and subsequent air-interface standards and that many other items should be determined by a Nationwide Network Governance Entity (NNGE).
I am still very optimistic that Public Safety will prevail, especially during the year of the tenth anniversary of the tragic 9/11 attack in New York when the lack of Public Safety communications interoperability first came to the attention of the general public
2011 is a pivotal year for Public Safety communications. It is a year when, I am confident, Congress will vote to reallocate the D Block to Public Safety, the narrowband 700-MHz channels will remain as they are, and some of the organizations that obtained waivers to build out their 700-MHz broadband systems will bring them online.
The solution is for you, as members of Congress, to remove the 10 MHz of spectrum known as the D Block that is adjacent to the existing Public Safety spectrum from the auction pool and reallocate it directly to Public Safety for its use
Next year will be the turning point for Public Safety—I know it and I think those in Congress who are opposed to the reallocation of the D Block are becoming aware of it
Since Connect Public Safety Now believes that commercial broadband is more important than a Public Safety nationwide broadband network, I have taken to calling it “Connect Public Safety—NOT!”
The goal of the PSHSB should be to provide public safety with a roadmap for BOTH nationwide interoperable voice and data services. To that end, the narrowband spectrum must be reserved for narrowband voice services and the broadband portion of the public safety spectrum reserved for fully interoperable broadband services.
The recent T-Mobile white paper on capacity that was submitted in an attempt to prove that 10 MHz of spectrum is enough for Public Safety, the authors used a spectral efficiency of 2.0 Bps/Hz. I stated in my response that this was too high and that 1.3 bps/Hz should have been used. The FCC itself validates my position that the T-Mobile white paper was based on inaccurate information.
If anything, we need to redouble our efforts over the next year to make all of this a reality before we reach the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
It is for these reasons and more I will demonstrate in the following response that the T-Mobile USA white paper actually supports the full allocation of the D Block to Public Safety. The bottom line is that the Public Safety community needs more contiguous spectrum, and the D Block is that spectrum.
The bottom line is that none of these [broadband] networks can or do provide access to direct device-to-device voice communications services without the use of a cell site.
In the Senate we are asking for co-sponsors and support of S. 3756, The Public Safety and Wireless Innovation Act of 2010, introduced by Senator John (Jay) Rockefeller, IV (D-WV). In the House, H.R. 5081 introduced by Representative King, now with 68 sponsors, is the bill to support.
The Executive Branch of the Federal Government, or to be more precise, the White House CTO’s office, is setting up a September 1, 2010 meeting….
It is clear to me that at the core of this debate is the issue of who will actually control the D Block and manage how it is allocated when there is available capacity.
Let me say, in advance, that the area of public safety communications and its requirements is one of the most misunderstood aspects of wireless communications in government