FCC Report on Broadband Includes Public Safety

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has sent a massive report to Congress intended to spur legislation that would improve the nation’s access to broadband-level access to the Internet, but which also contains a wide range of recommendations on public safety that could lead to federal funding for NG911, a nation-wide wireless network and improved citizen alerting systems. The 376-page report goes well beyond its most obvious purpose of bringing high-speed Internet to rural, poor or other under-serviced areas of the country. The report delves into how the Internet could be used to improve the daily lives of Americans, including how emergencies are reported by the public, how public safety agencies communicate with each other and the public, and how these systems can be hardened to prevent outages. The report noted that nearly one-third of Americans have no broadband access, including 10 million children, and that many industries and businesses are hampered by lack of Internet access. The FCC issued six broad goals, with #5 being, “To ensure the safety of the American people, every first responder should have access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable broadband public safety network.” The report noted the 9/11 Commission report of 2004 that noted lack of interoperabile communications among public safety agencies. “It remains a problem more than five years later,” the report states.

Download (pdf) a full copy of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan here., and the statements (pdf) from the FCC commissioners about the report here. You can also read Chapter 16 about public safety as a Web page here. A Cnet article discusses the view of television broadcasters about the Plan. Lastly, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski has posted a video statement about the new report.

The report noted that a nationwide wireless network could cost $6.5 billion to build, and perhaps twice that over 10 years to maintain. Although not mentioned in the report, an FCC official told a Computerworld reporter the cost could partly be paid by user fees, which would be less than $1 per month, per user.

The FCC broadband report makes 17 recommendations in the Promoting Public Safety section, related to public safety wireless communications, promoting cybersecurity and protection of infrastructure, and encouraging innovation in the development of a NG911 network.

The first four recommendations tackle the subject of a wireless network linking the nation’s public safety agencies—a topic that has generated thousands of official comments to the FCC, and lots of political maneuvering. Much of the FCC’s report talks about creating administrative procedures to insure sufficient spectrum. The report recommends that commercial network providers permit public safety to roam on commercial networks when public safety radio networks are unavailable. They also recommend a priority access system for wireless networks.

“The FCC should quickly license the D block for commercial use, while implementing several requirements for the D block licensee(s) to maximize options for partnerships with public safety,” the report states, a recommendation that is sure to spark additional debate. There should be liability protection for commercial carriers who carry public safety communications, and the government should leverage its purchasing power to help stimulate the construction of networks and purchase of equipment.

The report recommends surveying agencies to determine their current broadband connections, making sure satellite networks are part of a final network, and that systems be built with redundancy in mind.

On the subject of NG911, the report notes that current early designs have identified the Internet protocol (IP) as the method of transport. However, “Many in the public safety community lack access to broadband services,” including those who can’t afford the service or who have no network links.

The report recommends that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) prepare a report to identify the costs of a nationwide NG911 network, including funding sources, to be completed by Dec. 2011.

Congress should enact legislation to create a regulatory framework for NG911, and the FCC should focus some attention on the issue of IP-based communications, including location determination that would be critical to 911 calls over IP.

The FCC should launch a comprehensive next-generation citizen alerting system study, the report states, taking the Emergency Alerting System (EAS) into the 21st century.

Update: NENA issued a statement on the FCC report, saying it “strongly supports” the framework set out by the Commission. CEO Brian Fontes commended the commission, “for making 9-1-1 and emergency communications a priority and providing guidance on the ways in which broadband can be harnessed to improve public safety and homeland security.

In particular, NENA said it supports the recommendations to encourage the expedited development and deployment of NG911, “including recommendations that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) identify the costs of deploying a nationwide NG9-1-1 system and that Congress consider enacting a federal NG9-1-1 regulatory framework with funding to deploy NG9-1-1 systems.”

The company Intrado called the report, “one of the most significant … in the history of 9-1-1 emergency services,” and applauded, “the FCC’s focus on the issues surrounding our 9-1-1 systems and the technological challenges faced by public safety every day.” Intrado president George Heinrichs said, “Intrado encourages our nation’s leaders to take swift action in order to advance the networks and help save move lives.”

Here is a diagram from the FCC report that summarizes their view of a future nationwide wireless network.