Washington DC Partners with Feds to Test 4G Technology for National Public Safety Network

At the end of 2009, the world of fourth-generation (4G) mobile telecommunications technology got a boost when a Swedish telecom operator deployed the first-ever commercial long-term evolution (LTE) services in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway. This is critical because even though the company, TeliaSonera, launched the network for commercial purposes, U.S. public safety agencies support LTE technology for a proposed nationwide public safety network on the 700 MHz radio band.

Such a network would give emergency responders access to advanced communications technologies and massive data files (video, mapping and GPS applications, etc.) at faster speeds from anywhere in the country. In the next few years, as wireless carriers begin rolling out 4G networks in the United States, these public safety and telecommunications agencies have an opportunity to take advantage of the large-scale manufacturing efforts, in which they could affect standards and also save money.

Recently the District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) announced plans to partner in the federally funded Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) program. Announced in December by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the program will evaluate the future of wireless communications for public safety agencies, develop public safety requirements and test interoperability of multiple systems.