Police Group Lobbys For Spectrum, Broadband

A group representing police officers in Australia has submitted feedback on a legislative study of available spectrum for public safety agencies, urging the government to allocate 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for a broadband public safety network. The Police Federation of Australia (PFA) told a Senate committee that commercial wireless providers are unable to provide a secure, hardened and high-capacity network for public safety, and that spectrum in the 800 MHz band are mostly occupied in the country. The PFA also said there is little broadband gear for 800 MHz bands and that most other countries are moving to 700 MHz for their broadband networks. Download (pdf) the full PFA submission, and read more about the Senate inquiry into public safety spectrum here.