Public safety spectrum set-aside raises questions: analyst

The federal government’s proposal to set aside more spectrum and spend $3 million next year to plan for a dedicated public-safety wireless broadband network, as detailed in the budget released Tuesday, has come under criticism. Telecommunications analyst Mark Goldberg said in a phone interview this week that the set-aside of a further 10 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for a communication network for first responders doesn’t make sense if the government doesn’t yet have a plan for what that network will look like. “Right now, all they're talking about is waiting yet another year until they start to provide funding to develop an initial plan,” he said. “Folks are focusing on the plumbing without looking at what they plan to do. There's so many things beyond a network that are needed, and yet all of the focus is on the network.” Industry Canada first instituted a public safety set-aside of 10 MHz in 2012, as part of the consultation process that led to last year’s 700 MHz spectrum auction. Now, the government is proposing to add another 10 MHz block, as well as spend $3 million over two years, beginning in 2016, to take “initial steps” to build that network. “This investment will improve collaboration among public safety agencies to help save lives and keep our communities safe,” the government said in the budget. Goldberg said the set-aside may be unnecessary, and that the government’s approach seems to presuppose the outcome of its planning process. “Start with defining the requirements without constraints, without preconceived notions,” he said. Having 20 MHz of spectrum for this network hasn't been shown to be a "requirement," Goldberg said, but rather "a possible contributor to the solution.” It would be logical if the government’s proposal for a public-safety network used the commercial wireless airwaves already in use all over the country by operators such as BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp., Goldberg said. “We've got existing networks that have way more capacity than 20 MHz of spectrum,” he said. “We just auctioned off 68 MHz of the same band," he noted in reference to last year's 700 MHz auction. "We've got tons of spectrum that's been deployed. And in terms of security, we're conducting financial transactions in the billions of dollars across wireless networks.” If the government does decide to build its own dedicated public-safety network after studying the issue over two years, he added, it wouldn’t be online until at least six years after the initial set-aside and the cost would probably be close to $3 billion. The network itself, Goldberg said, is “the easy part” when it comes to addressing the issue of public safety communications. “You’ve got at least three levels of government involved with first responders,” he said. “Do you think having a separate 700 MHz radio network is the biggest challenge in getting those agencies to communicate? I would think having the organizational willingness is a bigger challenge.” Applications and devices that use the network would have to be designed to operate on the specific band used by Industry Canada, Goldberg said, which could also raise costs and add complexity to the system. A better solution, he suggested, would be for first responders to use capacity within carriers' existing networks. “Those networks are built, they’re there,” he said. “How do we think we'll actually build a network and maintain that network and upgrade that network compared to the continual cycle of investment that the private sector has for its commercial networks?” Industry Canada spokesman Michel Cimpaye did not directly address questions about why the government is setting aside 20 MHz of spectrum for its public safety network instead of working within existing networks, as suggested by Goldberg. Cimpaye said in an email that the department has been in discussions with first responders and the public safety community “to understand their perspectives and identify key considerations that need to be addressed in deploying a national public safety broadband network.” The new network is needed because “communications tools used by fire, police and ambulance services in Canada are limited in their ability to exchange information with one another and communicate across jurisdictions during an emergency,” he said. “Improving public safety communications will enhance collaboration among public safety agencies to help save lives and keep our communities safe.” Cimpaye said the plan will also “fully harmonize” Canada’s public safety broadband plans with the Untied States. Kurt Eby, director of regulatory affairs at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), said the decision to set aside more spectrum in the 700 MHz band brings Canada in line with the spectrum plan in U.S., which sets aside the same frequencies. "The spectrum almost has to be set aside in Canada," he said in a phone interview. "There would be risks to having commercial traffic over the same spectrum so close to the border, interfering with first responder use in U.S. border cities. That could be a real issue." Eby said current usage patterns from first responders prove wireless connections are an important tool for public safety. "I think there's a lot of opportunity here with a dedicated public safety network in some capacity to enhance what they're already doing on commercial networks," he said. Any potential national network would face jurisdictional issues, Eby said, as well as questions about equipment and interoperability. The government study, he added, will have to be broad enough to deal with all of that. "I don't think the $3 million is to determine if the spectrum is going to be used for this, but just how do we do it," he said. "It will be used for first responders. It's just a question of how we deploy the network, what's the best way it can be done.” —With reporting by Peter Henderson at phenderson@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

Public safety spectrum set-aside raises questions: analyst

News | April 23, 2015

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