Radio interoperability is a common concern of every state. The federal Safecom Program wants compability between city, county, state and federal agencies. When Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, different counties were often unable to communicate. While the 800 Mhz radios were similar, different signaling, control and talk channels created inpenetrable barriers.
The state of Oregon is no different. The Oregon State Interoperability Executive Council, however, is hatching a $500 million state-wide broadband public service network, to “extend the benefits of telecommunications technology to all residents of the state, regardless of location or income“.
The Oregon Telecommunications Coordinating Council (ORTCC) got together with the Oregon State Interoperability Executive Council to develop a $500 million state-wide broadband public service network as a first step.
The 2005 State Legislative Assembly via House Bill 2101 (pdf), expanded the charter of the Oregon State Interoperability Executive Council (SIEC) to include the identification and recommendation of a solution for public safety wireless communications interoperability in concert with the Office of Emergency Management.
The State’s microwave system and its series of communications buildings and towers will likely be the backbone for public safety’s interoperability needs. But the 171 current sites have problems; they will need lots of work to bring them up to code and the chances of getting more land for sites on federal and tribal lands is slim. That means that higher frequencies such as 2.5 GHz are out. The statewide network will have to be something in the 700/800 Mhz band because only the lower frequencies have the necessary range.
Federal Engineering was awarded a contract to create a presentation (Real Video) that reviewed the scope and goals of the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network project. The goal is to provide the information needed to develop and deliver a State public safety wireless communications interoperability plan to the Oregon Legislature by January 2007. The criteria includes:
- A digital microwave system connecting major Oregon communications facilities
- A consolidated, State Agency public safety wireless communications system
- Reliable communications facilities to meet the needs of State Agencies and other government public safety and emergency responder agencies
- Frequency coordination services for the proposed microwave and LMR systems
There are two basic strategies: (1) Construction, financed by the State of Oregon and federal resources equally, and; (2) Operations, financed principally by subscribers but inclusive of State of Oregon finances in the area of public safety (radio owning agencies).
Consistent with the Governor’s letter sent to the Oregon Congressional Delegation, the SIEC Finance Committee is recommending that the federal government share equally in the cost of construction.
It is the committee’s expectation that the work of the governor, legislature, and the SIEC, in collaboration with the congressional delegation, will result in tangible federal financing opportunities that will significantly contribute to the construction of OWIN.
At the same time, the committee does not underestimate this task; for perspective, if the federal investment over the next eight years were made in cash as opposed to debt participation the federal government’s obligation would be approximately $32 million per year (assuming the federal share of the system construction expense is $250 million). Current OWIN construction costs are estimated at about $500 million.
This estimate assumes wholesale replacement of nearly all of the state agency owned communication sites currently in operation across the state. The OWIN design and engineering study now underway will produce a detailed cost estimates for the system in the fall of 2006, as the contractor’s work on the conceptual design, business case and implementation plan is finalized.
| General Use | 12.5 MHz (52.1%) |
7.7 MHz (1232 Channels) |
4.8 MHz (96 Channels) |
| Interoperability | 2.6 MHz (10.8%) |
0.8 MHz (128 Channels) |
1.8 MHz (36 Channels) |
| Secondary Trunking | 0.2 MHz (0.8%) |
0.2 MHz (32 Channels) |
-0- |
| State License | 2.4 MHz (10.0%) |
2.4 MHz (384 Channels) |
-0- |
| Low Power | 0.3 MHz (1.3%) |
0.3 MHz (48 Channels) |
-0- |
| Reserve | 6.0 MHz (25.0%) |
0.6 MHz (96 Channels) |
5.4 MHz (108 Channels) |
Of course interoperable public service radios in the 700 Mhz band won’t be able to deliver broadband wireless for everybody. There just isn’t enough bandwidth in the 6 Mhz channels — WiFi at 2.4 GHz, for example, has 85 Mhz available. Since Sprint and Clearwire own most of the 2.5 GHz licenses in the United States (for Mobile WiMAX), the 1.7 GHz AWS band might be the best shot.
The FCC, some suggest, seems more concerned with protecting the dominance of cellular companies.
