CSRIC Shares Public Safety Broadband Plan Recommendations, Assesses 911 VoIP Communications

The National Broadband Plan sets “an agenda for connecting all corners of the nation,” the FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett said Monday at a meeting of the Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council. It’s an “aggressive action plan to enhance the safety of the American people,” he said. In December, Chairman Julius Genachowski asked CSRIC to study how Americans communicate and how to promote cooperation among emergency communications (CD Dec 8 p1). The plan includes recommendations for a public safety broadband network and on cybersecurity and consumer matters, Deputy Bureau Chief Jennifer Manner said.

The bureau recommended three “very critically important” emphases in developing a public safety network: An administrative framework, interoperability and funding. The administrative framework encourages “incentive-based partnerships,” Manner said. They include allowing the bureau to explore choices such as working with a commercial carrier, having a partnership with a systems integrator or having a carrier build its own network, she said.

After looking into reallocating the D block to public safety, the bureau recommended instead that licensees of the spectrum be required to develop devices that will recognize both the D block and public safety broadband frequencies. If D block spectrum were reallocated to public safety, it’s “likely that there wouldn’t be commercial technology developed in that band for public safety to utilize,” Manner said.

The recommendations also called for priority access in roaming across the entire 700 MHz band so the public safety network can have additional capacity and an additional network to use when the original isn’t available. Access should be available at reasonable rates, which are “the sorts of rates that the carriers charge their best customers,” and this request will be subject to a rulemaking, Manner said.

An emergency response interoperability center was suggested, to ensure that operators take a “unified approach” in building networks, to achieve nationwide interoperability. For the center to work properly, the bureau estimated, $6.5 billion will be needed over 10 years for capital expenses, and operating expenses will be about $1.3 billion a year once the network is completed, Manner said. Because the FCC has “not been overly active” in cybersecurity, the bureau suggested a roadmap to identify the main issues.

A working group outlined the best practices for reliable and enhanced 911 communications for fixed and nomadic VoIP services, said Brian Fontes, CEO of the National Emergency Number Association. The report doesn’t take up best practices for mobile VoIP services because there are no FCC requirements for them, he said. “Mobile VoIP services and applications are becoming increasingly available and 911 capabilities for such services must be addressed.” The council will vote on the report at its next meeting, in June, he said.

Broadcasters said technology helped keep residents informed during the winter storms. “People needed reliable, and life-saving information,” Executive Vice President Marcellus Alexander of the NAB said.