Broadband mobile data and video are taking off! This issue is devoted exclusively to explaining broadband mobile data and video opportunities for public safety. Let’s start by recognizing there
is some local skepticism about the need or value of these capabilities. Consider, in a recent survey by Iowa’s Interoperability Task Force
that many agencies still aren’t utilizing any mobile data, and video was not rated a high priority. But this may simply reflect local awareness and experience utilizing the tools, rather than predicting adoption and value over the next few years. There’s an enormous mobile broadband movement building across the country, and it’s already hit Iowa. Our efforts here are to offer an introduction to broadband mobile data. Broadband 101, if you will, with more advanced classes coming in subsequent issues. There are different bands, architectures and acronyms to understand, and the terminology and technology can be a bit confusing. We’ll help you make sense of it all and keep you informed about noteworthy developments.
1.
What is broadband? 2.
Why is mobile broadband important to public safety? 3.
What is 802.11? 4.
What is 900 MHz? 5.
What is 700 MHz? 6.
What is 4.9 GHz? 7.
What models are being pursued? 8.
Who’s doing it? 9.
What are they using it for? 1. What is broadband? Broadband is a term to describe a “fast” network connection. The FCC defines it as speeds of 200 Kbps and higher. It’s about 8 times faster (or more) than dial-up internet service at home and more than 20 times faster than the radio systems that have been traditionally used for public safety mobile data. It’s also much faster than the data services offered by cellular-type companies, which are generally in the 60-80 (Kbps) range.
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to top> 2. Why is broadband important? Only broadband speeds provide a “pipe” big enough to support the expected usages for public safety. Computers store and give us access to information that we rely upon to effectively do our jobs. We’ve been taught that if it’s important, then it needs to be recorded, so that’s what we do. Agencies record information on computers, cameras, video cameras, scanners, palm pilots, etc, and need easy access to this information in order to keep our communities safe. Law enforcement alone relies upon access to their incident records, master name records, gang information, mug shots, photos, building plans, video surveillance, email, internet searches and key websites. But when officers have to be tied to a desk to get this information, then the agency’s ability to support the community is compromised. Until recently, there hasn’t been much of a choice. Wireless networks have only been able to accommodate the smallest data files, like 10-27’s, 10-28’s, 10-29’s and AVL (automatic vehicle locating). Even cellular-type services reaching up to 100 Kbps have not been adequate to support all the data and video usage of public safety.
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3. What is 802.11? Maybe you’ve heard the terms Wi-Fi or Hot-Spots. These are 802.11 systems which are a set of wireless standards by which a whole host of commercial devices are already available. It’s so widespread that devices are relatively inexpensive - certainly less expensive than anything built to proprietary standards. The speeds available are super fast. 802.11b
Maximum speed is 11,000 Kbps (also stated as 11 Meg or 11 Mbps) Uses license-free spectrum in the 2.4 GHz band 802.11a 54,000 Kbps ( 54 Mbps) Uses license-free spectrum In the 5 GHz band 802.11g 54 Mbps, Uses license-free spectrum In the 2.4 GHz band. Interoperable with 802.11b The systems are characterized by high data rates and inexpensive devices, but very small coverage areas. Outdoor coverage area is up to 200-300 feet. Therefore, infrastructure costs escalate with the number of hot-spots required. 802.11 can be used to cover small, select areas – like parking lots, indoor office space, pedestrian malls, etc, or engineered to cover entire towns. They’re already used extensively in public safety for uploads and downloads to in-vehicle computers in the parking lot. The city-wide systems (or Metropolitan Area Networks or MANs) are now becoming more popular too. These involve hundreds, and potentially thousands of hot-spots networked together.
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to top> 4. What is 900 MHz? 900 MHz is now a useful compromise of speed and coverage area for public safety departments. Wireless internet service providers have used this spectrum to deliver moderate coverage area and broadband speed as an alternative to cable modems and DSL lines. Home and business users require speeds that support web-browsing, file uploads and downloads, and yes, video. Data rates vary from 256 Kbps to over 1 Mbps (1000 Kbps). These technologies have recently been used for public safety use with great success in a mobile environment. The equipment is affordable and the number of sites required is reasonable. A single site, for instance, may reach up to 2-3 miles, providing coverage comparable to dozens of 802.11 sites. The spectrum is unlicensed. Therefore, proper engineering and design are critical to avoid interference which otherwise results in degraded speed and performance. Security has also been addressed. Even in Iowa, queries against NCIC, NLETS and I.O.W.A. databases are successfully being routed across one of these 900 MHz systems. The affordability of 900 MHz systems is surprising. A single site can be as low as $10K, and the vehicular equipment is approximately $2,000, less than that of 800 and 700 MHz systems.
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5. What is 700 MHz? 700 MHz is spectrum that has been recently allocated for public safety use. Some of it has been allocated to voice, while some is for mobile data. When systems become commercially available, data rates of up to 150 Kbps are expected. 700 MHz mobile data systems are considered “wideband”, since their data rates are less than the 200 Kbps minimum of “broadband”. These systems will offer the benefit of large geographic coverage area, similar in design to an 800MHz radio system. This design dramatically reduces the number of sites for county-wide coverage to only a few. Public safety agencies are always interested in security, so the public safety-only nature of these systems may be appealing. However, some potential drawbacks also accompany this architecture. Equipment will be as expensive as we’ve experienced with public safety trunking equipment.
Speed is also a concern. They’ll be much faster than 800 MHz systems, and faster than cellular options, but slower than the broadband speeds expected to support all public safety applications. Furthermore, all the users being served by each tower must share the available bandwidth. With such large coverage areas, this could be many users, thus dramatically reducing the speed available for any one user.
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6. What is 4.9 GHz? 4.9 GHz is spectrum newly allocated to public safety for broadband data. A recent FCC ruling will help manufacturers of equipment in the unlicensed 5 GHz (802.11a) band modify their equipment for use in 4.9 GHz. The hope is that this ruling will prevent equipment costs from skyrocketing to the levels traditional for public safety-only use. Architectures will be similar in design to those for 802.11. Each access point (or node) provides a relatively small hot spot, but networks can be designed to cover large areas. The benefits of the system are high data rates and licensed spectrum. Licensed spectrum reduces the potential for interference. Potential drawbacks are high infrastructure costs for wide area coverage, and device costs that are higher than their 802.11 equivalents.
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to top> 7. What models are being pursued? Virtually everyone is dabbling in wireless, but let’s focus on what’s being done at a strategic level to provide seamless and ubiquitous service across a town. We see two fundamental strategies, one offering wireless services to the public, the other focused on providing wireless services only to the local government’s mobile workforce. Public Model This model finds local government building out blanket coverage across their entire jurisdiction (or key areas within the town) with a system intended for government and public use. The intention is to promote economic development and growth by attracting new businesses and more educated workers, and by improving educational opportunities. Public safety will be one of the many users of the network and may have priority access. Other governmental services will also be users along with the general public. The network supports mobile applications and handheld
palm pilots, Blackberry devices, laptops, etc. by utilizing 802.11 technologies. Economic development is often the goal, with the intent of eventually recouping the community’s infrastructure investment by growing the tax base. Infrastructure may run as much as $50K - $100K per square mile. Governmental Services Model Local government is interested in providing a network for its sole use. Police cars, fire trucks, utility trucks, etc. all have broadband wireless devices that operate throughout their service area. Safety is usually a greater priority than productivity or economic development. Since the general public is not using the network, various technologies can be evaluated for coverage, performance and cost.
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to top> 8. Who’s doing it? Almost everyday there is news about towns that have implemented a broadband wireless solution. Some incorporate a version of the public model, while others are more focused on governmental services only. Consider a few examples of the towns below, and note how size doesn’t matter. Community leaders in small towns (including Iowa) have been just as aggressive and successful as those big city folks.
Town
Model
Indianola, IOWA Hybrid Marshalltown, IOWA Gov Svc Casper, WY Gov Svcs Kingston, NC
Gov Svcs Chasha, MN Public Spokane, WA Public Philadelphia, PA Public Cocoa Beach, FL Public San Mateo, CA Public Hermosa Beach, CA Public Dayton, OH Public Cleveland, OH Public Go to www.muniwireless.com for a more complete list of cities pursuing a public model.
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to top> 9. What are they using it for? Here is a pictorial representation of how Indianola is sending video to and from the car, and accessing their Local Area Network, the internet and NCIC.  <Click on icon for full picture> Enabling field workers access to critical data and video is proving to be useful and beneficial. We encourage you to investigate the potential impact on your organization and your town. At RACOM, we believe our communities deserve the levels of security and development that can be supported by these solutions, and we’re maintaining a leadership role in their design, implementation and support. For additional information or to give us feedback or suggestions on the newsletter, please
Email us or call at (800) 722-6643.
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