“Cyberspace is being mapped all over the world, not just in the United States. It may be mapped by hackers who are trying to build large zombie farms. Or it may be hacked by terrorists working for themselves or for some other country to figure out how to attack the infrastructure of potential adversaries. For whatever reason it’s going on”… — PBS Frontline
RCR Wireless reports a new company has announced plans to use the national 700 MHz public-safety spectrum.
Frontline has put together an investor group to bid on 700 MHz spectrum at an auction scheduled for later this year, and wants the FCC to designate a portion of commercial 700 MHz spectrum — perhaps 13 megahertz — adjacent to public-safety frequencies in the band for a national first-responder broadband network. Frontline Wireless will file its proposal (pdf) with the Federal Communications Commission today, says RCR.
The FCC favors setting aside half of public safety’s 24 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for broadband communications.
According to Frontline’s vision (pdf FCC filing):
The Frontline Plan creates an essential spectrum reserve for public safety’s most critical communications. This nationwide “E” Block, combined with the 12 MHz of broadband public safety spectrum proposed by the Ninth NPRM, ensures a minimum of 22 MHz for public safety’s broadband network – all without disturbing or otherwise interfering with the existing 12 MHz allocation for narrowband voice communications. In sum, the public safety community will enjoy access to at least 34 MHz of spectrum in the “beachfront” Upper 700 MHz band.
In its ninth notice of proposed rulemaking (pdf ) in the 700 MHz proceeding, the FCC proposed that 12 MHz of public-safety spectrum currently would be licensed to a national public-safety broadband licensee, which would lease the airwaves to commercial operators to build a broadband network.
The FCC proposed that 12 MHz of the 24 MHz allotted for public service users might be shared with commercial users. Frontline splits the difference between the FCC’s 9th NPR (which adds no new spectrum for public service users) and the Cryen Call proposal (which adds 30 MHz). Frontline adds 13 Mhz of adjacent spectrum for shared access.
Frontline is headed by Haynes Griffin, who founded Vanguard Cellular, while Janice Obuchowski, former head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is chairman of Frontline and former FCC chairman Reed Hundt serves as vice chairman. GigOm’s Paul Kapustka talked to Hundt and has more details on Frontline’s proposal.
Under Frontline’s plan, which would require FCC approval, public-safety agencies would have priority access to the commercial broadband spectrum during emergencies, and the network would be open to other entities such as regional wireless carriers on a wholesale basis. Police, firefighters, medics and other public-safety entities would have local control of communications over the network.
The network would be built by the private sector. Under the plan, the FCC would license a portion of the 700 MHz commercial spectrum under the condition that the commercial licensee build a nationwide public safety broadband network and give public safety agencies priority access to the commercial spectrum during emergencies.
“Our proposal … allows the benefit of this successful business model to be shared with smaller and rural wireless operators, with a commitment to bring them nationwide roaming as part of ensuring wide coverage deployment for public safety,” said Griffin.
The 12 MHz of radio spectrum the FCC proposed is not adequate to allow the network to provide universal access and data sharing says the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (pdf). The umbrella group represents police and fire chiefs, emergency managers, 911 center officials and others.
“It’s a free build-out,” Hundt explained at a press briefing. “They’ll have to pay to use it. There’s no other way for them to get a network.”
The Frontline initiative, unlike a plan backed by Cyren Call Communications and public safety groups, would not require legislation because it does not require new spectrum for public service users. Cyren Call and first responder organizations are lobbying Congress to set aside half of the auction-bound 60 megahertz of spectrum for a national public safety broadband communications network (30 MHz in the upper 700MHz band). Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he will introduce legislation to make that possible.
Cyren Call wants to create a broadband trust that would raise roughly $5 billion from private investors to pay for the 30MHz of spectrum that he wants the government to set aside. Instead of Congress or local governments footing the bill to turn this spectrum into a network, Cyren Call proposes to pay the cost of deploying the equipment to build the networks for both commercial and public service users, with public service getting priority access. Critics say the spectrum is worth billions more than what Cyren Call plans to pay and they would leave rural areas with little coverage.
One of the early investors in Frontline is Ram Shriram, managing partner of Sherpalo Ventures. “Frontline’s plan would facilitate the buildout of an advanced, 4G wireless broadband network for public safety and provide new freedom for wireless consumers by removing restrictions on the devices and applications that can be used on the network,” he said.
Related DailyWireless articles include;
Tom Ridge: Answer Cyren Call, Verizon Makes its Move for Universal Service Fund, Senate Testimony on 700MHz Sharing, FCC to Rural Users: 700MHz is the Ticket, McCain Wants Commercial 700 MHz for Police, Oregon’s $500 Million Statewide Wireless Network, State-wide Wireless Broadband Access and
Interoperability Scorecard.
.gif)
