FCC mandates (very) minimum interoperability level for initial broadband public safety network deployments

While stakeholders continue to debate the best approach to building a nationwide mobile broadband public safety network, the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC) recently issued what it called “requirements for a baseline technical framework” for that network.

The framework applies only to 700 MHz public safety mobile broadband networks in individual states, cities and counties that are approved for early deployment. But it provides a glimpse into how ERIC and the FCC are thinking about the network. The new guidelines sidestepped two issues that are at the heart of the ongoing debate about a nationwide broadband public safety network. The first issue is whether the public safety community will be given the 700 MHz D-block in addition to the 700 MHz spectrum already under its control. The second issue is which, if any, additional 700 MHz bands public safety will inter-operate with.