More Bandwidth Said Needed for Future Emergency Mobile Applications
BRUSSELS -- European emergency services want some of the spectrum freed by digital switchover for new broadband data services, speakers said Monday at a PolicyTracker conference on public sector spectrum. Although Europe’s Terrestrial Trunked Radio system for safety-of-life services is a success, more bandwidth is needed now for applications such as high-definition video, two-way fleet video and other technologies, said Kenneth Carter, who wrote a WIK Consult report last year on public safety services and the digital dividend. A pan-EU high-level proposal for more frequency allocation for mobile broadband will be submitted to governments this year, said Hans Borgonjen, vice chairman of the Tetra Association.
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!
“Public-safety spectrum doesn’t matter until your life is at stake -- and then, by God, does it matter,” said David Happy of the Communications Management Association. Everyone agrees on the need to add spectrum, considering that European safety services have only 0.9 percent of the frequencies allocated, he said. Everyone bears responsibility for sorting out the problem, Happy said. He warned against a “silo mentality” toward public safety spectrum, saying anyone could need the services at some point.
Safety agencies need two pan-EU 15 MHz-wide channels, Carter said. Public safety organizations need the networks for quality-of-service, low latency and wider coverage, he said. The spectrum should come from the digital dividend for several reasons, including society’s moral obligation to spend resources on helping those in emergency need, he said. The U.S. has allocated 97 MHz nationwide to the services, Europe only 10 MHz, he said.
The Public Safety Communication Europe Forum -- partly financed by the European Commission to get the emergency services together -- is lobbying heavily for the two new bands, said Jeppe Jepsen, Motorola Brussels’ director of international business relations. Many mobile operators say there’s no business case for adding spectrum for mission- critical services, but taking a market perspective is wrong, he said. Those planning future wireless digital highways must consider the special needs of public-safety organizations because criminals will be using the thoroughfares, said Jepsen, who heads PSC Europe’s spectrum- harmonization effort.
The question of harmonized spectrum for broadband data is now in the political arena, Borgonjen said. The Police Cooperation Council, an EU-level gathering of police and justice officials, has created an expert group on radio technology and frequencies, he said. One of its jobs is to find a long-term solution for mobile-broadband data needs through harmonized standards and frequency bands, he said.
The group’s draft recommendation said spectrum released from the transfer of TV services to digital systems represents a “good but time-limited” opportunity to acquire harmonized spectrum, but there also may be opportunities below 1 GHz, Borgonjen said. The group recommended that the Conference of European Postal and Telecommunications Administrations’ Electronic Communication Committee identified additional frequencies below that level for future public safety and security voice and high-speed data networks. The draft recommendation will be completed this week and go to governments this year, he said.
Supporters of adding spectrum for emergency services don’t expect opposition, but “you never know,” Borgonjen said. The toughest discussion will be with the military, he said. Cooperating on frequency would be helpful because both sides respond to national disasters and other emergencies, he said.
The U.K.’s communications, technology and broadcasting minister acknowledges the government’s responsibility for the security and safety of life, Happy said. But, he added, Minister Stephen Carter has also said a “robust case” must be made for allocating spectrum to emergency services, and it hasn’t been made yet.