Tammy Parker

Two law enforcement officials are hoping for reappointment to the board of the First Responder Network Authority, which is charged with planning, building and operating the LTE-based, 700 MHz nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN).

Chuck Dowd, now retired from the New York Police Department (NYPD), is seeking reappointment to the FirstNet board, as is Paul Fitzgerald, the sheriff of Story County, Iowa.

Including the appointments of Dowd and Fitzgerald, a total of four of the 12 appointments of non-permanent members to the FirstNet Board are expiring this month. The Secretary of Commerce may reappoint individuals to serve on the FirstNet board provided they have not served two consecutive full three-year terms.

Former board Chairman Sam Ginn, a long-time telecom executive, is not seeking reappointment to the board, so that vacancy must be filled.

Charlotte (NC) Chief Information Officier Jeff Stovall said concerns about sustainability of the city's planned public-safety network ultimately led to a suspension of negotiations that could have enabled Charlotte to lease 700 MHz spectrum from the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).

Charlotte was one of seven National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program (BTOP) public-safety entities whose funding was halted during spring 2012 by NTIA due to concerns the BTOP projects might be incompatible with the national public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) being planned by FirstNet.

The only way BTOPs could get their programs going again was if they completed a spectrum manager lease agreement (SMLA) with FirstNet to access its 700 MHz spectrum and had their rollout plan approved by NTIA.

Stovall said several changes during the funding freeze period -- including stricter building codes and a lowering of cellular service rate by commercial mobile network operators -- impacted the business plan for the Charlotte public-safety network, potentially leading to funding shortfalls for both deployment and operations.

The Federal Communications Commission has a lot of work ahead if it hopes to create consensus around its plans for a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) at 3.5 GHz, as specific parts of its proposed rulemaking have come under attack from multiple corners.

Wireless industry players that sent in comments were largely supportive of efforts to engage spectrum-sharing techniques to open the band for use by both government and commercial users. The spectrum-sharing concept provided a rare point of general agreement, however, with many details of the FCC's proposal drawing considerable debate.

The FCC intends to apply spectrum sharing to 3550-3650 MHz spectrum and is also pondering extending the service to 3700 MHz, providing a total of 150 MHz of spectrum for the CBRS.

An interactive online map from the Gigabit Libraries Network (GLN) shows prospective TV white space (TVWS) coverage zones for the more than 16,500 US public libraries, which the GLN is using to make a pitch for including such facilities in upcoming rural broadband experiments authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.

It shows how each facility could be used as a TVWS base station hub, providing expanded wireless broadband coverage areas to "satellite" library Wi-Fi hotspots up to 10 miles away, which would be supported via wireless backhaul using TVWS equipment. Using this design, those patrons who rely on public libraries to provide broadband access would no longer be required to be inside or beside the facilities to get service.

GLN hopes its interactive map will "support planning by anyone from the FCC to commercial providers to individual libraries exploring ways to incorporate TVWS capabilities into their overall connectivity strategies," said Don Means, GLN project director. "Libraries, schools and other anchor institutions deploying TVWS seem to offer a perfect fit with the FCC's upcoming rural broadband trials program," he added.

Two Federal Communications Commission waivers being sought by Time Warner Cable reveal the cable operator is chomping at the bit to make use of the 100 MHz of 5 GHz U-NII-1 band spectrum that the commission voted in March to open up for broad, unlicensed Wi-Fi use.

The March order eliminated a rule that had prohibited outdoor Wi-Fi operations in the U-NII-1 band and also increased allowable power levels in the band. The commission's order allows the use, under certain conditions, of existing Wi-Fi equipment designed to operate in the commonly used U-NII-3 band (5.725-5.825 MHz) in the newly opened U-NII-1 band (5150-5250 MHz.)

The FCC's decision was heralded as a significant shot in the arm for service providers, cable MSOs in particular, looking to push more data traffic to Wi-Fi. And Time Warner has wasted little time jumping on the opportunity.

The company filed two waiver requests on July 1. One seeks authority to operate 20,000 existing, non-compliant U-NII-3 access points in the U-NII-1 band as allowed by the FCC's order. A second, supplemental waiver request seeks permission to operate up to 10,000 new, non-compliant U-NII-3 devices in the U-NII-1 band as well.

A brewing controversy over technical standards and hiring issues are some of the latest bugaboos haunting the First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) as it crafts plans for the national public-safety broadband network (NPSBN).

During board committee meetings here, held June 2 prior to the annual PSCR Public Safety Broadband Stakeholder meeting, FirstNet board member Kevin McGinnis noted that the mission of enabling mission-critical voice communications over LTE is progressing, as the 3GPP standards body moves ahead on technological specifications for the service as part of the group's work on Releases 12 and 13.

However, McGinnis expressed displeasure at the fact that "certain vendors" are attempting to shift LTE public-safety standardization out of 3GPP and into the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). McGinnis said he did not know which vendors are behind the move, but he has been told that they aim to move proceedings "to a standards body where those vendors presumably have more influence." He called the move "distracting," and said it detracts from the progress that has been made within 3GPP.

Sprint will soon jump into LTE Advanced carrier aggregation as part of its Sprint Spark initiative, and the operator is also taking hard looks at numerous other cutting-edge technologies, such as SON and even Cloud RAN, for inclusion in its long-term roadmap, said a top executive.

"Historically we've looked to technologies a bit differently than everyone else. We're the only ones deploying TD-LTE. We're the only ones deploying 8T8R," observed Ron Marquardt, vice president of technology for Sprint technology innovation and architecture. That willingness to stand out from the crowd means technologies that other US operators may not consider could find a home at Sprint.

"We're evaluating everything from CoMP (coordinated multipoint) to even Cloud RAN on the more speculative end, just because of the backhaul requirements for that," said Marquardt.

Advanced self-organizing network (SON) technologies, enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (EICIC), high-order MIMO options and other advanced antenna systems "are all under consideration," Marquardt added. "We're actively investigating all sorts of SON options--architectures as well as specific implementations," he noted, though cautioning that "we're not even close to making any decisions, much less any announcements."

Federal regulators should refrain from adopting new location accuracy rules until indoor-positioning technology is truly ready for prime time, according to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which represents manufacturers and suppliers of communications networks.

"Although TIA supports the development of improved location accuracy, many concerns remain regarding the impact of new requirements on innovation and whether technology is sufficiently developed to support the proposed mandate," said the organization in a filing regarding the FCC's ongoing proceeding on wireless E911 location-accuracy requirements.

Location-accuracy requirements should be based on technology "the claims for which can be confirmed with verified data using commercially available products," TIA said. The group stressed that indoor-location technologies are still quite nascent and may not be sufficiently developed to support an indoor location-accuracy requirement for determining a caller's location within 50 meters on a horizontal grid, as proposed by the FCC.

Sprint's pledge of unlimited data is looking increasingly less sustainable, as the carrier maneuvers to rein in network traffic generated by its heaviest data users and ensure quality of service for the majority of its customers.

Postpaid as well as prepaid Sprint customers, including those on its Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile sub-brands, have begun receiving notices alerting them to new data "prioritization management" the operator will employ to prevent network congestion. Prioritization can include a reduction of throughput or speed for those targeted users connected to congested sites.

The approach "will enable us to provide more customers with a high quality data experience during heavy usage times," Sprint said. "Once the customer is no longer connected to a congested cell site, or the site is no longer congested, speeds will return to normal."

The First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) announced the hiring of its first Chief Technology Officer, Ali Afrashteh, who has been working as a consultant but previously held executive positions with Clearwire, Sprint, Nextel Communications and PCS PrimeCo.

"Ali will manage FirstNet's planning and deployment of technology programs and initiatives and provide expertise on strategic wireless technology and network operational planning," according to FirstNet. "Ali will also ensure that technical systems, policies, and processes are fully supportive of FirstNet's mission to design and deploy a nationwide public safety broadband network.”

Meanwhile, FirstNet board member Teri Takai reportedly has resigned her CIO position at the US Department of Defense, effective May 3, but will stay on at FirstNet. She is an original FirstNet board member, having been appointed to a one-year term in August 2012. She was subsequently reappointed to a three-year term, which ends in August 2016.

In other news, FirstNet board's finance committee recently approved fiscal year 2014 guidelines. The committee agreed to fund key activities, such as including business strategy development, network development, outreach and consultation and operating infrastructure.