Cyren Call Proposal Gaining Traction, Officials Say at PCIA

“In the beginning the likelihood was less than it seems to be right now,” said Harlin McEwen, who represents leading police groups on communications issues: “It’s still an iffy thing. There are obstacles to be overcome. But it’s much more likely than it was.” McEwen, who declined to lay odds, credited public safety community interest with helping the Cyren Call plan’s chances. “We're hearing from the local police chiefs and sheriffs organizations and the fire chiefs out in the field who have been sending letters to the FCC and the Congress saying that they want this to be discussed,” he said.

Reports of a Verizon Wireless proposal to use 12 MHz for a national network for public safety makes the Cyren Call proposal or a variation likelier, said Allan Tilles, a lawyer with public safety clients. Verizon Wireless hasn’t commented on reports that an offering is in the works that would travel a route similar to Cyren Call’s.

“If you'd have asked that in April or May I think at the time I would have said 75-25 against,” Tilles said: “With Verizon’s proposal that ups the ante to about 50-50.” Any proposal from Verizon “as opposed to what they said within 15 minutes of Cyren Call’s original proposal, which was hell no” would be “a quantum leap in thinking and a quantum leap in getting the discussion going,” he said.

The odds for Cyren Call are now close to 50-50, said Stephen Devine, a Mo. public safety communications official. “I was somewhat skeptical,” he said. The plan still faces a tough fight, he said, “given the political circumstances with the telecom reform bill, the fact that Congress is coming close to the end of the session… and the Commission really isn’t required to do anything until the Congress tells it to.”

All 3 said they hope Verizon Wireless or other national carriers will come forward soon with proposals to provide public safety with more 700 MHz spectrum. “We're encouraging Verizon Wireless if they have some new proposal to make that public and become part of the public discussion,” McEwen said: “Cyren Call laid all this out on the table, said, ‘Here’s what we're trying to do. What’s your advice?'”

“Carriers have to be in the dialog whether they're bringing in an alternative or discussing what their role will be in the Cyren Call proposal,” Devine said: “They have to be there… It’s going to be up to the carriers as to which way they want to go.” Tilles said: “It’s going to be driven by how serious the carriers are in wanting to get this done, whether it’s just a token ‘You do this and we'll participate’ kind of thing [or] active participation.”

A lawyer on hand was less cheery about Cyren Call. “I've been a little surprised that they've been so slow out of the gate in getting their constituency groups organized,” the lawyer said: “I thought the political support has been slower in coming than a lot of people suspected from groups that would have been presumed to be supportive. Anything is possible but I think it’s a heavy lift.”

Cyren Call has been in talks with several carriers, Pres. Keith Kaczmarek said, declining to give details. Compromise will be critical, he said: “There is probably zero percent likelihood that, in fact, the Cyren Call proposal will make it through the process.” - Howard Buskirk

PCIA notebook…

Tower company officials said Tues. that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita showed the need for planning. Repair crews need to have credentials to cross police lines. Companies need stockpiles of supplies for tower reconstruction. “Signage is very important,” said Glenn Veatch, national dir. of operations for American Tower: “When the National Guard comes in and starts blocking off locations it’s very difficult to gain access to those areas… After Katrina we were much more prepared for Rita because we knew what supplies we needed” to store outside the disaster area. Wireless industry gaps were illuminated by the storms, said John Vivian with Caterpillar, the nation’s largest supplier of emergency generators. “What we saw with the wireless industry is they each have cell towers, they each have a backup generator and there was no cohesive pooling of resources,” he said: “You are so insulated in your industry that you really isolate yourself from the local Caterpillar dealer until a disaster does take place.” The first time Caterpillar heard from some companies was after the storms, he said. His company’s response was: “Good. We have a few details to work out.”

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Joelle Gehring, a Mich. zoologist, told the PCIA Tues. that cell towers threaten birds flying at 500-700 ft. A source in industry called that assessment favorable to the wireless sector, since most cell towers are shorter.