Time Running Short for Cyren Call, Founder O'Brien Says

O'Brien, a founder of Nextel, said he expects the public safety trust to look for the “best partner” among competitors. “We studied this problem and made this proposal. We have a strong desire to be selected… to help manage this process, but absolutely no assurance of that,” he said: “This is a role we envision which Cyren Call could play, which a number of parties could play… I am auditioning for that role. I am absolutely frank about that.”

O'Brien acknowledged the company’s full court press on the Hill seeking legislation. “This is a real and important debate where a decision is going to be made in the next number of months, much less than a year,” he said: “If it’s not made to make that spectrum available, that opportunity will be gone forever…. The time is very short. This is very urgent. I am spending all of my time trying to persuade decision-makers, trying to persuade the public, that this is an important issue.”

O'Brien said the plan makes sense only if the manager of the trust, the role Cyren wants to play, is a for-profit organization compelled to bring in the best staff to make it work. “This is a complicated undertaking,” he said: “The thing that drives a successful business is the ability to make a profit. I don’t shy from that.”

O'Brien compared Cyren Call to Nextel, which he said faced similar opposition as it sought to build a network. “When you innovate you generate obstacles,” he said: “We're proposing numerous changes because there are fundamental flaws in the current system. That kicks up a storm of controversy, not just from those whose competitive interests are threatened, and we have plenty of that, but just in the nature of things. It’s change. It’s complicated change.”

O'Brien praised the FCC and its ability to work through tough issues, even though the Commission has determined that without congressional action it can’t reallocate the 700 MHz spectrum as Cyren Call requested. “The way you tee up, the way you begin a debate that turns into policy and turns into legislation is you start at the FCC,” he said: “The FCC is a place where you can file roughly 175 pages of very complicated stuff and you can get it understood, disseminated. You can get the debate started.”

O'Brien said that the network Cyren Call envisions will require 39,000 cellsites. But if done right, first responders will have access for the first time to a network they can use without having expensive, proprietary equipment. “The beauty of this plan is that there will be a national, common standard sufficient to support 30 million or more users,” he said: “People are shocked when they find this out. A 2-way radio that public safety buys today, which basically does push to talk, release to listen… costs $3,500-$5,000. There’s something wrong with that system.”

Meanwhile, McCain introduced the Spectrum Availability for Emergency-Response and Law-Enforcement to Improve Vital Emergency Services Act, the SAVE LIVES Act. In a statement on the Senate floor, McCain observed that during the 9/11 attacks first responders to the World Trade Center didn’t have a clear idea what was happening “30, 60, 90, and 100 floors above” because of inadequate communications.

“The federal government has made many strides in developing a comprehensive, interoperable emergency communications plan, setting equipment standards, funding the purchase of interoperable communications equipment, and belatedly making additional radio spectrum available,” McCain said: “But none of this is enough. We will not solve our nation’s interoperability crisis until all emergency personnel involved in responding to an incident are able to communicate seamlessly, and that is what this legislation is intended to accomplish.”

The legislation would also require the FCC, DHS and public safety to examine the possibility of moving most public safety communications to the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands to increase interoperability.

McCain said Congress must act quickly to avoid delaying the auction of 700 MHz spectrum that will be used for advanced communications. But he indicated he wasn’t swayed by carriers’ arguments against putting more of the 700 MHz spectrum into first responders’ hands. “I know some critics would rather all of this spectrum be auctioned solely for commercial applications, such as wireless Internet surfing, instant messaging and phone services,” McCain said: “I can assure you… I do not lay awake at night wondering why my children can’t surf the Internet on their cellphone from any location at any time, but I do worry about whether we will be adequately prepared to respond to the next disaster.”

Proposals Jockey for Favor

Cyren Call and competing group Frontline traded barbs Fri., perhaps a sign of things to come for 2 companies whose goals likely are incompatible. Public safety spectrum should remain a public asset because there’s no guarantee that commercial interests will deliver on their promises, O'Brien said in a news release. “Does anybody remember NextWave?” he asked, adding “that debacle illustrates what happens” when the FCC licenses companies that fail to meet public interest requirements.

Meanwhile, Frontline CTO Stagg Newmann made his company’s case during a WCA-hosted radio program. “We actually share a lot with Cyren Call in technical terms,” he said. But Frontline’s plan is the only logical one from an economic or regulatory perspective, Newman said. Frontline’s plan calls for more bandwidth to be auctioned for commercial use (CD Feb 27 p2), putting more money “in the U.S. Treasury,” he said. He stressed the cost of building a safety network, suggesting it requires commercial backers.

Commercial backing shouldn’t be a problem for Frontline. The company’s business strategy is under wraps, but top investor Ram Shriram sits on the board of Google and was involved with that company from its early days.

Newmann deflected questions on commercial overuse of the emergency spectrum under Frontline’s plan. The public safety communications network has 2-3 million users, he said: “And a lot of those are people with guns or hoses in their hand who aren’t on the network in times of crisis.” Meanwhile, commercial networks have closer to 200 million users, he said. But if the plan’s 13 bands were all tied up by public safety users, “we probably have bigger fish to fry than downloading our video games,” he said.