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Issue link: https://emsworld.epubxp.com/i/131347
that meet the wide-ranging requirements of very different entities—in this case the full mélange of states and territories, with areas both super-rural and hyperurban— can be a bear. The public safety broadband network has to serve more than 60,000 federal, state, local and tribal agencies. And the states get some say in how their parts take shape. They can even opt out of the FirstNet project and pursue their own broadband plans, as long as their networks meet federal standards and can ultimately connect up. (No state has yet decided to do that.) Alternatively, if a state gets stalled or doesn't proceed one way or another, FirstNet can step in for them and build the network itself. That "should prevent these buildouts from becoming mired in state politics," Johnson told EMS World last year.1 Still, states have to get the bodies and people in place to move forward, assess their conditions and needs, devise their plans and actually proceed, so there are plenty of political and organizational to-do's. Some states may not yet have much handle on exactly what infrastructure they have in place;2 the Assocation of Public-Safety Communications Offcials International (APCO) has a Broadband Committee that's working on a template for collecting it. Full Coverage While the putative goal of the public safety broadband network is full coverage across the U.S. and its territories, reality may dictate that we settle for coming close. "I think the aspirational goal of 100% coverage is, from a physics perspective, probably not very achievable," says Johnson. "But can we get 99.6% or 99%? Probably. We haven't completed any of the engineering associated with that yet, though we have some estimates that make it look realistic. The reality is, we won't know until we've listened to the states and poured that information into the network. That leads to network design, and then we'll have some coverage estimates." Constructing a whole new, all-encompassing system to public safety standards will also take signifcant time and money. Can that burden be shared? "There are Facts About Broadband, the D Block & the Coming Public Safety Broadband Network • Broadband refers to a high-speed fber-optic or wireless communications network with bandwidth sufcient to carry multiple channels of data, voice, images and video simultaneously. • The D Block is a 10 MHz section of the broadcast spectrum (758–763 and 788–793 MHz) adjacent to 10 MHz used by public safety. Awarding it to public safety gives us 20 MHz of dedicated spectrum that should reduce congestion and let us trafc more freely in large amounts of data. • The lower half of the 700 MHz public safety band (763–68/793–98 MHz) was previously designated for broadband communications. Other portions of the upper block are for narrowband (769–75 for base operations/799–805 for mobile operations). To minimize interference between broadband and narrowband operations, the FCC created 1-MHz "guard" bands (768–69/798–99 MHz) between the segments. • The public safety broadband network will utilize 4G LTE (long-term evolution) technology. LTE is the most modern global standard for wireless communication of highspeed data for mobile phones and data terminals. • FirstNet will develop the public safety broadband network, leverage existing infrastructure as possible; set nationwide standards for its use; and work with non-federal entities to build, operate and maintain it. • The network will ultimately serve about 60,000 federal, state, local and tribal agencies across the entire U.S. and its territories. • A Public Safety Trust Fund will fund state and local implementation grants, network construction, NG9-1-1 development and research. • For more, see www.broadband.gov/issues/public-safety.html. many areas," notes wireless consultant Andrew Seybold, "where the addition of partners will make it more practical to build out the LTE network."3 Engaging with partners was Congress' desire too: "They want to see us leverage partnerships," says Johnson. "They want to see us harvesting whatever partnerships, public or private, that will lower the cost of building and operating this network and deliver the kind of service Congress wants at the ground level." That means working in some capacity with private wireless carriers isn't off the table. In fact, the four largest—Verizon, AT&T;, Sprint and T-Mobile—are all building out LTE (long-term evolution, the global high-speed 4G wireless standard to which the public safety network will be built) networks using existing systems and sites. Working with those top four commercial carriers to deploy the network using their vendors and sites could keep public-safety costs down2 but open the door to some type of capacity sharing with public safety priority. Equipment Ecosystems While it may bring more data and video to the mix, EMS providers should understand the broadband network isn't going to replace our other methods of communication. It will supplement those, and our trusty land mobile radios will remain the immediate backbone of voice communications. In fact, voice initially won't be included in the broadband network. In a statement of network launch requirements it published for FirstNet last December, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council's Broadband Working Group included direct-mode mission-critical push-to-talk voice among the features to be deferred from launch-day requirements.4 It will be added later, but for now voice isn't much compatible with LTE. We also have to determine exactly what kinds of devices we'll be using on this new network. As the NPSTC notes, "there is currently no user equipment ecosystem for band class 14 devices, the spectrum allocated to the [public safety broadband network]. Users who are accustomed to a wide variety of handsets, tablets and portable Wi-Fi devices will have to wait for the time that these types of devices become available."4 Melding data, video and voice into a single proven, reliable device could STRATEGY: A new network will enable it, but must be planned, constructed, operated and maintained. 28 JUNE 2013 | EMSWORLD.com