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acc.com

Critical Infrastructure


Public safety reconsiders who should use its broadband network

  • Written by
  • 15th May 2013
The sector has warmed up to the idea that critical-infrastructure entities, particularly utilities, might use its nationwide broadband network.

What is in this article?

  • Public safety reconsiders who should use its broadband network
  • Business-critical vs. mission-critical
  • A potential symbiotic partnership
  • Future challenges

Public safety reconsiders who should use its broadband network

This article originally appeared in print with the headline, "Seeing the light."

"When the power goes out, people die"

Throughout the U.S., states and territories are preparing to begin a planning process with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to determine what roles they will play in the much-anticipated nationwide broadband network for first responders that will feature LTE operations on 700 MHz public-safety spectrum.

Exactly what decisions will come from this planning process is anyone’s guess, but one theme that seems clear is that traditional public safety — police, fire and EMS personnel — will not be the only users on the network. In the law enacted last February that created FirstNet, language was included that allows a broader definition of the first responders — the one used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — who will be allowed to access the network.

This broader definition includes critical infrastructure, and no group within it has expressed more interest than the utility sector — particularly electrical utilities. For years, the notion of sharing a nationwide broadband network was met with resistance by many public-safety representatives, who expressed concern that additional traffic on the network could impede the transmission of public-safety signals, which in turn could result in the loss of lives and property.

However, during the past year, this stance has changed considerably, as officials in traditional public-safety agencies have learned more about the economic challenges facing the FirstNet board that is trying to deploy a nationwide broadband network, as well as the potential operational benefits that could come from having utilities access the system.

The possibility of traditional public-safety entities partnering with utilities on the FirstNet broadband network is being considered, based on recent comments from several members of the FirstNet board.

"The law actually says 'public-safety network,'" said FirstNet board member Jeff Johnson, who is CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. "But this board is choosing to interpret that pretty broadly. When I respond to a hazardous-materials call on the freeway, that involves the highway department, and there's lots of interaction. Getting those traffic-camera feeds directly to our apparatus helps us make all sorts of decisions. That's just a single example.

"Whether [the network] is broad enough to include utilities, transportation and public works, I think this board is seeing it as the broader public-safety community, and not just the people who spray and shoot and get shot at."

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Business-critical vs. mission-critical
Tags: Public Safety Regulation Critical Infrastructure Long Term Evolution (LTE) NTIA/FirstNet Policy Public Safety Article

One comment

  1. Avatar canningt 3rd July 2013 @ 2:08 pm
    Reply

    I certainly espouse the
    I certainly espouse the inclusion of utilities in the broad public safety community. Cooperation and collaboration between them and traditional first responders becomes ever more critical as we are increasingly a society inextricably dependent on electricity and fuels. As its use becomes more common, I would hope that utilties can be included as users of the 700 MHz public safety voice spectrum as well.

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  • Public safety reconsiders who should use its broadband network
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