In mid-2005, wireless communications managers commenced the process of moving selected public safety radio channels to new frequencies. This is the first step in a three-year plan to move public safety users to new channels in order to mitigate persistent problems with interference to their radio communications. The interference usually takes the form of dropped calls or dead spaces with radio transmissions primarily to or from first responders in certain frequencies. The majority of documented incidents of interference have been attributed to the network operated by Nextel Communications, Inc. Nextel in 2005 completed a merger with Sprint Corporation, creating the U.S.'s third-largest mobile company. Its new corporate name is Sprint Nextel. As part of an agreement originally made between Nextel and the Federal Communications Commission, some public safety wireless users will be moved to new frequencies, with the wireless company paying all or part of the cost. This agreement is not affected by the merger. In return for these expenditures, and reflecting the value of spectrum that Sprint Nextel will be relinquishing, the FCC will assign new spectrum to the wireless company. The rebanding plan is being implemented by the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA), created by the FCC for this purpose. The TA is to set priorities, establish schedules, and oversee reimbursement to parties for eligible expenses associated with relocation. Disagreements about the implementation of the plan that the TA cannot resolve on its own or through mediation will in most cases be referred to the FCC. There are ongoing debates about the transition plan, such as maintaining interoperability, scheduling, and reimbursement for costs incurred. If resolution of problems created by the rebanding appears unacceptable, public safety and others that use the affected frequencies could seek assistance from Congress.

In mid-2005, wireless communications managers commenced the process of moving selected public safety radio channels to new frequencies. This is the first step in a three-year plan to move public safety users to new channels in order to mitigate persistent problems with interference to their radio communications. The interference usually takes the form of dropped calls or dead spaces with radio transmissions primarily to or from first responders in certain frequencies. The majority of documented incidents of interference have been attributed to the network operated by Nextel Communications, Inc. Nextel in 2005 completed a merger with Sprint Corporation, creating the U.S.'s third-largest mobile company. Its new corporate name is Sprint Nextel. As part of an agreement originally made between Nextel and the Federal Communications Commission, some public safety wireless users will be moved to new frequencies, with the wireless company paying all or part of the cost. This agreement is not affected by the merger. In return for these expenditures, and reflecting the value of spectrum that Sprint Nextel will be relinquishing, the FCC will assign new spectrum to the wireless company. The rebanding plan is being implemented by the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA), created by the FCC for this purpose. The TA is to set priorities, establish schedules, and oversee reimbursement to parties for eligible expenses associated with relocation. Disagreements about the implementation of the plan that the TA cannot resolve on its own or through mediation will in most cases be referred to the FCC. There are ongoing debates about the transition plan, such as maintaining interoperability, scheduling, and reimbursement for costs incurred. If resolution of problems created by the rebanding appears unacceptable, public safety and others that use the affected frequencies could seek assistance from Congress.

Effective emergency response is dependent on wireless communications. To minimize communications failures during and after a crisis requires ongoing improvements in emergencycommunications capacity and capability. The availability of radio frequency spectrum is considered essential to developing a modern, interoperable communications network for public safety. Equally critical is building the radio network to use this spectrum. Contents of this report: (1) The Issues Before Congress; (2) Proposals for Spectrum Assignment: Broadband Plans and the D Block; (3) Providing Structure: Funding: Governance; Concept; (4) Conclusion: Models for Change. Charts and tables.

Heightened awareness of the integral role of the nation's wireless communications infrastructure in homeland security is bringing to the fore technical issues about public safety spectrum that have lain fallow for a number of years. This book covers issues concerning technology, the connection between technology standards and spectrum allocation, and the competition for spectrum among many users with diverse needs. The report in particular addresses two key issues that have attracted significant attention and controversy: interoperability and interference. Interoperability questions focus mainly on spectrum needs and compatible technology. Interference problems stem primarily from spectrum allocation decisions and radio-communications engineering that have combined to disrupt some public safety radio transmissions. Originally viewed by most industry stakeholders as separate topics, the two issues have, over time, coalesced into a single concern that questions different aspects of spectrum policy and technology planning.

In 2003, the Department of Commerce's Spectrum Policy Initiative was established with the objective of promoting a more efficient and beneficial use of the spectrum. As part of that Initiative, a series of public forums about spectrum management policy was held. The Computer Science and Telecommunications Board was asked to organize one of these forums, a public forum to gather the views of a variety of government and private sector stakeholders about the impact of spectrum policy on their activities. This report presents a summary of those views. Among those included are those representing national defense, homeland security, aviation, science, public safety, amateur radio, cellular voice and data, and terrestrial broadcast uses of the spectrum. Although prepared by the NRC, the report does not present NRC findings or recommendations. A broader study of spectrum policy, including findings and recommendations, will be issued in early 2005.

With the increasing need for more effective and efficient responses to man-made and natural public safety threats, the necessity for improved private mobile and commercial wireless digital communication systems has become apparent. This one-of-a-kind resource describes today's public safety communication requirements and radio systems from a technical perspective, and shows you how communication systems are evolving to meet the growing demands of multimedia wireless applications.

The use of radio-frequency communication-commonly referred to as wireless communication-is becoming more pervasive as well as more economically and socially important. Technological progress over many decades has enabled the deployment of several successive generations of cellular telephone technology, which is now used by many billions of people worldwide; the near-universal addition of wireless local area networking to personal computers; and a proliferation of actual and proposed uses of wireless communications. The flood of new technologies, applications, and markets has also opened up opportunities for examining and adjusting the policy framework that currently governs the management and use of the spectrum and the institutions involved in it, and models for allocating spectrum and charging for it have come under increasing scrutiny. Yet even as many agree that further change to the policy framework is needed, there is debate about precisely how the overall framework should be changed, what trajectory its evolution should follow, and how dramatic or rapid the change should be. Many groups have opinions, positions, demands, and desires related to these questions-reflecting multiple commercial, social, and political agendas and a mix of technical, economic, and social perspectives. The development of technologies and associated policy and regulatory regimes are often closely coupled, an interplay apparent as early as the 1910s, when spectrum policy emerged in response to the growth of radio communications. As outlined in this report, current and ongoing technological advances suggest the need for a careful reassessment of the assumptions that inform spectrum policy in the United States today. This book seeks to shine a spotlight on 21st-century technology trends and to outline the implications of emerging technologies for spectrum management in ways that the committee hopes will be useful to those setting future spectrum policy.

The convergence of wireless telecomm. technology with the Internet Protocol (IP) is fostering new generations of mobile technologies. This transformation has created new demands for advanced communications infrastructure and radio frequency spectrum capacity that can support high-speed, content-rich uses. Wireless technologies support public safety commun., sensors, smart grids, medicine and public health, intelligent transportation systems, and many other vital communications. Contents of this report: The Role of Spectrum Policy; The Nat. Broadband Plan and Spectrum Policy; National Purposes; Issues for the 111th Congress; Conclusion. Append.: Spectrum-Hungry Technol.; Competition; Internat. Policies for Spectrum Mgmt.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Effective emergency response is dependent on wireless commun. To minimize commun. failures during and after a crisis requires ongoing improvements in emergency commun. capacity and capability. The availability of radio frequency spectrum is considered essential to developing a modern, interoperable commun. network for public safety. Equally critical is building the radio network to use this spectrum. Contents of this report: (1) Issues Before Congress; Commun. Infrastructure; (2) Proposals for Spectrum Assignment: Broadband Plans and the D Block; Narrowband Radio Plans; FCC Policy Objectives; (3) Providing Structure; Funding; Governance; Role of the Fed. Gov¿t.; Managing Technology and Spectrum Resources. Illustrations.