700 MHz broadband effort gains clarity

Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Donny Jackson & Glenn Bischoff

During the month of November, the public-safety side of the public/private partnership to build a nationwide broadband wireless network on 700 MHz spectrum was solidified, with the auction to determine the potential commercial partner set to begin in less than two months.

Potential bidders for the 10 MHz of spectrum in the D Block spent the latter half of November reviewing a bidder information document prepared by the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) — named the official licensee for public safety's 10 MHz of 700 MHz broadband spectrum on Nov. 19 — that outlines public safety's expectations for the shared wireless broadband network (SWBN).

In addition to reiterating FCC rules for the buildout — the network must be able to serve 99.3% of the U.S. population by 2019 — the PSST bidder information details the performance expectations for the network, including minimum data throughputs at the edge of cells and the need to be 99.9% reliable.

But the PSST opted not to label most items as requirements, instead calling them preferences that need to be solidified during the six months of negotiations between the D Block winner and the PSST to forge a network sharing agreement.

“At some level, everything is subject to negotiation,” Morgan O'Brien, CEO of Cyren Call Communications, the PSST's adviser.

Public-safety users would pay subscription fees to the PSST, which will lease a prearranged amount of wholesale capacity from the commercial operator(s) at a rate below commercial costs. If that capacity level is exceeded, the PSST would pay the same rate as commercial customers, which helps ensure the economic viability of the model, according to sources.

Public safety will receive the highest-priority access to the network, including preemption over commercial users within its 10 MHz of spectrum in the case that the network is used to its fullest capacity. However, the PSST document notes that 911 callers should not be subject to preemption.

A week after the release of the bidder information document, O'Brien said there had been “nothing negative” in the feedback to it from the FCC, potential bidders or public safety. This response not only reinforced O'Brien's belief that some previously interested operators are willing to bid on the D Block, but he said a “couple of new opportunities have surfaced.”

Based on feedback from interested parties, the PSST planned to release a second version of the bidder information document on Nov. 30, just a few days before the Dec. 3 deadline for bidders to declare their intention to participate in the auction.

After Dec. 3, FCC anti-collusion rules effectively will prevent the PSST from conducting any “meaningful” conversations with bidders until after the auction, O'Brien said. However, this would not prevenet the PSST from educating other audiences, including potential public-safety users.

“I think we should begin [the education and familiarization process with public safety right away,” O'Brien said. “We're doing the advance work to be ready, if that's the decision [PSST board members] make.”

Such an education process appears to be necessary, based on comments made by some public-safety representatives at the IWCE/MRT Summit in Orlando last month. While some public-safety officials — particularly those with national organizations — have monitored the 700 MHz situation regularly, the remarkably fast pace of the proceeding has left many public-safety representatives with inaccurate perceptions of the venture.

Others questioned whether first responders need a broadband data network.