Public safety communications and access to spectrum tops House committee hearing

Robert LeGrande, deputy CTO in the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, described the District’s implementation of a broadband wireless network supporting interoperable public safety communications to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. He also urged the subcommittee to speed resolutions regarding the Nextel Communications interference issue, accelerate 700 MHz band clearing and provide an additional 10 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety applications. The following is an edited excerpt of his testimony. Today, I will describe the efforts and results of our voice communications upgrades, which include local, regional, and federal interoperability. I will also describe the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety’s efforts to secure an additional 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum, which will enable Public Safety to build and deploy Broadband Wireless Networks throughout the United States. Our recently upgraded 10 site radio network provides comprehensive in-building coverage, augmented by 63 vehicular repeater systems to provide the highest level of coverage available to first responders. In addition, by using distributed antenna techniques, we’ve provided for the first time, nearly 100% coverage in the underground subway system. It is important to emphasize that interoperability is accomplished individual by individual. I say this because we must first ensure that our first responders can communicate clearly in all areas of the city before we focus on communications outside or with outside agencies. Without sufficient radio coverage, intraoperability, interoperability is impossible, putting lives at risk for even day-to-day first responder events. This wireless infrastructure will soon ride on the city’s fiber optic network. DC-NET delivers the highest levels of redundancy and reliability to our first responders. In order to achieve interoperability we took several steps. First, we had to upgrade the coverage and capacity of our pre-existing non-interoperable local networks. We accomplished this by creating a single, dual-band radio network. Next, we had to create interoperability between our intra-District public safety communications systems and other first responders in the region. I’m a very pleased to report to this Committee that we have made substantial improvements in public safety voice communications, and a detailed status of DC Interoperability progress is provided in Attachment III of my Testimony. These improvements would not have been possible without Federal investments and the coordinated efforts of our Regional Council of Governments, which is made up of first responders, leaders and communications specialists from our surrounding region. Additionally, without clear and unambiguous direction from our Congressional Leaders and staff, Mayor, City Council, City Administrator, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, Police and Fire and EMS Chiefs and our Chief Technology Officer, we would have failed. That direction: "Work together, get it done, now!" The interoperability effort considered several options and we chose to create a dual-band 460/800 MHz network because we could use Motorola’s existing SmartZone architecture to incorporate all of the existing 800 MHz radios and over half of the 460 MHz radios. This allowed neighboring agencies using 800 MHz radios to communicate with our 460 MHz police radios through a central hub; and, through trunked radio technology, delivered the maximum number of individual communications paths for numerous simultaneous incidents and talkgroups. As mentioned previously, our underground project, managed jointly with WMATA, and completed in March 2004, remedied coverage problems for the District’s Fire and EMS first responders in the WMATA subway system by upgrading the 800 MHz underground-distributed antenna system. District firefighters now have seamless below-and above-ground communications. Together, these two projects gave the District one of the best public safety wireless voice systems in the nation: comprehensive coverage, 27-channels, a regionally interoperable system providing clear voice communication, encryption, and other digital features for all our first responders. During the requirements and design phase of our wireless voice programs, we realized that just providing upgraded voice communications for first responders is not enough. The threats to our country and region are real and imminent. Providing our first responders with citywide remote surveillance, chemical and biological, and bomb detection systems is critical to preventing attacks. Additionally, early detection of attacks will speed our response capabilities. We evaluated the use of commercially available wireless networks, wideband wireless networks and networks deployed at the 4.9 GHz spectrum, and none met our requirements. Please note, individuals and organizations that wish to do us harm already have city-wide broadband wireless capabilities in the District, North Carolina, and San Diego. They can sign up anonymously for Verizon or Nextel services in these areas and conduct real-time broadband intelligence gathering, video surveillance and, worst, attack coordination with far better coordination capabilities than what was used in Madrid, Spain. Our first responders need better tools than the terrorists. Recently, the District launched an initiative aimed at delivering next-generation broadband wireless solutions to the nation’s capital and, potentially, the nation. We founded the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety with 30 states, counties, cities, regions and public safety organizations. The goals of the coalition are to pursue legislation that require the FCC to reserve 10 MHz of radio spectrum for wide-area public safety broadband wireless uses; enabling competitive, affordable technologies that meet first-response requirements; and, facilitate nationwide network deployment. Concurrently, the District is deploying, on a pilot basis, the nation’s first citywide broadband wireless public safety network to demonstrate PS applications. We have one transceiver site working in the Capitol Hill area. This solution leverages Flarion Technologies’ FLASH OFDM network and Motorola’s newly developed Greenhouse video dispatch application. The full 10-site network, operating under an 18-month experimental license approved by the FCC, is slated for completion in summer 2004, and will provide broadband wireless service throughout the District of Columbia. I would like to stress that the continuing cooperation from DHS and FCC is appreciated. We also enjoy ongoing support from our corporate partners Flarion Technologies, Televate, Motorola, and SAIC. In conclusion, please allow me to list some of the PS challenges that this committee can help address: Provide an additional 10 MHz of 700Mhz spectrum for wide-area broadband wireless PS applications; Accelerate the 700Mhz spectrum clearing efforts; and Accelerate the resolution of Nextel interference issue.

Public safety communications and access to spectrum tops House committee hearing

News | June 30, 2004

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