by AllThingsECC.com | Feb 12, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
The 800 MHz band interstitial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released on October 22, 2018 was published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2018. The rules became effective as of December 27, 2018. Some of the key points of the order are discussed below:
- Add 318 new interstitial channels in the 800 MHz Mid-Band, the portion of the 800 MHz band used most extensively for PLMR.
- Direct Commission staff to announce when applications for 800 MHz Expansion Band, Guard Band, Sprint-vacated, and interstitial channels may be filed in the 44 of 55 National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee regions where 800 MHz rebanding has been completed.
- Decline to give incumbent 800 MHz licensees filing priority for 800 MHz Expansion Band and Guard Band over non-incumbents after such an announcement.
- Terminate the 1995 freeze on inter-category sharing of 800 MHz channels, making it no longer necessary for applicants to seek a waiver of the freeze.
- Make available new 450-470 MHz Industrial/Business Pool channels in gaps located between Industrial/Business Pool spectrum and spectrum designated for other services.
- Authorize trackside boosters on PLMR railroad channels to facilitate communication between the front and rear of trains where direct communication is unsatisfactory because of the length of the train or intervening terrain.
- Extend conditional licensing to PLMR stations that operate in the 700 MHz public safety narrowband and the 800 MHz band.
- Make underused Central Station Alarm channels available for other PLMR purposes provided that the Central Station Alarm frequency coordinator concurs.
On December 27, 2018, Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) filed a petition with FCC stating the following:
“The Commission has adopted many of the approaches endorsed by the LMCC in these proceedings. However, there is a critical area in which the FCC rejected the LMCC’s recommendations and adopted rules, in the LMCC’s opinion, that must be reconsidered if the full potential of the spectrum at issue is to be captured. Specifically, the LMCC urges the FCC to reconsider the definition of the interference contour to be used in coordinating an 800 MHz Mid-Band (809-817/854-862 MHz) application and the derating factors to be applied in that contour analysis. The derating factors, which were developed for use with an F(50,50) curve, are not appropriate when applied to a more conservative F(50,10) curve. The result will provide more adjacent channel protection than needed while simultaneously reducing the spectrum utilization that otherwise could be derived from introducing interstitial channels into the 800 MHz band.”
It is important to note that licensing of 800 MHz interstitials channels is not possible until FCC has addressed this petition. Furthermore, while the rules became effective on December 27, 2018, formal administrative and FCC release details have yet to be issued. Specifically, it is not possible to determine at present the dates for which the FCC will issue a Public Notice (PN) announcing the release dates of the spectrum and the applicable filing windows for when frequency advisory committees can begin certifications and submissions to the FCC for processing.
by AllThingsECC.com | Feb 2, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Kevin O’Connor
Embracing FirstNet
It has been nearly eight years since the fire service secured bandwidth 14 (D-Block) and the creation of FirstNet through aggressive lobbying and advocacy. At times, it has been a tumultuous and seemingly never-ending journey in our quest for a dedicated, interoperable public safety communications network.
AT&T was the only major telecom company to bid. Many attempted to entice other companies to bid for the business in order to spark competition and innovation and drive down costs, but no other major carrier stepped forward, and AT&T was awarded the business. AT&T now has a 25-year contract to build out and manage the system for FirstNet, and they are doing so.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jan 30, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Edward Parkinson, Acting CEO, First Responder Network Authority
Last week, I joined the Western Fire Chiefs Association and public safety officials for a site visit to the burn area of the Camp Fire in northern California. This trip was an opportunity for the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) to learn about the public safety response to the fires that devastated Paradise, California—a town of 27,000 residents in the foothills East of Chico—directly from those fire chiefs and other first responders who were on the ground during the wildfire.
Not only did seeing the Camp Fire site leave a lasting and tremendous impression on me, it also helped provide perspective on the enormity of the more than 153,000 acres of destruction and devastation to impact Butte County last November. Everything in view was affected by the fire.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jan 27, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Charles Murph, First Responder Network Authority Senior Public Safety Advisor
With FirstNet available throughout the United States, emergency managers have greater access to real-time information than ever before. Charles Murph says that now is the time to think about how to manage the ever-larger volumes of data that will ensue.
The age of FirstNet stands to deliver situational awareness and data for Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs), whether for emergency managers in rural or metro areas in the US. When police needed to search a 300-acre wooded property in rural Alabama, they used a mix of traditional police work and cutting-edge technology to try to find evidence that could provide a long-sought break in a missing persons case.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jan 18, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
By Brent Williams, Senior EMS Advisor
FirstNet is making its mark across the country and as I meet with emergency medical services professionals, I’m pleased to hear their feedback on the initial benefits of having their own dedicated network. With more than 5,250 public safety agencies currently subscribed to FirstNet, we are learning more each day from first responders about how the network is enhancing emergency communications.
As guest host of the FirstNet Authority’s Public Safety First podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Paul Zeeb, Medical Director for the Metropolitan Emergency Communications Consortium in Central Ohio, and Plain Township (OH) Assistant Fire Chief Jack Rupp. Both underscored that during emergency response, the ability to share data quickly during critical and routine incidents is imperative to ensuring patients receive the best quality care available.
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by AllThingsECC.com | Jan 11, 2019 | Articles, Comm Center News
By TJ Kennedy, Co-Founder Public Safety Network
It’s been a tremendously exciting year for the development and implementation of new technologies leveraging public safety broadband capabilities. In the course of our travels this year, we have seen tremendous progress in the use of broadband capabilities for mission critical communications across the globe, including in Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom (UK), and of course, the United States (US). We have seen increased issuance of RFI and RFPs, and greater focus than ever on deployment of new critical communications LTE networks.
The progress in the US has been nothing less than astounding. I could not be prouder of the implementation and operational network in place with the FirstNet.gov team and the AT&T/FirstNet team (FirstNet.com).
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