NCC PANELS LOOK TO WIDEBAND DATA FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AT 700 MHz

On standards side, TIA is working on NCC requirements for wideband data operations at 700 MHz, ranging from speeds of 384 kbps at 150 kHz wide channels to 128 kbps at 50 kHz channels. Systems rolled out in that band are required to have basic text messaging interoperability and mobile and handheld radio support, said John Oblak, chief engineer of E.F. Johnson, who represented TIA at meetings of technical, interoperability and implementation subcommittees of NCC. Other features that could be added as options include ground and airborne video transmissions and capability to send e- mails with attachments. Final work on project will be completed in 2003, although interim standards and recommendations are being published that will help give more certainty to manufacturers before then, he said.

“Pivotal” standards document that still is in process has to do with basic physical layer of system, with focus on either SAM (scaleable adaptive modulation) technology or IOTA (isotropic orthogonal transform algorithm). Motorola has submitted SAM-based proposal to TIA and Nortel has offered IOTA-based plan, Oblak said. Ultimate aim is to choose one technology but both are in play right now, he said, with TIA standards process being consensus based. SAM proposal entails fewer carriers than IOTA, which uses narrower bands per carrier, Oblak said. “There is virtually no clear winner,” he said. TIA is taking several steps to accelerate standards process in area, which one participant said had posed challenge different from narrowband standards already developed under Project 25. For voice and other narrowband applications, wireless equipment already exists, but wideband data interoperability is new in band and there’s no equipment yet. Oblak said text messaging standards work had higher priority than other supplemental services to help streamline process. Where possible, TIA also is drawing on existing standards work at ITU and elsewhere, he said. “This TIA standards process is certainly moving forward at a faster pace than we are normally used to seeing,” he said. “We see the urgency of the standard and the need to get this out as quickly as we can.”

In Pinellas County, Fla., experimental wideband data project at 700 MHz is receiving field use by police officers, firefighters and emergency and rescue personnel in project being watched closely by public safety and federal officials, said David Byrum of county’s Sheriff’s Office. He said it was first wide area wideband system in world, using 700 MHz spectrum to deliver 484 kbps of integrated voice and data. IP-based system provides Internet and intranet access, voice- over-IP and video applications, including streaming video. Byrum said experimental system was furnished by Motorola and uses SAM protocol. He said system was being tested for applications such as: (1) On-scene Internet access by police to driver’s licenses photos, which he said were digitized in Fla. (2) Access to large number of crime scene photos that were online. (3) Real-time crime analysis using “computer aided dispatch.” (4) Access to GIS systems and map overlays for firefighters to use when entering building. “We would like to have everything that we do at our desktops, in our offices, available out in the field at speeds that are usable,” Byrum said. County is operating system under experimental FCC license in part of 700 MHz band that isn’t encumbered by broadcasters.

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has been using system in routine traffic stops to compare drivers with national database of suspects for whom there’s nationwide alert, according to county-produced video he showed at Thurs. meeting. Technology allows on-scene officer to transmit photo of suspect to state and federal law enforcers “for facial recognition” to compare with their own databases. “It’s possible that the search of any vehicle could reveal something as dangerous as biological agents strapped to a weapon of mass destruction,” video voice-over intoned. Wideband data transmissions allow local public safety worker to transmit images of suspicious object in 2-way videoconference with federal agencies such as Centers for Disease Control. “This allows the remote identification of dangers such as chemical and biological agents, weapons of mass destruction and hazardous waste.” Other uses include transmission of biometric evidence such as fingerprints from crime scene, technology that in some cases can speed process of submitting evidence to obtain search warrants.

Separately, Interoperability Subcommittee Chmn. John Powell circulated document for consideration that proposed Internet domain name for public safety interoperability use and Class B Internet address that would help optimize use of low-speed data interoperability channels at 700 MHz. That type of system would aim for standard addressing method for those users nationwide, according to proposal that subcommittee is considering. Domain name such as ps.gov could be used to assign e-mail name to each interoperable data unit at 700 MHz. Document also outlined several applications that manage assignment of addresses and association of domain names to IP addresses. In some cases, mobile local area network could operate at emergency such as fire, using mobile wireless gateway and mobile data computers. Powell said one issue is that agency with .gov domain would be needed for domain part of plan to work.