First in the Nation

Any high-school kid with a cell phone can download video, get information from Web sites and stay in touch via text with a widely scattered network of peers. But a first responder working on the typical public safety radio network can't do any of these things -- or at least not well. Although wireless broadband offers great potential for emergency services, agencies have lacked the reliable, dedicated infrastructure required to support bandwidth-hungry, mission-critical applications.

That's all about to change as the District of Columbia goes on line with the proposed launch of the nation's first 700 MHz broadband data network for public safety. The Regional Wireless Broadband Network (RWBN) will give police, firefighters and other district emergency personnel a host of new capabilities -- from filing reports and exchanging text messages in the field to feeding video of an incident in progress to a command post. Complementing the voice capabilities of their land mobile radio (LMR) systems, the new network enables a powerful new set of tools for public safety personnel.

Moreover, this pioneering network will demonstrate the public safety capabilities that are possible with high-speed wireless data applications. "By deploying this network, we'd be able to prove a model -- that IP communication for public safety works. It would be reliable, and there's a demand for it," said Vivek Kundra, Chief Technology Officer of the District of Columbia.

The National Capital Region chose Alcatel-Lucent through a competitive process to build the RWBN using 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (1xEV-DO) Revision A equipment. This is the latest version of the same technology used in commercial CDMA wireless networks. It offers the ability to transmit video, data and IP-based voice with peak speeds of nearly 3 Mbps.

Although public safety agencies have long used their private LMR networks to transmit data, transmission on those networks is notoriously slow, with data rates measured in the tens of kilobytes per second. Some departments have used commercial wireless services or municipal Wi-Fi networks for wireless broadband data applications. While those solutions offer greater peak speeds, they force public safety officers to compete with other users for bandwidth, or they demand that users stick close to Wi-Fi hotspots to send and receive data reliably. For communications in an emergency, that's not acceptable.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allocated spectrum in the 700 MHz band exclusively for public safety broadband data networks. In August 2007, it proposed giving public safety users top priority on a second block of spectrum in that band, with service there to be provided nationwide by a single, commercial provider that will win the spectrum at auction.

First of Many?
The FCC, the wireless industry and the public safety community are still working out the details of this plan. In the meantime, the District of Columbia (District) is in the process of obtaining a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to authorize operational use of the network.

"Instead of downloading a music video, they might download plans for a building that's on fire, upload patient information or download fingerprint data," said Mike Iandolo, president of Alcatel-Lucent's CDMA/EV-DO business division. "File transfers would now be measured in seconds instead of minutes." And because the network is optimized for public safety, their data will always go through.

In the National Capital Region, 18 other jurisdictions are considering deploying the same network as the District, purchasing equipment under an amended version of the contract with Alcatel-Lucent. Implementing the network across the area would provide much needed interoperability for data, voice and video communications, said Kundra. By building EV-DO networks, public safety agencies benefit from all the research, development and standards-making activities that have driven the evolution of wireless broadband products and services. They also gain an opportunity to help shape future generations of the technology. "They can join this global commercial technology