On the heels of its newly revealed national broadband plan, the Federal Communications Commission has said that it is going to discuss about the 700 MHz nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband network by holding a technical panel.

 

The auction of 700 MHz spectrum is a critical event for the future of wireless services in the United States. This low-frequency spectrum enables better coverage at lower cost, especially outside metropolitan areas, in part because it’s scarce and allows much better propagation than the less scarce higher-frequency spectrum. It’s expected to act as a vital element for newcomers to the wireless broadband services market.

 

The objective of the FCC’s (News - Alert) proposed discussion will be to analyze and furnish more information on the technical design, operation, and evolution of the public safety wireless broadband network. Issues such as technical standards to ensure interoperability; network coverage, reliability, and capacity; opportunities to leverage commercial technology to lower public safety network and equipment costs; and technical issues associated with roaming and priority access – all will be talked about.

 

According to an agency statement, existing U.S. public safety wireless infrastructure consists of thousands of disparate systems built by separate local agencies. Problems with interoperability, cost, spectral efficiency, and limited functionality plague these systems but could be significantly reduced through the deployment of a single nationwide network that serves all public safety personnel. This can be achieved by having a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband network in place and the cost of deploying such a network is more or less going to equal to the cost of maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructures.