https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Policy


Frontline Wireless offers an alternative 700 MHz proposal

Frontline Wireless offers an alternative 700 MHz proposal

Frontline Wireless, a two-month-old startup boasting a trio of high-profile industry leaders, this week unveiled its proposal for a 700 MHz nationwide, broadband public-safety network that would utilize spectrum currently allocated for both commercial and public-safety use
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 1st March 2007

Frontline Wireless, a two-month-old startup boasting a trio of high-profile industry leaders, this week unveiled its proposal for a 700 MHz nationwide, broadband public-safety network that would utilize spectrum currently allocated for both commercial and public-safety use.

In a filing with the FCC, Frontline outlined its proposal for a public-safety-grade broadband network to be built on at least 22 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 700 MHz band—12 MHz already allocated to public safety and 10 MHz currently earmarked for commercial auction.

“We think that would be adequate [spectrum],” Frontline Chairman Janice Obuchowski in an interview with MRT. “There may be others who say 30 [MHz is needed], but 22 is a pretty good number.”

Obuchowski said that having a large swath of spectrum would let the commercial operator realize the propagation advantages inherent at 700 MHz that can reduce overall network costs.

“With cellular technology, when you’re running out of spectrum, you typically build more cells, so you’re able to use the same spectrum more often,” she said. “But, if you have to start packing cells more densely just to get capacity, what’s the point?”

Frontline’s leadership team includes CEO Haynes Griffin, founder of Vanguard Cellular and past chairman of CTIA; Obuchowski, former administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA); and Vice Chairman Reed Hundt, who served as FCC chairman during the Clinton administration.

Frontline’s filing represents the public-private partnership proposal that would deliver a nationwide broadband network to public safety that would be built and maintained by a commercial entity. Cyren Call Communications has proposed that such a network be built using 30 MHz of the 60 MHz in the 700 MHz band scheduled for commercial auction early next year. The FCC has proposed building such a network on 12 MHz of 700 MHz already allocated to public safety.

Like the FCC proposal, an advantage of the Frontline plan is that it would not require any Congressional action, just FCC rules changes for the 10 MHz commercial spectrum described as the “E block” in the filing and the 12 MHz of public-safety spectrum. Bidders on the E block spectrum would be obligated to build a public-safety grade network that also would use 12 MHz of public-safety spectrum—airwaves that would be licensed to a national public-safety licensee.

But critics of the FCC proposal argue that the 12 MHz of public-safety spectrum may not be enough to meet public safety’s broadband needs, much less the commercial interests of any operator building the network. Cyren Call’s proposal calls for the network to be built on 30 MHz of spectrum, but the plan faces significant political hurdles, as it requires Congress to change the DTV laws passed just last year.

Unlike the Cyren Call and FCC plans, not all of the spectrum would be licensed to a single public-safety licensee under the Frontline proposal. Instead, the commercial operator winning the bid would be the licensee for the 10 MHz, while the public-safety entity would be the licensee for the 12 MHz of public-safety spectrum.

Exactly how the relationship between the two licensees would work has not been made public, other than the fact that public safety would have pre-emptive rights to the commercial spectrum in an emergency. Some details are expected to be released when Frontline files comments with the FCC in its proceeding on the service rules that will govern the 700 MHz auction, Obuchowski said.

And how a local public-safety entity would gain access to the spectrum when pre-emption is necessary is a detail that has to be addressed in a manner that’s not unique to Frontline, Obuchowski said.

“I think that’s an issue that is going to have to be ironed out under any one of these visions,” she said. “In the end, that would not be our call. We would be subject to the governance of the public-safety entity that managed this.”

One reason Obuchowski believes Frontline is better equipped to serve public safety is that it would be a wholesale network provider supporting MVNO-type models, not offering its network directly to commercial consumers.

“We’re an open-access, wholesale company. We would be offering roaming capacity to rural telcos, a dedicated network to public safety, and we would be offering capacity to a variety of these new entrants into the wireless space, typified by the Silicon Valley names,” Obuchowski said. “Hopefully, we’ll also serve some of the existing carriers who may not want to play in the 700 MHz [band] but see that it would be valuable to access this.”

Economists have questioned whether investors will make a return on their money spent to build a network that could be pre-empted at any time by public safety and is required to provide coverage in very rural areas, but Obuchowski said Frontline does not believe that’s a problem, noting the startup capital the company has raised already.

“The kinds of people who are investors are visionaries, and they are also as patriotic as most people consider themselves to be,” she said. “And the vision of being part of a pioneering, fourth-generation network that’s designed to accommodate a variety of needs and requirements is exciting to them.”

Tags: Call Center/Command content Policy Wireless Networks

Most Recent


  • AT&T wireless growth keyed by FirstNet—now provides 24,000 agencies with 4.4 million connections
    AT&T this week reported that FirstNet ended 2022 supporting more than 24,000 public-safety agencies with “about” 4.4 million connections, including 377,000 connections that were added during the last three months of 2022—a total that represents more than half of the carrier’s post-paid wireless growth for the quarter. AT&T officials released these figures in conjunction with […]
  • Report: Remote work causing offices to empty, but walkable cities still in high demand
    Given the reliance on vehicular transportation in the United States, some American cities historically haven’t prioritized being walkable in past planning and or design. But amid an unprecedented shift in the economy toward remote work, those that have are increasingly desirable for prospective residents. A new report from Smart Growth American and Places Platform, “Foot Traffic Ahead […]
  • AT&T FirstNet unleashes robotic dogs for emergency services
    AT&T is releasing robotic hounds from Ghost Robotics as part of the service provider’s FirstNet emergency responder service. In a blog, AT&T VP Lance Spencer explained that the robotic dogs will be connected to AT&T’s network and deployed for public safety, defense, federal and state agencies, local police and fire departments, and commercial customers. “Network-connected robotic dogs can deliver a […]
  • Federal agencies infested by cyberattackers via legit remote-management systems
    It has come to light that hackers cleverly utilized two off-the-shelf remote monitoring and management systems (RMMs) to breach multiple Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agency networks in the US last summer. On Jan. 25, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) released […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Frontline Wireless offers an alternative 700 MHz proposal
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public
  • Microsoft patches 6 zero-day vulnerabilities under active attack

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

AT&T wireless growth keyed by FirstNet—now provides 24,000 agencies with 4.4 million connections dlvr.it/ShY5qH

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Report: Remote work causing offices to empty, but walkable cities still in high demand dlvr.it/ShXM7Z

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

AT&T FirstNet unleashes robotic dogs for emergency services dlvr.it/ShW7p8

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Federal agencies infested by cyberattackers via legit remote-management systems dlvr.it/ShVhn3

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient dlvr.it/ShVS1h

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

MCPTT interworking for critical communications dlvr.it/ShTm3P

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

Self-driving cars present terrorism risk, FBI director says dlvr.it/ShTTHx

26th January 2023
UrgentComm

UK Home Office officially will cut ESN ties with Motorola Solutions in December dlvr.it/ShNjfN

24th January 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.