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
    • Sponsored content
  • 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

Urgent Matters


Commentary

NTIA should consider certain LTE projects as testbed opportunities

NTIA should consider certain LTE projects as testbed opportunities

Assuming that standardized LTE is used in accordance with interoperability guidelines, real-world deployments can can provide valuable information that can be leveraged by FirstNet as it designs this much-anticipated network.
  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 24th May 2012

One of the great things about modern technology is the ability to simulate reality. In the entertainment world, this computer-generated capability revolutionized special effects in movies and spawned the video game industry. In many fields, a great deal of training can be done in simulators without the real-life consequences of mistakes.

In the wireless industry, there is a host of great software that provides predictive coverage and network-usage projections that has made communications-systems planning much easier than it was even a decade ago.

While these are all great tools, no one should confuse any of them with reality and the knowledge gained from real-world experience. For all the careful planning by humans and computers that goes into the deployment of any wide-area wireless communications network, it is rare that a system is deployed and optimized perfectly upon the first day of installation.

As with all aspects of life, things tend to crop up in communications that were not planned for — some that could have been anticipated and others that are impossible to foresee. It's part of the "magic" of wireless.

This subject has become particularly relevant in recent months, as federal officials try to determine the best way to deploy the much-anticipated 700 MHz nationwide public-safety broadband network. Last month, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) decided to halt the handful of early LTE deployments that already were funded with grant money.

NTIA officials' concerns are understandable. After all, the $7 billion earmarked for the nationwide network is not expected to be enough to complete the job, so the last thing the federal government wants is to spend $350 million on a handful of LTE systems that might not fit the nationwide plan that the FirstNet board is expected to create late this year or next year.

In addition, work on some of these early LTE projects were accelerated to meet NTIA grant timelines, with some normal planning steps being hurried or ignored altogether. For the many projects in this category, the NTIA freeze should be considered a blessing.

But there are some LTE deployments that were proceeding as scheduled and were set to go live this summer — for instance, the city of Charlotte, N.C., was planning to integrate its new LTE system into the security plan for the Democratic National Convention the city will host this fall.

Charlotte's interoperability should not be an issue; in fact, the chairman of the FCC interoperability board led the design of the city's LTE system. In addition, Charlotte does not plan to own its own LTE core, opting instead to leverage the hosted core from a vendor.

In such situations, NTIA should consider seriously the possibility of allowing the planned deployment to proceed. Yes, there is a possibility that a site or two in the system might not be optimized the way the FirstNet board ultimately will want it done, but that should not outweigh the potential knowledge that could be gained by deploying a public-safety LTE network and seeing it work in real life — particularly under the traffic and stress associated with a large event like a national political convention.

This should not be interpreted as an endorsement of letting all early LTE deployments proceed. However, assuming that standardized LTE is used in accordance with interoperability guidelines, such real-world deployments can be valuable test-beds that can provide valuable information — good and bad — that can be leveraged by FirstNet as it designs this much-anticipated network.

Simulation programs and white papers are nice tools, but nothing beats real-world experience.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Tags: Public Safety Regulation Commentary Long Term Evolution (LTE) NTIA/FirstNet Policy Urgent Matters Commentary

Related


  • Assuming that standardized LTE is used in accordance with interoperability guidelines, real-world deployments can can provide valuable information that can be leveraged by FirstNet as it designs this much-anticipated network.
  • Assuming that standardized LTE is used in accordance with interoperability guidelines, real-world deployments can can provide valuable information that can be leveraged by FirstNet as it designs this much-anticipated network.
  • Assuming that standardized LTE is used in accordance with interoperability guidelines, real-world deployments can can provide valuable information that can be leveraged by FirstNet as it designs this much-anticipated network.
  • Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) to shut down
    After three years of existence, the non-profit Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) will cease operations within 45 days as officials say they believe that the organization achieved its primary goal to promote public safety’s use of open-standard technologies. “PSTA achieved its mission,” PSTA board member Jeff Johnson said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. […]

Related Content

  • Newscan: Cincinnati to pay $6 million to settle suit in death of Kyle Plush who called 911
  • First NENA i3-compliant NG911 call to be delivered today in California, officials say
  • Satellites poised to join 5G network topology
  • Global dwell time drops as ransomware attacks accelerate

Commentary


Unlocking the power of ESInets: Different NG911 provisioning approaches exist; level of control is key differentiator

7th April 2021

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

21st February 2021

Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces

18th February 2021
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Attackers compromised code-checking vendor’s tool for two months dlvr.it/Ry7c0F

21st April 2021
UrgentComm

Will the feds set our broadband Internet prices? dlvr.it/Ry7bx0

21st April 2021
UrgentComm

Newscan: Chinese hackers compromise dozens of government agencies, defense contractors dlvr.it/Ry7MYD

21st April 2021
UrgentComm

Florida secures radio-system revenue for five years, agencies await clarity on statewide LMR dlvr.it/Ry4Wb8

20th April 2021
UrgentComm

The IoT security challenge for enterprises dlvr.it/Ry4WYd

20th April 2021
UrgentComm

Clearing a path to multicloud as the new foundation for digital government dlvr.it/Ry0blK

19th April 2021
UrgentComm

📣 Registration is Officially Open for #IWCE2021! 📣 It's been more than two years, but IWCE is finally headed back t… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

19th April 2021
UrgentComm

Public Safety Technology Alliance (PSTA) to shut down dlvr.it/RxpbTh

16th April 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