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Infrastructure exists for interoperable safety network, CEO says

By William Jackson, GCN Staff

The recent Federal Communications Commission plan for setting aside some radio frequency spectrum for the commercial construction of a new broadband public safety network was fatally flawed, according to the chief executive officer of a company that builds public safety networks.

“The business model doesn’t work,” said Declan Ganley of Rivada Networks. The builder of such a public-private sector network would be competing against established networking behemoths such as Verizon and AT&T, who dominated the recent auction of the 700 MHz band. “This is a trillion-dollar industry. No public safety entity could ever spend that kind of money to build a network,” Ganley said yesterday at a discussion in Washington on public safety networking hosted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation.

The need for advanced interoperable communications for the nation’s first responders is real, Ganley added. New York City firefighters responding to the 2001 terrorist attacks had communications capabilities “little better than what our people had on Omaha Beach in 1944,” and the situation has not improved much since, Ganley said.

Ganley proposed that rather than building a new network, public safety agencies should be allowed to use the capabilities already available in commercial networks.

“When you want to get a fire truck from point A to point B, you don’t build a new highway,” he said. “You use the highway that is already there. It makes sense to leverage off the infrastructure that is already there.”

Taking advantage of existing networks would let agencies use existing tools, such as cell phones, mobile e-mail, and data and video devices on networks that already are interoperable. This would be more efficient than requiring a separate network and equipment dedicated exclusively to disaster response, Ganley said.

“The things you’re using every day should be the things you bring with you to the disaster area,” he said.

Last month, FCC auctioned off most of the available 700 MHz band, raising more than $19 billion. But a 10 MHz swath called the D Block, set aside for a single nationwide license that would have required the build-out of a network in cooperation with the public safety community, failed to sell. The future of the D Block and plans for public safety networking are being debated in Washington and the public safety community.

FCC is likely to offer a new auction, but on what terms has not been decided. Most observers agree that the reserve price set for the D Block was too high considering the stiff restrictions that would have accompanied the license. Options include offering the spectrum at a lower price, changing the business requirements or selling it for commercial use and passing the money to public safety agencies.

More news on related topics: Communications / Networks, Mobile & Wireless, Homeland Security, State & Local



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