FirstNet Technical Rules Should Be Based on Rules for Commercial Spectrum, Verizon Tells FCC
FCC rules for the 20 MHz of spectrum dedicated to public safety for FirstNet should be as close to commercial rules as possible, Verizon said in reply comments filed at the FCC. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and NTCA said in joint comments the rules should impose construction deadlines on FirstNet to guarantee that the network is built out to serve rural areas as well as cities. Commenters responded to a March NPRM (http://bit.ly/13y16mp) on technical rules for a public safety broadband network (PSBN).
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"Technical rules for the PSBN spectrum that are not aligned with the rules for adjacent commercial spectrum in the 700 MHz band would heighten the risk of harmful interference among public safety users in adjacent areas and channels,” Verizon said (http://bit.ly/17ERSuk). “Incompatibility between public safety and commercial systems and devices also would undermine the viability of partnering arrangements, contrary to Congress’s objectives.” Power limits for the spectrum, for example, should be the same as for comparable commercial spectrum, Verizon said.
NRECA and NTCA said the FCC should “prescribe clear network deployment phases with rural coverage milestones and requirements” to ensure that FirstNet serves rural areas. The milestones are in keeping with last year’s spectrum law, which created FirstNet, they said. “First responders located in rural areas must have access to the nationwide, interoperable Public Safety Broadband Network comparable to access in urban areas,” the groups said (http://bit.ly/1a0OOYY). “Network coverage milestones can allow for flexibility at this early stage in FirstNet’s development, while also providing guidelines to ensure that the spirit of the legislation is upheld, and the needs of rural public safety providers and consumers are met.”
The state of New Mexico agreed with NRECA and NTCA about the need for rural milestones. “The Spectrum Act requires that FirstNet, ’shall require deployment phases with substantial rural coverage milestones as part of each phase of the construction and deployment of the network,'” the state said. As a state with many rural areas, New Mexico has a “strong interest in seeing FirstNet meet the rural deployment obligation.” Without a push from the FCC “it is likely that the FirstNet system would ... be built first in urban and higher population areas, with revenues generated by initial deployments in urban areas being leveraged to finance later phase deployments in more rural areas,” New Mexico said (http://bit.ly/13y6h5Z). “Such a buildout plan would conflict with Congress’ mandate that every phase of deployment must include substantial rural milestones."
The Utilities Telecom Council said FirstNet should face buildout deadlines. “UTC agrees that FirstNet may not be deployed in rural areas -- at least not to the same extent -- as in urban areas, particularly to the extent that FirstNet relies predominately on infrastructure from nationwide commercial wireless providers,” UTC said (http://bit.ly/1a1rdaw). “It is widely agreed that the PSBN is significantly underfunded, particularly in the near term when incentive auction funds are unavailable and uncertain."
Oceus Networks said its experience developing systems for the government points to the importance of relying on aligning rules for FirstNet with commercial standards. “In developing LTE-based systems for the U.S. military, Oceus Networks understands that deviation from standards will impact the availability of devices, increase costs, and prevent public safety users from fully leveraging the commercial industry’s research and development investments,” the company said (http://bit.ly/11FeSoS). “Also, failure to adhere to commercial standards will prevent public safety’s ability to cost-effectively take advantage of future iterations of LTE and standard commercial technologies.”