GENEVA -- Countries are at odds over what’s needed to protect critical networks and stem cyberthreats, they said in preparations for U.N. meetings this week and next year on information security. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council meet this week with 10 other countries for the first time on the issue. The organizational meeting through Thursday will set the stage for future talks on strengthening security in the global information and telecommunications systems, documents said.
GENEVA -- Countries are at odds over what’s needed to protect critical networks and stem cyberthreats, they said in preparations for U.N. meetings this week and next year on information security. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council meet this week with 10 other countries for the first time on the issue. The organizational meeting through Thursday will set the stage for future talks on strengthening security in the global information and telecommunications systems, documents said.
GENEVA -- Countries are at odds over what’s needed to protect critical networks and stem cyberthreats, they said in preparations for U.N. meetings this week and next year on information security. The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council meet this week with 10 other countries for the first time on the issue. The organizational meeting through Thursday will set the stage for future talks on strengthening security in the global information and telecommunications systems, documents said.
The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and AT&T continue to support a proposal they filed last year, along with Verizon Wireless and the Association of Public- Safety Communications Officials (APCO), for revised E-911 location accuracy rules, they said in new comments at the FCC. “We are interested in hearing from those carriers who did not support the proposal last year to determine if the same concerns remain a year later,” NENA said. “We also look forward to hearing from other parties to determine if any technological advancements have been made that might augment the ability to comply with our earlier proposals.” AT&T said it remains “firmly committed to improving wireless E911 location accuracy” rules. “APCO, NENA, and AT&T propose the adoption of aggressive accuracy standards and county level compliance benchmarks that will spur development and deployment of the technological advances necessary to improve location accuracy,” the telco said.
GENEVA -- There’s little agreement about what capabilities and tools are needed for mobile alert broadcasting systems, among countries and standards bodies at this week’s meeting of an ITU-T study group. The U.S. in March floated a preliminary text defining service requirements, among proposals being considered this week. The U.K. wants 3GPP to reserve number resources to support the civil alerting. A draft recommendation on administering those resources will require agreement between countries.
Just reallocating the 700 MHz D-block to public safety agencies will not satisfy demands for a fully-funded national public safety network, the National Emergency Number Association said in a letter released Wednesday. NENA and other public safety groups met at New York City police headquarters last week, to discuss their disagreement over the future of the D-block, but without reaching an agreement. “Our colleagues in public safety have asked us to support a reallocation to public safety of the 700 MHz D Block,” said the letter to eight other public safety organizations signed by NENA’s leaders. “Many public safety organizations believe this to be the best option to achieve a public safety nationwide wireless broadband network. Legislation to this effect has been proposed. However, while the current draft legislation addresses public safety spectrum needs, it does not explicitly consider long-term, recurring funding needs.”
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski conceded on Wednesday that the commission may be hard pressed to identify by the February deadline for the National Broadband Plan all of the spectrum which the wireless industry will need for new and future generations of devices. He didn’t specifically mention broadcast-TV spectrum. A chart circulated as part of a presentation on the broadband plan highlighted the growing demands of wireless carriers versus declining over-the-air TV viewership.
The FCC unanimously approved a declaratory ruling designed to speed up siting of towers and other wireless facilities. It had been sought by CTIA and wireless carriers. Commission officials cited data that showed local governments have been slow to act on siting applications.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski conceded on Wednesday that the commission may be hard pressed to identify by the February deadline for the National Broadband Plan all of the spectrum which the wireless industry will need for new and future generations of devices. He didn’t specifically mention broadcast-TV spectrum. A chart circulated as part of a presentation on the broadband plan highlighted the growing demands of wireless carriers versus declining over-the-air TV viewership.
New York City said it needs to be able to start using 700 MHz spectrum and should not have to rely on commercial services. Its police and fire departments and other first responder agencies are using the city’s broadband wireless network since it went online citywide earlier this year using 10 MHz of leased spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, it told the FCC. “First Responders have assumed many new roles because of the serious nature of the threats to our nation and having to protect against more sophisticated weapons.” Commercial networks “have not been incentivized to build public safety- grade networks, as the return on investment is apparently not in line with their business models,” the city said. “Providing the levels of redundancy and resiliency that are required for mission critical communications is costly and complex, and, therefore, often better addressed by government-owned networks. This does not preclude the use of commercial networks by government and public safety, but limits their value when critical communications are an absolute requirement.” Among the uses of the network by the Police Department, specialized units are transmitting video during major incidents and operations and the Emergency Services Unit uses the network to monitor and query the NYPD’s Computer Aided Dispatch system to improve response times and provide pre-arrival information, the city said. “Officers also have access to secure databases that contain critical response and mitigation information. Incident video is also available through an interoperable video sharing application that provides real-time feeds from traffic, tactical, and news cameras.”