The FCC sought comment on four public safety issues involved in c...
The FCC sought comment on four public safety issues involved in creating the National Broadband Plan, including safety agencies’ need for a wireless broadband network. The other matters are next-generation 911, cybersecurity and emergency alerts. “Broadband offers a variety…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
of potential benefits to emergency responders and other public safety agencies,” the commission said. “However, commenters in the record have noted that these networks may not meet specialized public safety requirements. Public safety agencies today typically have only access to broadband services that they obtain from commercial service providers. In particular, public safety agencies generally lack access to mobile wireless broadband service that meets their specialized requirements (e.g., coverage, hardening, reliability, etc.).” The future of the 700 MHz D block, which had been set aside for a public safety wireless network, has long been a top public safety matter at the commission. “We seek specific details on both current and anticipated needs of the public safety community for mobile wireless broadband networks and applications,” the commission said. The FCC requested comments about the “anticipated peak, average, and cell edge broadband traffic” that are likely on this network and probable number of users; which applications are expected to ride on the network, and associated data rates; “specific requirements for hardening of cell sites and other network facilities;” and the best ways to define and quantify mission-critical voice and mission critical data. “We seek information on experiences and lessons learned to date by current public safety use of mobile wireless broadband networks … including use of such networks at central locations,” the FCC said. “We seek comment on what particular mobile wireless broadband needs could be satisfied by commercial broadband service providers in the short term and over the long term. Are there any assessment studies or field trials that show areas in which next-generation mobile networks (4G) meet or do not meet Public Safety requirements?” Comments are due Nov. 12. At a public safety broadband workshop Aug. 25, speakers disagreed about how a wireless broadband network would be used by public safety (CD Aug 26 p1). A cybersecurity workshop is scheduled Wednesday.