https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • 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
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • 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
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • WHY ATTEND
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Registration Opens April 2019-Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • 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

Wireless Networks


Panel: Broadband voice for public safety is inevitable

Panel: Broadband voice for public safety is inevitable

But it won’t happen for at least a decade, and it might not happen at all unless the sector’s spectrum needs are met, experts said.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 12th March 2010

Leading public-safety communications officials participating in a panel discussion at IWCE 2010 yesterday said that IP-based broadband technologies inevitably would supplant land-mobile radio for the provisioning of public-safety voice communications. But it won’t happen for at least a decade, and it might not happen at all unless the sector’s spectrum needs are met.

Chuck Dowd, deputy chief of the New York City Police Department who is in charge of the NYPD’s communications system, acknowledged that land-mobile radio has provided reliable first-responder communications for decades.

“But the question is, ‘Why can’t we take that reliability and transfer it over to a broadband capability?’ I see no reason why that can’t happen,” Dowd said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight, and it has to be proven. But at the same time, rather than supporting two different types of network — one for broadband data and another for narrowband voice — ultimately the right solution will combine those capabilities.”

Harlin McEwen, chairman of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust, which holds public safety’s 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum that would be paired with 10 MHz of commercial spectrum to form the spectral foundation for a nationwide broadband network for first responders — agreed with Dowd on a macro level. “I think Chuck’s vision is the right vision,” McEwen said. “I don’t disagree at all that this vision not only is possible, but is likely. It is just a matter of time.”

But the devil always is in the details, and McEwen quickly shared his concerns over the amount of spectrum currently held by the public-safety sector.

“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to need more spectrum,” McEwen said. “I don’t think we should be putting all of our eggs into the [broadband] basket and going down the path to the future until we have some assurance that we’re going to have enough spectrum to be able to do that.”

The spectrum picture has become murkier of late. Originally, the plan was for the commercial D Block licensee and public safety to share a 20 MHz network. Now, signs indicate that the FCC will allow the commercial entity to operate independently from public safety, which would necessitate a guard band between the two spectrum blocks. That guard band likely would be carved out of public safety’s spectrum, which would reduce the usable airwaves by 20%. This could place a significant roadblock in the path of the broadband voice future that Dowd envisions.

Even if the spectrum problems were sorted out today, it will be years before broadband voice becomes a reality because the work to build a voice capability into the standard for Long Term Evolution, or LTE — the technology chosen by public safety for its broadband network — so far has focused on telephony-based approaches that won’t work for public-safety, said Emil Olbrich, lead project engineer in the Office of Law Enforcement Standards of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

However, Olbrich added that the standards body is taking into account public safety’s needs and currently is investigating two approaches — broadcast and multicast — to determine which would be better for delivering the one-to-many voice communications that public safety requires. He cautioned, however, that transport is just the first step in the process. LTE devices also have to be considered, in order to ensure the lowest-possible latency and fastest-possible call setup times, crucial considerations for mission-critical voice.

In this regard, public safety could help its cause greatly by becoming a bigger part of the process, Olbrich said. “We need public safety’s input on their operational requirements,” he said. “You don’t need to know the technical things — we’ll develop those. We just need to know what kind of reliability you need, what kind of availability you need. We need participation from practitioners nationwide to get a feel for what these systems need to be.”

With broadband voice years away, public-safety agencies whose network and subscriber equipment is aging will find themselves in a state of limbo. The key question they face is: Do they upgrade their systems now or do they wait for the broadband vision to become reality? The consensus thinking of the panel is that the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

Bill Schrier, chief technical officer for the city of Seattle, who believes public-safety broadband voice is a decade away, said, “I’m going to continue to invest in our current LMR systems — not major investments, not forklift investments, but investments that will bring them up to Project 25 for their 10-year life.”

Tags: content Wireless Networks

Related


  • Bridging digital divide by fostering digital inclusion and economic recovery
    If the pandemic has highlighted anything, it is that connectivity is synonymous with a lifeline and an opportunity. The level of connectivity an individual or a household has directly determines the quality of education and health care they receive. This also influences a person’s ability to establish and maintain a livelihood while also obtaining government […]
  • In the 5G race to space, Lynk takes the lead against SpaceMobile
    Startup Lynk expects to begin offering commercial services as early as next year, fully one year earlier than its rival SpaceMobile. Of course, being the first to market is not necessarily the primary indicator of ultimate success. Further, one company’s version of commercial-level services may not be the same as another. Nonetheless, the fact that […]
  • RapidSOS functionality helps 911 centers overcome outages after Nashville explosion
    When the Dec. 25 explosion in Nashville caused outages that prevented 911 calls from being completed, many 911 centers turned to technology from cloud-based RapidSOS to both identify and locate emergency callers, so response efforts could be initiated, according to officials from RapidSOS and a Tennessee 911 center. Cassie Lowery, assistant director at Rutherford County […]
  • Hytera, Motorola Solutions DMR royalty dispute to be decided by federal judge
    Hytera, Motorola Solutions DMR royalty dispute to be decided by federal judge
    A federal judge is expected to determine the royalty Hytera Communications must pay as ongoing compensation for the use of trade secrets and copyrighted software stolen from Motorola Solutions—a decision that could shape the competitive landscape within the DMR marketplace. No available specifics about the royalty amounts proposed by lawyers representing China-based Hytera Communications and […]

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

  • IoT supply-chain vulnerability poses threat to IIoT security
  • Digital transformation, connectivity create platform for sustainable mobility
  • On-board computing cannot be replaced by 5G, says NXP
  • The era of converged network infrastructure has officially begun

Commentary


Ransomware? Let’s call it what it really is: extortionware

21st February 2021

Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces

18th February 2021

Hi-tech sewer can help safeguard public health, environment and economies

18th February 2021
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

The era of converged network infrastructure has officially begun dlvr.it/Rtmq62

2nd March 2021
UrgentComm

Biden to follow through on Trump-era China tech ban dlvr.it/Rtmlgt

2nd March 2021
UrgentComm

Hytera, Motorola Solutions DMR royalty dispute to be decided by federal judge dlvr.it/Rthqp3

1st March 2021
UrgentComm

Using data to improve emergency response resources in healthcare arena dlvr.it/RtYfFJ

26th February 2021
UrgentComm

3 security flaws in devices and IoT that need fixing dlvr.it/RtYRxm

26th February 2021
UrgentComm

Newscan: America’s creaky payment infrastructure is showing cracks dlvr.it/RtTzBD

25th February 2021
UrgentComm

California PD: ‘Game-changing’ Live911 streaming of emergency calls accelerates responses dlvr.it/RtPgXS

24th February 2021
UrgentComm

Why Tuscon is building its own 4G network dlvr.it/RtPDG5

24th February 2021

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
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 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.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X