CTIA ‘HEROES’ PUBLIC SAFETY NETWORK LACKS APCO SUPPORT
CTIA proposal for dedicated public safety network using commercial wireless technology has drawn skeptical review from Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). CTIA Homeland Emergency Response Operational Enhancement System (HEROES) would devote unspecified continuous block of spectrum for public safety uses. Commercial wireless technology could be used to create more efficient public safety network that would handle more users and foster interoperability, CTIA Pres. Tom Wheeler said. While APCO supports concept of more spectrum for public safety, commercial wireless technology architecture doesn’t necessarily fit well for public safety, said Robert Gurss of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, representing APCO.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Gurss said in interview that APCO still supported 1996 public safety wireless committee report that recommended public safety be allotted 97-1/2 MHz of spectrum by 2010. Committee included representatives of FCC and NTIA. Although HEROES plan doesn’t specify which segments of spectrum should be used for public safety, sufficient spectrum could be made available in 700 and 800 MHz area, CTIA Gen. Counsel Steve Berry said. Public safety already has been allocated 24 MHz of spectrum in 700 MHz band, but area currently is occupied by TV broadcasters. Berry stressed that national spectrum policy was needed before such allocations would occur. CTIA supported recent FCC delay on 700 MHz spectrum auction, saying it shouldn’t be held until comprehensive national spectrum policy had been developed.
HEROES network would be less expensive, with radio handset costing $1,000 vs. current $1,500 for contemporary radio system handset, Wheeler said. With expanded interoperability, those handsets could be used to make cellular calls or communicate with other agencies broadcasting over different bands, he said. Police and firefighters already are buying cellphones for use while on duty because they give them better communication flexibility, Wheeler said. “Doesn’t it make sense for an officer to be able to call inside the house where there’s a domestic disturbance?” he asked. HEROES network also could manage spectrum more efficiently, Wheeler said. For example, he said 10 MHz could serve 4 million users. (Wheeler stressed that more than 10 MHz of spectrum should be devoted to public safety, but HEROES plan doesn’t specify spectrum allocation.)
HEROES plan would include reuse of spectrum, Berry said, but Gurss said that was difficult since public safety often had coverage areas larger than wireless networks provided. Commercial wireless technology requires “extraordinary amount of infrastructure” that’s not economical for some areas, particularly rural ones, Gurss said. Berry said that while HEROES idea didn’t specify how much and where spectrum should be located, it did recommend that public safety’s spectrum allocation be in contiguous blocks. Such blocks would help eliminate interference problems and assist with interoperability, Berry said. But Gurss said different areas of country needed to use different bands of spectrum, especially rural areas. Public safety utilizes VHF band between 150-170 MHz in some areas, and UHF band between 450- 470 MHz in others, he said.