The FCC announced on January 25 a new order that pushes forward its plans to develop a US$15bn nationwide broadband network for emergency services.
As such, public safety mobile broadband networks in the 700MHz band must use LTE technology.
The US…
The FCC announced on January 25 a new order that pushes forward its plans to develop a US$15bn nationwide broadband network for emergency services.
As such, public safety mobile broadband networks in the 700MHz band must use LTE technology.
The US telecoms regulator is developing a framework for mobile broadband networks that will enable the country’s fire fighters, police and other public safety workers to share information (including photos and videos) during operations and emergencies.
But for the plan to go forward further, the US Congress must pass legislation in order to determine whether to allocate more spectrum for public safety, specifically the 10MHz of the D block in the 700MHz band.
The FCC estimates that if the D block is allocated to public safety, the project will cost US$15bn.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement that this mobile broadband network would allow first responders (emergency workers first to the scene of an accident) to communicate with each other and hospitals, “improving success rates by taking advantage of every second”.
10 MHz of spectrum was allocated to public safety in 2009 as a part of the digital switchover.
The Congress initially ordered that the D block be auctioned commercially. In its National Broadband Plan, the FCC followed this by recommending the auction of the spectrum, which would raise an estimated US$3bn.
But one US senator, the Democrat Jay Rockefeller from West Virginia, has since introduced legislation that would enable the spectrum to be reallocated for free to public safety groups.
Under this new legislation, which has the support of the Obama administration, the construction of the public safety network would be financed through spectrum auctions for around 500MHz of spectrum for mobile broadband services, which will be carried out over the next ten years.
