Jeff Johnson, CEO
Western Fire Chiefs Association
Background: What we’re using today
 Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Devices
 Ability to send and receive mission critical voice
communications
 Towers cover an average of 20-40 miles
 Phones have ability to connect with other devices even
when not within range of tower using “talk around”
feature
 Ability to transmit data over network is virtually
impossible; extremely slow data speeds.
Background: What we’re using today
 Fragmented, Outdated and Overburdened Network
 Over 55,000 public safety agencies operating across 6
unique radio bands.
 High cost of achieving interoperability - billions of
dollars spent purchasing, programming and deploying
electronic patching equipment under a governing
protocol.
 When a disaster hits, the ability to talk to the entire
public safety community is paramount. The current
system simply can’t continue to keep America safe.
Vision of a 21st Century Network: D Block
 The D Block is a 10 MHz sliver of spectrum in the
upper 700 MHz band immediately adjacent to public
safety spectrum:
Vision of a 21st Century Network: D Block
 The D Block is the only unencumbered portion of
spectrum in the 700 MHz band remaining on a
nationwide basis.
 The allocation of D Block to Public Safety would create
a 20 MHz swath of spectrum for public safety to deploy
a modern public safety broadband network.
 The build-out of the public safety broadband network
would coincide with commercial build-outs utilizing
the most modern wireless platform, LTE.
21st Century Network: LTE Platform
 LTE stands for Long Term Evolution
 LTE is the new platform for ALL major wireless
communication deployments
 Public Safety has come out in support of utilizing the
LTE platform for their wireless broadband network
 In a rare act, the FCC has taken a formal position in
support of the LTE standard for the public safety
broadband network
 Globally, public safety organizations are also adopting
LTE as the platform for their mission critical grade
broadband networks.
21st Century Network: What will a
20 MHz LTE Network Provide?
 Network reliability and security
 Access to the latest commercial technologies
 The ability to leverage public/private partnerships that
will aid in the build-out of a nationwide broadband
network
 A network that is built out to geography, rather than a
commercial network built to population
 Priority access for first responders on their own
network
21st Century Network: Making it a Reality
 The vision is there, but there are still many major
hurdles to clear before the dream of a nationwide
interoperable public safety broadband network
becomes a reality.
 Congress ultimately holds the key to whether D Block
will be allocated to public safety with adequate
funding to build out the network.
 As it stands today, the FCC has interpreted its
congressional directive as a mandate to auction D
Block to the highest commercial bidder
21st Century Network: Presidential Support
 President Obama announced his support for D Block
allocation to public safety when he unveiled his FY ‘12
budget that included language which would not only
allocate D Block to public safety, but would authorize
$10.6 billion of federal funds derived from other
auction revenue to build out and maintain the public
safety broadband network.
21st Century Network: Congressional Support
House Homeland Security Chair Peter King (NY3) & Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (MS2)
recently co-sponsored HR 607: The bipartisan bill entitled the Broadband for First Responders
Act of 2011 would allocate D Block to Public Safety and would provide funding to build out a
nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network. Co-sponsors include:
1.
2.
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15.
John Barrow [GA 12]
Shelley Berkley [NV 1]
Leonard Boswell [IA3]
Vern Buchanan [FL13]
Yvette Clarke [NY11]
Chip Cravaack[MN8]
Keith Ellison [MN5]
Jim Gerlach[PA6]
Michael Grimm [NY13]
Jessie Jackson [IL2]
Sheila Jackson Lee [TX18]
Eddie Bernice Johnson [TX30]
James Langevin [RI2]
Tom Latham [IA4]
David Loebsack [IA4]
16.
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25.
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28.
29.
30.
Billy Long [MO7]
Nita M. Lowey [NY 18]
Carolyn McCarthy [NY4]
John Mica [FL7]
Michael Michaud [ME2]
Candice Miller [MI10]
Erik Paulsen [MN3]
Dave Reichert [WA8]
Laura Richardson [CA37]
Michael Rogers [AL3]
Heath Shuler [NC11]
Bennie Thompson [MS2]
Edolphus Towns [NY10]
Rob Wittman [VA1]
Donald Young [AK]
21st Century Network: Congressional Support
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John “Jay Rockefeller IV (WV) reintroduced his bill, S. 28, the Public
Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act at the outset of the 112th Congress. Co-sponsors include:
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Michael Bennet[CO]
Barbara Boxer [CA]
Benjamin Cardin [MD]
Al Franken [MN]
Kirsten Gillibrand[NY]
Thomas Harkin [IA]
John Kerry [MA]
Amy Klobuchar[MN]
Frank Lautenberg [NJ]
Bill Nelson [FL]
Charles Schumer [NY]
21st Century Network: Congressional Support
 In mid May, Senate Homeland Security Chairman Joe
Lieberman and former Senate Commerce Committee
Chairman John McCain reintroduced S. 1040, the
Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011, a piece of
bipartisan legislation that would allocate D Block to public
safety while deriving funding through the auctioning of
pieces of spectrum between 1700 and 2100 MHz.
21st Century Network: Congressional Support
 In an effort to gain bipartisan Senate support for his bill,
Chairman Rockefeller and Ranking Member Kay Bailey
Hutchison (TX) recently released a joint committee staff
draft bill that would allocate the D Block to public safety
while providing federal funding through the revenue
derived from auctioning off other spectrum.
 The draft bill is scheduled for committee markup on June
8th, where the bill is expected to be assigned a new bill
number, the appropriately labeled S. 911.
 It is believed that this bill, S. 911, will be the vehicle for
public safety spectrum allocation in the Senate.
21st Century Network:
Does Public Safety Require Broadband?
 Yes.
 As the network is developed and new devices and
applications become available, public safety’s demand
for video and data services will substantially increase.
 The demand for data services within the public safety
community is expected to parallel the commercial
world; therefore, it is an unrealistic assumption that 10MHz of spectrum would be sufficient for the volume of
data public safety’s agencies will need, both for day-today use and in emergency situations.
Can Public Safety Use a Commercial
Network?
 Maybe –but not always and not for everything.
 Commercial systems are not built to a public safety grade,
and cannot be relied upon for everyday, mission-critical
operations.
 Commercial service providers are not willing to allow the
required level of priority access, called Ruthless
Preemption, which allows first responders to displace
commercial customers during critical events and
emergencies.
 There may be times when certain types of threats require
commercial systems to be turned off, yet public safety systems
will still need to operate, such as in the presence of Remotely
Controlled IEDs or RCIEDs.
How Will Public Safety Support the
Network Build-Out?
 Some of the funding mechanisms include:
1.
2.
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Lease excess network capacity not utilized by public safety to commercial
providers or other users on a secondary basis
Proceeds from other spectrum auctions
Current Homeland Security, Justice, Transportation and other Federal grants
Universal Service Funds (USF)
A nominal monthly fee that can be imposed on consumers of commercial
broadband services
Public safety agencies partner with private industry
Funding will also come from state and local public safety operational
expenses
 If the D Block is auctioned, the cost of the build out would rely solely on
federal grand dollars.
How Much Will the Build-Out Cost,
and Can Public Safety Afford It?
 We agree with the FCC’s National Broadband Plan which
states that the build-out of a 10 MHz network will cost
between $6 to $10 billion over the next 5 years.
 The cost of building out a 20 MHz network on contiguous
spectrum would cost exactly the same, if not less.
 Indeed, a March 2011 study released by the Phoenix Center,
a non-profit think tank, states that allocation will save the
US money, realizing at least $3.4B in deficit reduction, as
compared to a commercial auction of the spectrum.
What Benefits Would a 20 MHz Public
Safety Broadband Network Provide?
 The ability to leverage the commercial build-out of
LTE networks will allow public safety to capture the
economies of scale, which will drive down the cost, not
only for infrastructure, but for devices as well.
 From an economic standpoint, creation of an entire
new market for data-driven devices and applications
would allow for greater competition, innovation and
entrepreneurship.
 The build-out and maintenance of the network will
create thousands of jobs for Americans.
What are Some Fire-Specific Applications
That Would Run on the 20 MHz Network?
 Video could be used to provide instantaneous situational awareness of
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major incidents
Major fire and hazmat incidents could be monitored remotely from a
safe distance while providing real-time situational awareness to
incident command and elected officials.
Building diagrams, hydrant locations, maps, highway information can
all be downloaded from the network
Fire prevention inspection and code enforcement could all be
performed and transmitted directly from the field. Photos and
geospatial mapping could all be logged into the central (cloud)
database, where access to the records for field referral or review of
previous incidents would be controlled.
Real-time 3-D geospatial incident scene accountability would capture
location of all assets and personnel.
The network could also support video teleconferencing to conduct
daily briefings, training or live consultation during emergencies.
What are some EMS-Specific
Applications to Run on the Network?
 Digital images of injuries
 Streaming EKG readings
 Portable ultrasound readings
 Results of field blood work
 On-site video of an accident can be streamed to
doctors awaiting in an ER room who may determine
whether a patient requires an airlift (at a cost of
$25,000 ), or can be transported via ambulance (at a
cost of $400-6,000)
What is D Blocks’ Value?
 The D Block has an estimated commercial auction value of between
$1.2 and $3.2 billion. Several factors have contributed to its expected
value:
 There are currently public safety requirements on the spectrum –any
commercial carrier who acquires the spectrum would have to provide
ruthless preemption for public safety in the event of an emergency. Not
surprisingly, this has greatly devalued the value of the spectrum.
 In addition, if the FCC has contemplated blocking Verizon and AT&T
from bidding on the D Block, the resulting lack of open competition
would considerably deflate the number and value of the bids. To date,
Sprint, T-Mobile, Clearwire and a few other business interests have
shown the greatest interest in bidding for the D Block.
 The White House and Obama Administration have offered $3.2 billion
in FY2012 Budget assistance to offset the lost auction revenue.
Who Opposes the D Block
Allocation to Public Safety?
 A narrow and diminishing coalition of commercial
carriers and business interests:
 Previously known as the Coalition for 4G in America,
the group re-launched a campaign in December, 2010
attempting to co-opt the public safety message by
rebranding itself as the “Connect Public Safety Now”
coalition.
 Instead of allocating D Block to public safety, its goal
was to ensure D Block was auctioned of to a limited
group of potential commercial bidders with little-to-no
public safety requirements or federal funding.
D Block Supporters

Public Safety Associations: International
Association of Chiefs of Police, International
Association of Fire Chiefs, Congressional Fire
Services Institute, National Sheriffs' Association,
Major Cities Chiefs Association, Metropolitan Fire
Chiefs Association, Major County Sheriffs'
Association, Association of Public-Safety
Communications Officials, International,
National Emergency Management Association,
International Association of Emergency
Managers, Police Executive Research Forum,
National Criminal Justice Association, National
Association of Police Organizations, National
Volunteer Fire Council, National Troopers'
Coalition, National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives, Association of Air
Medical Services, Advocates for Emergency
Medical Services, Emergency Nurses Association,
National Association of Emergency Medical
Services Physicians, National Association of
Emergency Medical Technicians, National
Association of State Emergency Medical Service
Officials, National Emergency Medical Services
Management Association, International
Municipal Signal Association, American
Probation and Parole Association,
InterAgencyBoard for Equipment Standardization
and Interoperability
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State and Local Government: National Governors
Association, National Association of Counties,
National League of Cities, United States
Conference of Mayors, Council of State
Governments, International City/County
Managers Association, National Conference of
State Legislatures, National Association of
Regional Councils, The National Association of
State Chief Information Officers, State of New
York, State of Nevada, State of Oregon, State of
Iowa, State of Illinois, State of Maryland, State of
Louisiana
Other National Associations:Communications
Workers of America, American Public Works
Association, American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials, Alarm
Industry Communications Committee, The
National Association of State Technology
Directors, Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Council (SBEC)
Public Safety Industry: Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T,
EADS, Harris, Kenwood, Motorola, Northrop
Grumman, Verizon, Raytheon, Rivada, Zetron,
L.R. Kimball, Advanced Response Concepts
Corporation, The Digital Decision, LLC, TASER
International
How Can You Help?
 Visit psafirst.org for more information
 Make sure to call and write your Members of Congress
 Capitol Hill switchboard –202/225-3121
 congress.org –enter your zip code
 Remember to also thank existing bill sponsors.
 For support: Roger Wespe, wesper@apcointl.org
888-272-6911 (mobile: 202-253-2535)