Last year, the Federal Communications Commission developed and released the National Broadband Plan (the Plan) to ensure that every American has “access to broadband capability.” A section of the Plan included a detailed strategy for achieving maximum use of broadband to advance public safety communications. One year later, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) has been working hard promoting public safety wireless broadband communications, encouraging the development and deployment of Next Generation 911 networks, and protecting and preserving critical broadband infrastructure. March 17, 2011 marks the one year anniversary of the Plan and we wanted to share with you the specifics of what we have accomplished and how we plan to further enhance broadband communications for public safety.

Promoting Public Safety Wireless Broadband Communication
One of the Bureau’s primary responsibilities is establishing the technical and operational framework for an interoperable public safety broadband wireless network. We want police officers, fire fighters, and emergency medical personnel to be there when you need them the most and to have access to state-of-the art digital broadband communications.  While first responders have traditionally been limited to using the traditional “walkie talkie” radios that you see them with now, we want them to have tablets and smartphones that will provide them with  instant access to information and enable them to respond more effectively to emergencies —anywhere, anytime. But in order for them to do that, we need to create the technical guidance so that the broadband technology they need will be available.  .

Last April, the Commission created the Emergency Response Interoperability Center, which is charged with drafting the technical and operational framework for public safety broadband wireless networks. The Commission took an important step towards implementation of such a framework in January, when it adopted an Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on public safety broadband network interoperability. In this item, we set the initial requirements of the network and are seeking public comment on additional critical issues. 

Developing and Deploying Next Generation 911 Networks
Today, approximately 70% of all 911 calls are made from mobile hand-held devices. However, most 911 call centers are not currently equipped to receive text messages, e-mail, video, or photos—dominant modes of communications for many mobile users.

To address this problem, we have initiated a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) to explore how to bring Next Generation 911 services to consumers and first responders that will enable the public to obtain emergency assistance by means of advanced communications technologies beyond traditional voice-centric devices. Although location accuracy requirements were not part of the Plan, we have also adopted an Order that requires wireless carriers to provide data on each 911 call made on mobile devices which will improve the ability of public safety personnel to assess the accuracy of location information to further support public safety. This will help emergency response personnel reach you sooner in the event of an emergency.

Protecting and Preserving Broadband Communications
You should be able to make and receive calls at home or on your wireless device in the event of an emergency. That is why we are actively working with Congress and the Department of Homeland Security to preserve broadband communications during emergencies, including wireless mobile infrastructure and fixed satellite service.

We have begun an inquiry proceeding, on network resiliency and preparedness that would identify the problems and survivability of commercial broadband networks. While this NOI focuses on commercial broadband communications, we are also addressing the critical sectors of our nation, the non-commercial broadband networks that are utilized by public safety, utilities, state and federal entities which all work to help you.

The quest for true interoperability dominates our daily work within the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.  Interoperability is elusive and exacting.  It must be pursued as a full-time job with full knowledge of the factors that have defeated interoperability in the past.  As it has before, today the Commission took significant and positive steps to ensure the interoperability for the future of public safety communications.

The National Broadband Plan, submitted to Congress in March, 2010, set forth a comprehensive framework for creating a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network. As part of this framework, the Plan recommended the creation of an Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC) to ensure nationwide interoperability. In April the Commission established ERIC within the Public and Homeland Security Bureau, where it is already playing an invaluable role assisting the Bureau as it develops rules and requirements for public safety broadband networks. In December, the Bureau adopted ERIC’s recommendations for an initial set of technical requirements to govern the early network deployments of public safety broadband waiver recipients. In developing its recommendations, ERIC has worked closely with the Commission’s federal partners and with the public safety community—including the members of the ERIC Technical Advisory Committee. We thank these individuals and agencies for their tireless efforts.  

With today’s item, the Commission delivers further on the Plan’s vision by adopting an order and further notice of proposed rulemaking on public safety broadband network interoperability. As the Plan recognizes, broadband technologies “will give first responders new tools to save American lives.” However, the transformative potential of broadband will remain unfulfilled if first responders are unable to communicate effectively.  The technical framework advanced in this item will create a baseline for deployment to ensure that public safety personnel are able to communicate when they converge on the scene of an emergency, wherever it may strike. 

The order designates LTE as a common technology platform for the nationwide network. LTE, a 4G broadband communications standard that several commercial wireless carriers are already deploying, has emerged as the technology of choice for public safety broadband communications. Although the Commission does not usually designate technologies, the adoption of LTE for public safety broadband networks is a critical baseline in ensuring that these networks are truly interoperable.  The record on this point was overwhelming.  The public safety community was united in its comments, and it just makes good sense.

The further notice seeks comment on a broad array of issues relevant to achieving public safety broadband network interoperability. It seeks comment first on an architectural vision for the network and on whether high-level principles should be established to guide the network’s development. Another major focus of the further notice is on how to implement a public safety-to-public safety roaming regime. The ability of public safety personnel to roam onto public safety networks outside their jurisdiction is an essential component of interoperability; accordingly, the further notice seeks comment on a host of issues relevant to developing a viable roaming framework for public safety broadband networks.

The further notice addresses many technical components of interoperability, such as network identifiers and system interfaces. It also proposes that public safety equipment and devices undergo testing to ensure that interoperability is truly being achieved.  Other issues addressed in the further notice, such as performance and coverage, are important to ensuring that public safety networks achieve a baseline of operability necessary to support interoperable communications.

Finally, the further notice seeks comment on how to ensure that public safety broadband networks are fully interoperable with Next Generation 911 networks. As we move forward with this proceeding and with the Commission’s comprehensive inquiry into NG911, we must be mindful of how these two proceedings link together.   

I hope that the further notice portion of this action will elicit a wide array of detailed comments on the myriad issues it presents. We look forward to reviewing these comments and to continuing our dialogue with the public safety community, our federal partners, and other stakeholders, whose input is crucial to our developing a regulatory framework for achieving true interoperability.

This morning Chairman Genachowski, Public Safety Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett and a collection of FCC staff visited a state-of-the-art response facility at the Arlington County Emergency Communications Center in Arlington, Virginia. Following the vision laid out in the National Broadband Plan, the event marks the announcement of steps to revolutionize America’s 9-1-1 system by harnessing the potential of text, photo, and video in emergencies.



Our communications needs are increasingly reliant on mobile devices. In fact, 70% of 9-1-1 calls originate from mobile phones and users rely regularly on texts and multimedia messages. While a subsequent evolution of our 9-1-1 system seems a natural -- and obvious -- step for digitally aware citizen, our current 9-1-1 system doesn’t utilize the superb, possibly life-saving potential within our existing mobile devices. With videos, pictures, texts -- and other untold mobile innovations surely on the horrizon -- next-generation 9-1-1 will position public safety officials a step ahead with critical real-time, on-the-ground information.

After a tour of the high-tech operations room, Chairman Genachowski and Admiral Barnett spoke to the promise of next-generation 9-1-1. Here's an excerpt from Chairman Genachowski's speech.

"Even though mobile phones are the device of choice for most 9-1-1 callers, and we primarily use our phones to text, right now, you can’t text 9-1-1. Let me reiterate that point. If you find yourself in an emergency situation and want to send a text for help, you can pretty much text anyone EXCEPT a 9-1-1 call center.

"...It’s time to bring 9-1-1 into the digital age."

Read the rest of the Chairmans’s speech, view more photos and see the benefits of Next Generation 9-1-1 after the jump.

(This is cross-posted on The FCC Official Blog.)

One of the most pressing recommendations of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan is the proposed creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband wireless network (“public safety broadband network”) for first responders and other public safety personnel.   One major strategy for developing this ambitious and critically overdue component of our emergency communications infrastructure is establishing the rational basis for public funding to ensure the network is deployed throughout the United States and has necessary performance, capacity, coverage, resiliency and redundancy.

This broader strategy lays out a strong roadmap towards achieving the public safety network. Today, FCC staff issued a white paper that explains the comprehensive analysis and sets forth how public safety agencies can leverage the deployment of 4G commercial wireless networks to greatly reduce the overall costs of constructing their nationwide broadband network.  The paper also provides a basis for public funding of the construction, operating and evolution costs of the public safety broadband network. It illustrates the network’s affordability for the nation to build and for public safety to operate with technology that works today and provides for future technological advances.  

In this analysis, we considered the complexity and scope of constructing a nationwide stand-alone public safety network, in which 80% of the 44,800 sites would be new builds. We quickly concluded that the price tag for this new, stand-alone network would be cost prohibitive and the sticker shock could potentially thwart investment into the development of this critical infrastructure. We developed an alternative, more cost-effective solution that sacrifices nothing in terms of meeting the unique requirements of public safety, but also simply makes good fiscal sense.

Through the proposed incentive-based partnership approach, our cost model found that approximately $6.5 billion in construction funding will be required over a 10-year period to provide this service to agencies that collectively serve 99% of all Americans compared to $15.7 billion in construction cost for a stand-alone public safety network. That’s over $9 billion in savings in a time where every dollar counts. This savings is largely found in building upon the billions that have already been invested or are being invested by commercial service providers, leveraging existing infrastructure and economies of scale. Examples of the types of economies gained include adding a new radio access network for public safety to an existing tower or site, which already has backhaul to a functioning core network, and zoning and site acquisition instead of building entirely new towers for a stand-alone public safety network.

For operational expenses, the NBP suggests a public funding method, such as imposing a minimal public safety fee on all broadband users to fund the network’s ongoing costs, and appropriate network improvement costs. Once the network development matures, the cost of funding network operations is approximately $1.3 billion per year by the 10th year of construction. By leveraging what is already being built the cost per cell site is dramatically reduced in both construction expenses and operating expenses. Conservatively, the stand-alone network would require at least 2.5 times higher construction costs, excluding deployable equipment, and proportionally even more in ongoing costs based on Sprint-Nextel and Verizon Wireless annual reports for 2009 that found operating expenses are approximately twice construction expenses.

We have preserved many options for public safety agencies to design and pursue their own public safety broadband networks, but the cost model is predicated on the most cost-effective approach, which is this incentive-based partnership approach.  If public safety agencies decide to use another approach, it may cost more.  This incentive-based funding approach is just another example found in the National Broadband Plan that you can be both innovative and pragmatic; invest in what is necessary without breaking the bank.

It is important to note that this is the only comprehensive cost model that has been put forward for a nationwide, interoperable network, one that has been accomplished with a great deal of rigor.  The nation should be cautious about pursuing any other concept that has not been subjected to the same rigor.  We can all agree that there is no greater investment than in the safety of the American people, and this is the time for investment in a public safety broadband network.

Since the rollout of the National Broadband Plan last month, Americans have shared their stories about broadband in their daily lives. In the end, expanding Broadband access is about improving people’s lives - fostering communities, providing access to services and information, and saving time and money.  

We asked you to share your stories of how access to broadband – and in some cases, the lack of broadband – affects you and your community.  The response has been phenomenal.  On this blog we will be talking more about your experiences, and how broadband innovation will make a difference for Americans and their families.  Here is just a sample of what you’ve shared with us so far.

Daniel in Sebastian, Florida
Librarian

We offer essential services -- employment opportunities, applications for government assistance such as unemployment benefits and food stamps, and online interactions with educational institutions. Here at the Indian River County Library System … an ever-increasing number of patrons are filling our public computing sections to overflow. We want to add more computers. But we don't have sufficient bandwidth to handle the extra load. And with the severe budget cuts we've endured, we don't the funds to pay for it.

Stephen in Marietta, Georgia
Non-traditional College Student

Without broadband I would not have been able to easily and effectively continue my Bachelor of Science degree while working full-time.

Richard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Volunteer First Responder

I am a trained volunteer weather spotter for the NWS in the Milwaukee area, a First Responder trained by the CERT program, and an instructor in Emergency Communications for the American Radio Relay League.

As a first responder, having reliable wireless data communications is necessary when responding to an event and a large amount of data has to be moved or information garnered about the area and what is being dealt with. This could also involve sending pictures, text, information files, etc., by wireless. My current provider, -----, from my experiences, would not have a wireless system that could be reliable enough for First Responder needs in the field.

Jason in Guthrie, Oklahoma
Local Football Fan

We stream our Oklahoma Metro Football League over the internet live.

Frank in Eatonville, Washington
Commuter

The only internet access available in our area is dial-up. The dial-up connection is a horrible 28.8Kbps. My company offers telecommuting but I can't work from home with such slow speeds. It's too bad because I have to drive almost 40 miles to work. Rural customers like me need an affordable broadband solution. It's like we're living in the stone age out here.

Carol in Reading, Vermont
Rural Doctor

As a surgeon, I need to watch surgical videos to learn new techniques and get my continuing medical education credits. I CANNOT DO THIS IN MY OWN HOME. … it is the lack of highspeed that hinders me professionally and may cause me to move back to civilization, depriving my rural neighborhood of a highly qualified doctor. My husband is a consultant and loses credibility because he cannot access information quickly during conference calls. Please help us.

Please keep sending us your stories.  We’ll continue to share your thoughts about the National Broadband Plan as we work to ensure broadband access for all Americans.

Yesterday, the FCC released its National Broadband Plan, which lays out a comprehensive vision for the future of public safety communications. The Plan’s recommendations for advancing public safety and homeland security draw upon an extensive record and incorporate input from the public safety community, service providers, vendors and countless others. We truly appreciate the efforts of all who contributed to development of these recommendations, which we believe will revolutionize public safety communications and emergency response.

Our central recommendation is the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband wireless network through incentive-based partnerships between public safety agencies and the partner of their choice. The Plan asks Congress to commit a substantial amount of public funding—as much as $12-16 billion over 10 years—to support the build-out and operation of this network. It also recommends that the FCC create an Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC) to ensure a baseline of operability and interoperability for the network nationwide.    Recommendations to enable roaming and priority access on commercial networks will also help ensure that public safety has access to a network when and where they need it.  Our recommendations will ensure that there truly is a nationwide network for the public safety community that is interoperable and provides them with the advanced communications capabilities they need.

The Plan also makes recommendations on how to improve cybersecurity. These include the development of a cybersecurity roadmap, in which the FCC—in coordination with the Executive Branch—will identify the nation’s most pressing cybersecurity threats and develop a plan for confronting them. Other recommendations focus on voluntary programs to promote the implementation of cybersecurity best practices and improve the FCC’s situational awareness and information base regarding cyber attacks and IP-based communications networks.  The Plan also addresses how to preserve the reliability and resiliency of our critical communications infrastructure and ensure that broadband networks can support prioritization of critical traffic.

Also included are proposals to facilitate the deployment of Next Generation 911, which will incorporate broadband technologies to improve the emergency response capabilities of public safety answering points (PSAPs), first responders, and other professionals.  The Plan recommends that Congress grant the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration authority to prepare a report to identify costs and recommend congressional appropriations, and that this report inform the development of a federal regulatory framework for NG911 deployment.

Finally, the Plan calls for the FCC to explore how to develop a multiple platform, redundant, next-generation alert system—one which uses broadband capabilities to better support underserved communities and reach a wider audience.  The Plan also asks the President to clarify agency roles on the implementation and maintenance of a next-generation alert and warning system. This would be an important step toward improved, timely and coordinated federal implementation of next-generation alerting systems.

My staff and I look forward to working with you as we implement the Plan’s recommendations for advancing public safety and homeland security through broadband. The Plan sets forth a compelling vision for the future of public safety communications, and we are already working with our public safety, federal and other partners to make these recommendations a reality.

Over six years ago, the 9/11 Commission highlighted the importance of achieving effective nationwide interoperable communications for public safety.  While some improvements have been made, true nationwide interoperability does not yet exist.  The National Broadband Plan’s recommendation on creating a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband wireless network will achieve this vision and enable public safety to take advantage of advanced broadband technology. 

Today, two former members of the 9/11 Commission released this statement in support of the Plan’s recommendation.

Statement of Former 9/11 Commissioners Jamie Gorelick and Slade Gorton
on the Federal Communication Commission's Approach to
Interoperable Communications Capabilities for Public Safety

"The 9/11 Commission on which we served concluded that the absence of interoperable communications capabilities among public safety organizations at the local, state, and federal levels was a problem of the highest order.  Unfortunately, we have made little progress in solving this problem until now.  The Commission's proposed plan offers a clear roadmap for finally reaching that goal.  It will provide public safety users throughout the country with access to wireless broadband capabilities that will enable them to communicate effectively across departments and jurisdictions, while encouraging public safety to partner with commercial providers and leverage the investments they already have made.  It also calls for the public funding that is needed to help build, operate, and maintain the public safety network.  To be sure, there are still some issues that need to be worked out, such as whether the 10 MHz of spectrum currently dedicated to public safety is sufficient to meet its needs.  But the FCC's plan offers a realistic framework to move forward, and we hope that all stakeholders will work with the Commission to refine the plan as needed and make it a reality."

Soon the FCC will roll out the Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC). A first-of-its-kind center located within the Commission, ERIC will coordinate communication among the public safety community. As Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett wrote ERIC will be based on a wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety. This will include technical requirements for common standards across the field, priority access for public safety users, and choices for how they operate their broadband network. Panelists from the FCC, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Institute of Science and Technology spoke Tuesday about what form this should center should take.

The need for an interoperability network is clear, they noted. Today first responders and public safety personnel are using a wide variety of devices in the course of their time sensitive work. This hodgepodge of systems contains a host of issues that complicates the vital work being performed. Critical communication coordination failures on September 11^th and during Hurricane Katrina made the necessity of such interoperability painfully evident.

Last week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Jamie Barnett, Bureau Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, held a press conference announcing several working recommendations in the National Broadband Plan that aim to improve public safety and homeland security communications. The process in developing these proposals has been unprecedented in its transparency, openness, and its data-driven and fact-based emphasis. And, the hard work has not gone unnoticed. The plan has been well received.  This means a lot to the Commission, particularly from first responders and emergency managers who have dedicated their life’s work to helping keep our neighborhoods across America safe.  It is critical that we continue to work together to make meaningful progress toward the creation of a nationwide interoperable wireless broadband network for America’s first responders.

Here are just a few examples of the positive feedback we've received thus far:

Craig Whittington, President of the National Emergency Numbering Association: The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) applauds the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposal to create the Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC). “The establishment of the ERIC further demonstrates the Commission’s strong commitment to enabling a critically needed nationwide public safety wireless broadband network,” said NENA President, Craig Whittington, ENP. “ERIC would provide essential oversight and technical assistance to make the deployment of a nationwide wireless public safety broadband network a reality and ensure that the needs of public safety are met,” added Whittington.

Fraternal Order of Police: "In order for our nation's public safety officers to have a robust national broadband network, both the existing spectrum held by the Public Safety Broadband Licensee and the D Block are needed," Canterbury said. "Chairman Genachowski’s and Admiral Barnett presented the FCC's plan for achieving this critically important goal. The FOP believes that public-private partnerships will help law enforcement and other public safety officers develop the advanced broadband network we need to protect our communities and our nation, Canterbury said. "We look forward to working with the Chairman and the Commission as they move forward with this important initiative."

Clearwire issued the following statement: We applaud the FCC’s decision to hold an auction of the 700 MHz D block spectrum.  This Commission clearly understands the benefits competition can bring to consumers and to public safety.  By holding an open auction, the agency will ensure that our nation’s first responders have an interoperable broadband network, as well as access to the best equipment and newest innovations at the best possible prices.

Sprint Nextel: "Chairman Genachowski's plan for nationwide public safety broadband communications promises to break the deadlock over establishing interoperable public safety communications.  The Chairman's statement today rightly emphasizes the need for public safety to have consistent and prompt access to robust, secure interoperable networks of the highest quality.  Public safety users must also have state-of-the-art devices and applications. Sprint Nextel shares the Chairman's goal of ensuring that our nation's first-responders have access to the best wireless broadband services at competitive prices.  For this reason, Sprint Nextel strongly supports the Chairman's approach of relying on competitive forces to ensure the deployment of public safety broadband communications.  By permitting public safety to partner with commercial operators, the Chairman's competition-minded plan not only promises to tackle the national priority of ensuring broadband communications for public safety, but also to create well-paying, high-tech jobs."

4G Coalition, which includes Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, Clearwire, MetroPCS, the Rural Telecommunications Group and Access Spectrum: "The competitive mobile broadband providers of the Coalition for 4G in America applaud Chairman Genachowski for his creative solution to foster a robust public safety broadband network as part of the FCC's National Broadband Plan. The Coalition welcomes the Chairman's proposal to balance the realistic funding and spectrum needs of the public safety community with the imperative of meaningful competition and choice in 4G mobile broadband services. The Coalition looks forward to working with the public safety community, the FCC, and Congress to correctly implement the proposal, have a successful commercial D Block auction and ensure the availability of public safety broadband communications services."

Tom Sugrue, VP Government Affairs at T-Mobile had this to say: "T-Mobile applauds Chairman Genachowski's announcement today that his broadband team will recommend auctioning D Block for commercial mobile broadband use.  The plan announced today provides a framework for a win-win solution that addresses the needs of both public safety and consumers."

And another from WCAI President and CEO Fred Campbell: "On behalf of the Wireless Broadband industry, I applaud Chairman Genachowski for recognizing the importance of wireless broadband for today's global economy and for his commitment to place mobile broadband at the core of the National Broadband Plan. WCAI supports the Chairman's initiatives to unleash more spectrum for mobile broadband, resolve longstanding debates in the WCS band, and develop a comprehensive public safety strategy to improve mobile communications for first respondents. We thank the Chairman, Blair Levin and the rest of the agency's Broadband team for their hard work and look forward to working with the FCC as it finalizes the National Broadband Plan and moves toward its implementation."

Conclusion: Making Technology work for Public Safety

We Want to Hear from the Public

The opportunity we have to leverage 21st century technology to meet 21st century demands has never been greater. With just over two weeks before the National Broadband Plan is due to Congress, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on the framework of the innovative working recommendations that will better help the public safety community protect our communities.