NCS CHOOSES GSM FOR FIRST FULL PRIORITY ACCESS SERVICE ROLLOUT

Choice of GSM means NCS is eyeing agreements with AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel and VoiceStream for start of PAS deployment in 2003. NCS recently decided to consider Nextel, whose proprietary iDEN system uses variant of GSM, even though it probably wouldn’t be ready to participate in full PAS deployment until early 2004, Graves told us. Meanwhile, he said he had meetings on Capitol Hill this week on funding situation of program for fiscal 2003 because both House and Senate have reduced Administration’s $73 million budget request. Without full funding next year, program wouldn’t be able to offer more than initial capabilities that now are part of pilot program in N.Y.C. and Washington with VoiceStream, Graves said.

Disclosure of GSM for first part of full operational capability (FOC) part of PAS system is significant because until recently, govt. officials had said they were considering both CDMA and GSM for PAS by end of 2003.

Govt. expectations about how quickly technology can be deployed for PAS have been tempered since Sept. 11, when need for wireless counterpart to GETS system became focus on Capitol Hill and in federal agencies, Graves said. White House had hoped that nationwide wireless priority service could be provided within 60-day period, he said. When that proved to be untenable, it became apparent that with fiscal 2002 funding level NCS could do one carrier with one technology, although funding had stretched somewhat beyond that, Grave said. NCS briefing at White House in April led to conclusion that GSM or CDMA with one carrier were 2 possible alternatives. “To have a mix of the 2 is not affordable,” he said.

Full operating capability in 2003 doesn’t necessarily mean every govt. or emergency responder with priority access will have ability to use PAS system everywhere, Graves said. NCS has said it would work with wireless industry on national solution by end of 2002 for initial operating capability and would have full operating capability (FOC) by year-end 2003.

While FOC rollout will begin next year, depending on availability of funding, actual availability for end users will be based to certain extent on factors beyond govt.’s control, such as scheduled network upgrades of carriers, Graves said. “We won’t know until we have a contract with them to do it,” he said. PAS capability changes in mobile switching center and base station equipment are likely to be completed as carriers upgrade their basic software according to business plan timelines, Graves said. “Our schedule is dependent on what the carriers themselves are doing with software loads,” he said. One factor that led to GSM as choice for first leg of full PAS deployment was that VoiceStream had come forward with pilot project solution for N.Y. and Washington, he said. AT&T Wireless and Cingular had made initial PAS proposals to govt. on their existing TDMA networks, but carriers said they would prefer to provide service using GSM, which both are overlaying onto their networks for next-generation service, Graves said.

First year of full capability also will be influenced by how many federal govt. and other customers agree to use service. “There is a cost to be a WPS [wireless priority service] subscriber,” Graves said, unlike GETS, program that doesn’t cost federal users. In case of wireless priority access, each subscriber will pay $10 initiation fee and $4.50 per month to use service and about 75 cents per min. when calls are made, he said. Because those costs will be borne by users, agencies’ participation in program will depend on budget considerations of their organizations, Graves said.

NCS still is negotiating contract for VoiceStream to provide PAS for 2003, Graves said. NCS awarded it contract in April to provide priority access for Washington and N.Y. through end of year. He said 4,000-5,000 users would be part of initial capability in those cities: “We have been working with New York for 6 months and there are still major parts of the user base to come on board.” Choice of GSM for first leg of full capability puts focus on AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Nextel and VoiceStream to provide service, with combined capacity of 40% of cellular market, Graves said. “Forty percent certainly shouldn’t be the end game,” he said, and CDMA still is under consideration for future development of program. NCS still is working with private sector on international and national standards work for both CDMA and GSM-based systems, he said. No contracts for 2003 have yet been awarded. “We think we can get all 4 of the GSM carriers,” he said. Initial capability of those systems means rollout will begin in 2003, although carriers would provide more-detailed schedules as to when service will be available. Nextel is under consideration even though carrier indicated it couldn’t begin to make capability available until early in 2004, he said. Nextel spokesman declined to comment.

Full funding of $73 million requested by Bush Administration for program has been reduced in both House and Senate appropriations bills that are moving forward. Full funding in fiscal 2003 would pay for FOC, but without full funding, PAS service would be limited to initial operating capability (IOC) that VoiceStream has been deploying in N.Y. and Washington, he said. Under specification for IOC, if networks are congested during emergency, caller with priority access would be placed in queue to wait for access to next available cell site, Graves said. One key additional capability of FOC is that it can queue inbound calls, giving priority to person waiting to be called, he said. Ultimately, goal is to integrate PAS program with existing GETS features so when call is initiated, it’s tagged as being priority call from national security/emergency personnel user so priority access will follow call across all parts of network, Graves said. “Any equipment that the call touches will give it a priority service,” he said. Noting fiscal 2003 funding still hadn’t been resolved, he said that less than level requested “will impact our ability to put in place an end-to-end capability.”

Congressional haggling over funding appears to center on jurisdictional concerns, with some on Hill questioning whether funding would be administered by Defense Dept. or new Dept. of Homeland Security. CTIA recently urged congressional appropriators to provide full $73 million for PAS, with Pres. Tom Wheeler writing to House Appropriations Committee Chmn. Byrd (D-W.Va.) that neither House nor Senate appropriations panels had yet provided full funding.

“We have been participating in discussions with the federal government and other industry stakeholders to develop technical and operational standards for nationwide priority access service,” AT&T Wireless spokeswoman said. “When the final standard is developed and testing is complete, we will make the decision on deployment.”