Interoperability is one of those recurring issues that’s been lost and revived so many times that its latest resurfacing could be seen as either redundant or miraculous.
Glaringly deficient in light of every major crisis since the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the first responder communications network has been simultaneously scrutinized and overlooked for more than a decade.
One month after the attacks on the World Trade Center, the United States Conference of Mayors brought together more than 200 mayors, police and fire chiefs, emergency managers and public health officials to discuss emergency response readiness in the United States. One of the major issues that came to light during that meeting was the need for a nationwide interoperable communications network for first responders.
In 2003, Congress approved $154 million in funding for the development of an interoperable communications system. However, a 2004 survey conducted by the Conference of Mayors found that 58 percent of the 192 cities surveyed reported that “the federal mechanism for distributing the majority of homeland security funding through the states had delayed investment in interoperable communications equipment.”
That same survey by the Conference of Mayors showed that public safety agencies in cities across the country operate on a variety of different frequencies, from 800 MHz spectrum to VHF and UHF signals. Obviously, one of the key facets of a first responder communications solution is consolidating radio and data transmission for emergency personnel to a single spectrum.
More than a decade ago, in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress directed the FCC to allocate, no later than Jan. 1, 1998, 24 MHz of radio spectrum between 746 and 806 MHz, which would be recovered from analog television channels 60-69 with the implementation of digital TV.
D BLOCK FAILURE
By 2008, the nation was still without a nationwide first responder network. It was thought that the FCC’s auction of the 700 MHz spectrum would solve everything. But while blocks A-C and E were all auctioned off to private companies, a single bid on the D Block came in far below the reserve.
In a recent op-ed piece, Wireless Week contributor Andy Seybold lamented the bureaucracy that has essentially halted any real efforts to solve this crucial problem.
Seybold cited the fact that the recent stimulus package, which includes $7.2 billion for nationwide broadband services, doesn’t appear to have “one red cent” for the first responders’ network. Seybold went on to note that most first responders have given up and moved on in search of other alternatives.
|
AN IP SOLUTION?
Dana Hansen, regional sales director for Tyco Electronics wireless systems, says solving the problem might be as much about planning as it is about the technology. Hansen was superintendent of communications for the Denver Police Department and saw firsthand the logistical nightmare that was the Columbine tragedy.
When asked if those working the Columbine massacre knew beforehand that their radio systems were ill-equipped to handle a magnitude of that crisis, her answer is blunt. “I don’t think we had any idea,” she says. “But I can tell you that within the first hour, those problems were glaringly clear.”
Recently, she’s been arranging symposiums of local and state officials to understand what went wrong and implement strategies for the future. Hansen says interoperability hasn’t happened yet for a couple reasons.
“They’ve gotten by with what they have for a long time. If it’s still working, people keep doing it. Agencies in rural areas or smaller towns that maybe haven’t been affected – they don’t think it can happen to them. And then I think the other part, which is key, is a lack of user input,” she says.
Of course, being a sales rep for Tyco, Hansen comes bearing a technological solution that she says is low-cost and easily leverages existing networks. She notes that the greater Denver area has achieved interoperability using Tyco’s Network First system, an IP-based solution that can be installed on existing radios.
Her main message, however, is technology alone will not solve today’s problems with interoperability. “It all comes back to operations and lessons learned,” she says.
She notes the massive undertaking of policing an event like the Democratic National Convention. “During the DNC, we brought in 1,100 radios on loan, and we experienced no queuing because of the Network First system combined with all the pre-planning we did,” Hansen says.
Should spectrum be made available for first responders, Hansen thinks there is a role for companies like Tyco and the solutions they provide. “I think that our role is really about sitting down with the users, the admin and the tech people and we help them plan the use of their frequencies. I think any good vendor takes the time to sit down with the customer and help them understand and plan for the future, 10 or 15 years out, not just meeting immediate needs.”
VERIZON TO THE RESCUE?
Aside from innovations like Tyco’s solution, few are willing to concede that there’s any better solution than a standardized and devoted slice of spectrum. However, finding the financial backing to purchase and develop that spectrum is proving another matter altogether.
|
Lack of funds might be one reason Verizon Wireless asked the government to literally give it up. Steve Zipperstein, vice president of legal and external affairs and general counsel for Verizon, recently urged the government to forego another auction of the D Block and simply hand over the 700 MHz spectrum to state and local public safety agencies.
Zipperstein says nationwide interoperability would require a “technical framework,” but that public safety should be free to select commercial partners of its own choosing. “What we’ve done here is to start a conversation without trying to drive any particular end result,” says Zipperstein, stressing that the end result ultimately will be up to the public safety sector.
“We have a great window of opportunity with this new administration,” he says. “I’m very confident that the administration and Congress will take it that way, as a great opportunity.”
TECHNOCRACY
Regardless of what happens with the D Block, the decade-long process offers a fascinating, if frustrating, look at what happens when technology and bureaucracy mix.
Rob Kenny, spokesman for the FCC, says the commission couldn’t actually pursue any action until Julius Genachowski, President Obama’s selection for FCC chairman to replace Kevin Martin, has been confirmed.
Kenny says the commission has not released any official comment in response to Zipperstein’s suggestions, but emphasized that all options are on the table.
As if the red tape wasn’t thick enough, Kenny stressed that the decision is not entirely the FCC’s to make. “It would take some level of action by Congress in order for us to release that segment without an auction,” he says.
Filed Under: Infrastructure
