Public Safety in D.C. Region Sees Broad Demand for Better Spectrum
The National Capital Region Interoperability Program -- which has been testing public safety communications on 700 MHz through an experimental FCC license in D.C. (CD Aug. 28 2004 p1) -- told the Commission public safety officials see widespread use for the spectrum in their operations. All the public safety officials in the region said they see at least some use in their departments. for equipment operating on the spectrum, said an NCR report filed with the Commission. The report came on the eve of a weekend House vote setting a hard date for the DTV transition, which will provide public safety 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum -- less than the 30 MHz some public safety officials have sought.
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D.C. has been testing 700 MHz for public safety since Jan. Public safety officials overwhelmingly prefer 700 MHz to the 4.9 GHz once available because it requires far fewer base stations and other equipment and more easily penetrates trees, walls and other barriers. D.C. officials have estimated that citywide network would require about 400 sites in the 4.9 GHz range, compared with 10 sites at 700 MHz.
The report could indicate how public safety will use 700 MHz spectrum. Wireless digital imaging, with mug shots sent instantly to patrol cars, was the greatest need cited by the public safety officials. Only 8.57% of the departments. can transmit images wirelessly; 93.94% want it.
The 2nd greatest need cited was live video that can be streamed to officers in the field. Among officials surveyed, 11.43% said they make some use of live video now, but 91.17% want to be able to. The report quoted Major Victor Ferreira of Price George’s County, Md., Fire/EMS service about the benefits of video: “Video can help those at the command center to see something from an angle that the firefighters can’t see from the ground. This extra set of eyes could help either deploy people to the right place or save lives by moving those at risk away from pending danger, such as an HVAC system that is about to fall through a roof which the responders on the ground may not be aware of.”
Officials noted the need for wireless report management, mapping and automatic vehicle location. NCR said that, with the exception of automatic vehicle location, all these applications require significant bandwidth to work well. NCR found less pent-up demand for wireless computer-aided dispatch, E-mail and text messaging -- applications available today that don’t require the same wide swaths of spectrum.
“There is pent-up demand for the networks and associated applications in the eyes of public safety professionals, and the impact of this technology is significant,” NCR said. “This technology will result in more effectiveness and efficiency, as well as saved lives.”