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| WCA Public Safety and Homeland Security |
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WCA News 2006
| September 28, 2006 |
Study Urges Major Reforms In International Bodies To Promote Security
Major revisions in U.S. strategic thinking involving multinational organizations such as the United Nations are necessary to improve security, according to an ambitious new study unveiled Wednesday in Washington, DC. The Princeton Project on National Security released its recommendations entitled “Forging A World Of Liberty Under Law” drawing on two years of study with input from 400 experts in such relevant fields as diplomacy, finance and academia. Suggestions included new ways of fostering democratic practices and “rethinking the role of force” to emphasize strategies for deterrence. The bipartisan recommendations for institutional reform included expanding the UN Security council to include India, Japan, Brazil, Germany and two African states. Another was to create a new “Concert of Democracies” as a new institution to strengthen security cooperation among the world’s liberal democracies. Endorsing the need for such changes were two U.S. Senators prominent in international affairs, Democrat from Delaware Joseph Biden and Nebraska Republican Charles Hagel. I attended the 200-person conference on behalf of WCA, accompanied by CINTECH-US President/CEO Arno J. Kosko, who chairs WCA’s committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. The conference was opened by Anne-Marie Slaughter, co-director of the Princeton Project and dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Co-sponsor of the conference program was the New America Foundation, whose American Strategy Program Director Steven Clemons helped lead a thought-provoking discussion. The two dozen speakers included top executives from such diverse institutions as the Carlyle Group and RAND Crop., and the legal advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State who helped provide that office’s input on national security legislation pending before Congress this week.
FCC Launches Public Safety And Homeland Security Bureau
The FCC this week announced the launch of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau responsible for the combined public safety-related functions that were previously dispersed among the other bureaus and offices. With FCC’s Ken Moran as acting chief, the bureau has a staff of 90 reassigned from elsewhere at the FCC. It is organized into three divisions: Policy, Public Communications Outreach & Operations, and Communications Systems Analysis. Details. “One of the bureau’s primary functions is develop and implement communications policies that enhance public safety, including addressing the spectrum needs of the public safety community,” said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin in a statement. “To that end, the bureau will assume responsibility for completing the 800 MHz re-banding process and resolving any related interference issues. The bureau will also serve as an informational clearinghouse for public safety and emergency response issues,” he said. “It will work to ensure robust and reliable communications services by reaching out to stakeholders in order to encourage best practices, develop preparedness plans, and promote network reliability. And in times of emergency the bureau will lead the Commission’s efforts to expedite relief and ensure that communications in effected areas are quickly restored.” Also this week, the FCC released the order adopted in March that formed the Bureau.
WCA Live! To Examine Wireless Public Safety On Sept. 29
Cutting-edge wireless innovations for first responders providing public safety services will be discussed in the Sept. 29 edition of WCA Live! – the weekly webcast radio series produced by WCA. This week’s guests for the show being broadcast at 2 p.m. (ET) Friday will be: Rick Rotundo, Director of Marketing, Mesh Networks, Motorola; John T. Von Harz, Vice President, Fixed Wireless, MobilePro/NeoReach & Chairman, WCA Municipal Wireless Subcommittee. I co-host the show with My Technology Lawyer Radio Producer Scott Draughon. Listeners can call-in with questions at 866-685-7469, or send emails to radio@MyTechnologyLawyer.com. The radio show will be available at http://easylink.playstream.com/winlive/mtlradio.asx, and archived versions will be posted at the following link: Click here for Past Shows.
FCC To Seek Comment On Cyren Call’s Public Safety Spectrum Plan Proposal
The FCC will seek comment on the Cyren Call proposal to license 30 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety use and for the creation and use of a national broadband network, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said. But he noted, “Congress has directed the Commission to auction some of the spectrum at issue in the proposal. So – absent further Congressional action – the Commission may be unable to take any further action on the petition.” The proposal submitted by Cyren Call Chairman Morgan O’Brien to the FCC this spring already has support of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) and other public safety groups.
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| September 22, 2006 |
Boeing Wins Border Security Contract
Boeing Co. won an order worth an estimated $2.1-2.5 billion to install sensors and radar to secure the U.S. border, capturing the Homeland Security Department's second-largest contract. The work will cover northern and southern borders, starting with a model to be deployed in the southwest in the next eight months, the department said in a statement today. The contract does not have a set value, and payments will be announced as parts of the system are ordered, according to department spokesman Jarrod Agen. The order, known as the Secure Border Initiative Net, gives Boeing Chief Executive Officer James McNerney a new avenue for growth, according to a Bloomberg news report. Sales from weapons such as fighter and cargo jets may stall as the war in Iraq winds down, and the border contract may ultimately be valued at as much as $8 billion as the U.S. moves to secure maritime borders as well, Boeing said last month. Boeing, a WCA member company based in Chicago, may have had an edge because its bid used existing sensor, radar and communications technology, according analysts quoted in news reports. The three-year-old Department of Homeland Security faced harsh criticism for its handling of Hurricane Katrina and is looking to keep the program simple to ensure its success. Reuters provided the following account: The contract can be extended for up to three additional years. Boeing will help unify existing technologies and install new tracking sensors and communications equipment so border agents can keep a closer eye on cities and deserts in the Southwest as well as on lakes and forested mountains along the Canadian border. Boeing's project proposal also included relying on more than 300 radar towers along the borders, some supplemented with cameras developed by Israel's Elbit Systems Ltd. which can spot people at up to 14 kilometers and vehicles at up to 20 kilometers. Other partners of Boeing in the bid include L-3 Communications Holdings Inc., Unisys Corp. and Perot Systems Corp. |
| September 7, 2006 |
Silicon Valley Names Wi-Fi Mesh Provider
A four-company partnership of Cisco Systems, IBM, Azulstar Networks and SeaKay was named by California's 42-city Silicon Valley government regional "joint powers authority" to build and operate a wireless communications and Internet access network covering nearly 1,500 square miles. Connectivity would be for up to 2.4 million residential and business users. The provider Silicon Valley Metro Connect says that it will offer up to 1Mb/s service for the free "base service." Also offered will be premium fee-based services as wireless VoIP and video streaming. Beginning in 2007, the network expects to use WiMAX service in the 2 GHz to 11 GHz bands. The infrastructure will be based on Cisco's mesh wireless technology, with IBM providing network design and integration services as well as applications such as intelligent traffic solutions and automated traffic metering to benefit public agencies and local utilities. The plan is for Azulstar to operate the initial 802.11b/g network, and SeaKay to work with municipal agencies to tailor the network to meet their needs. |
| August 31, 2006 |
WCA Describes Broadband Wireless Role In Emergency Management
The author of a forthcoming book on international disaster management interviewed me at length last week because of our industry's importance in the field. Much focus was on comparing U.S. and European perspectives on crisis, disaster and risk management (including homeland security). Eelco Dykstra, MD, a scheduled WCA 2006 speaker and visiting professor of International Emergency Management at George Washington University, had earlier spoken at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on a nationally televised panel discussing responses to Hurricane Katrina. Details. |
| August 24, 2006 |
Wireless, Wireline Advocates Disagree Over Preferential Treatment During Disasters
Wireless and wireline industry advocates disagreed over preferential treatment in emergencies in comments they filed with the FCC in response to a rulemaking released with the report of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. CTIA asked that wireless carriers receive priority in restoration of electricity and landline service to their facilities during disasters. But AT&T slammed that request, saying CTIA failed to demonstrate why wireless carriers "should be accorded any higher priority in responding to natural or man-made disasters than wireline carriers that serve critical government and other installations and tens of millions of other business and residential subscribers." |
| August 11, 2006 |
Cyren Call's Public Safety Spectrum Plan Proposal Gains More Support
The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police endorsed Cyren Call Communications' proposal that calls for reallocation of 30 MHz of commercial spectrum in the 700 MHz band to create a nationwide broadband public safety network where excess capacity would be available to commercial operators. It urged the FCC to launch a proceeding and seek comment on the plan. The proposal submitted by Cyren Call Chairman Morgan O'Brien, who co-founded Nextel, to the FCC this spring already has support of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) and the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. Other state organizations are beginning to take a close look at the plan, according to press reports. O'Brien earlier this summer discussed his plan in detail at WCA 2006. |
| August 3, 2006 |
Senate Panel Approves Post-Katrina Bill
The Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee last week passed legislation to improve communications interoperability among first responders. The Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006 (S-3721) would strengthen the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and charge the Department of Homeland Security with developing a plan to deploy a nationwide interoperability communications network.
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| July 27, 2006 |
U.S. House Of Representatives Passes Public Safety Interoperability Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (HR-5852) designed to improve public safety communications interoperability and coordinate emergency communications efforts at national, state and local levels through a new Department of Homeland Security emergency communications office overseen by an assistant secretary. |
| July 10, 2006 |
Officials Debate Impact On Public Safety Of Federal Homeland Security Budget Cuts
The impact on public safety and emergency communications planning in the Washington, D.C. metro region and nationally of controversial recent budget cuts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was debated at WCA 2006. Participants were Timothy L. Beres, Director, Preparedness Programs Division, Office of Grants & Training, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Lawrence Halloran, Deputy Staff Director to Rep. Thomas Davis (R-VA), Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform; and Robert LeGrande, II, the Deputy CTO for the Government of the District of Columbia and the founder of the national Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety. Beres and LeGrande are key figures nationally in planning effective communications for public safety and emergency service personnel. Halloran spoke on behalf of Chairman Davis, who sharply criticized the homeland security budget cuts at the June 15 Committee hearing on the grants. As background, DHS announced on May 30 that funding for Washington, D.C. and its suburbs was being cut from $77 million to $46 million scheduled for next year. Officials had requested $160 million. Details: WCA Press Releases.
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| June 8, 2006 |
WCA 2006 To Feature Panel On Broadband Wireless Use For Public Safety
A world-class array of opinion leaders will convene on a June 29 panel - "Public Safety Wireless & Emergency Response: Where Do We Go from Here?" - at WCA 2006 to describe broadband wireless responses and the next steps regarding public safety and related emergency services. Motorola will focus on detailing its recent efforts in New Orleans and similar areas to improve hurricane and disaster responses using innovative technology. Providing an influential government-user perspective is Washington, DC's Office of the Chief Technology Officer, which has seen its responsibilities grow since 1998 in tandem with a personnel growth from four to 600 (including contractors) personnel as it assumes an increased role in local and regional response capability using advanced technology, such as building the country's newest PSAP with unique network architecture to connect to the telecommunication service providers. User perspective also comes from APCO's nationwide expert on frequency coordination between users, a pivotal responsibility when there are some 55,000 relevant local jurisdictions, many if not most with at least slightly distinct communications systems for different types of responders. In addition, an overview is provided by Northrop Grumman IT, one of the largest integrators of such systems and a company increasingly interested in educating and otherwise working with other WCA members who are part of this critical supply chain of goods and services. |
| June 1, 2006 |
Four of 5 Bidders For U.S. Border Security Contract Are WCA Members
Four of the five system integrators that submitted bids on the multi-billion-dollar U.S. contract to improve U.S. border security with Mexico and the Canada are WCA member companies, illustrating both the high-tech elements of the project and the advances that WCA has made in attracting involvement by leading companies. WCA Board of Directors member Northrop Grumman Corp., Boeing Co., Ericcson and Lockheed Martin Corp. are the WCA member companies bidding on the project by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Most of the companies are prominent also at WCA 2006 because of their interest in learning more about the kinds of manufacturers and spectrum holders who can help fulfill major contracts. The fifth bidder is Raytheon Co., which increasingly attends WCA events but is not yet a member. The Secure Border Initiative has at its core a six-year, $2 billion contract, according to a Washington Post report on the bidding teams, with a decision expected next fall. |
| May 18, 2006 |
Homeland Security Committee Passes Katrina "Lessons Learned" Legislation
The House Homeland Security Committee passed a bill (HR-5351) that would, among other things, create the position of an Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications responsible for helping establish and maintain interoperable communications capabilities at all levels of government. The bill is also aimed at improving coordination at all levels, strengthening disaster preparedness and response capabilities nationwide and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Details.
Sprint Nextel Expands Programs For Hurricane Response And Recovery
Sprint Nextel Emergency Response Team (ERT) is expanding its programs for hurricane response and recovery. New in 2006, company's ERT Rapid Deployment Services is deploying SatCOLTs (satellite cell sites on light trucks) and additional staff to be pre-staged in southern states. This for-fee service will allow first responder and other commercial entities access to a service that will allow interoperable terrestrial-to-satellite services during an emergency. Details.
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| May 11, 2006 |
Alvarion, IBM To Deliver Wireless And WiMAX For Public Safety
Alvarion announced an alliance with IBM to offer and deliver wireless systems to municipalities and their public safety agencies. Based on a pilot wireless network implementation in Fresno, CA, the network is built by IBM using Alvarion broadband wireless systems and features government-grade wireless encryption, roaming and compression to the city's 250 police vehicle fleet. Details.
Sprint Nextel Forms Public Safety Advisory Board
Sprint Nextel created an advisory board to provide insight from the public safety community on the FCC mandated reconfiguration of the 800 MHz spectrum band. The board will counsel Sprint Nextel on reconfiguration implementation issues from a public safety perspective. Details….In a related development, the FCC addressed a request by the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA), giving Sprint Nextel and certain 800 MHz Channel 1-120 licensees in Wave 1 of the band reconfiguration process additional time to negotiate frequency relocation agreements. The mandatory negotiation period for the Wave 1 licensees ended on December 26, 2005. Details.
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| May 4, 2006 |
WCA Explores Enhanced Opportunities In Security IT With New Member CINTECH-US
Focusing on breakthrough opportunities in integrating secure broadband wireless systems simultaneously serving consumers, businesses and governments, I visited last week for nearly two hours in New York City with Anthony N. Georgiou, chairman of The Citadel Group, the parent company of WCA's newest member CINTECH-US. His descriptions of building the parent company to its 160,000 employees worldwide were fascinating, as are the opportunities that loom. We encourage those interested in the topic of cross-market security see the WCA 2006 "GovMAX" session on June 28 that is entitled, "Today's Tradeoffs In High-Performance Security Systems." CINTECH President & CEO Dr. Arno J. Kosko will be discussing innovative CDMA-based solutions for public safety and other broadband applications. Others include a user's perspective from Lt. Steven L. Ditmars, who is in charge of IT for the Long Beach Police Department in California.
Senate Panel Approves Katrina Report
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted to approve a 737-page report titled "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared." The report made 86 recommendations designed to improve the nation's emergency preparedness and response system, including a recommendation to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and replace it with a stronger, more capable structure within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It also called for network enhancements, recommending that the DHS should develop a plan for deploying a nationwide, interoperable communications network.
FCC Working On Budget Issues Related To New Bureau
The FCC has finished notifying Congress about the creation of its new Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, but is still working with lawmakers on budget issues associated with the reorganization. Timothy Peterson, acting chief of staff at the FCC Office of Managing Director, said that the Commission is not asking for an increase in budget, but rather a reallocation of resources.
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| April 20, 2006 |
FCC Hurricane Katrina Committee Meets
The FCC committee studying communications preparations drawing from the lessons of Hurricane Katrina last summer met in Washington, DC on Tuesday, drawing insights from a number of WCA member companies that are involved. The Independent Panel's preliminary recommendations include improved industry data reporting on the health of telecom infrastructure before and after disasters, more efficient government repository for that information and development of national credentialing procedures for repair crews. The committee is to submit a final report to the FCC by June 15. |
| April 13, 2006 |
Public Safety Awards Dinner Enhances WCA Ties
The increasing importance of interoperable, broadband communications among first responders was a continuing theme this week in speeches at the annual awards dinner organized by Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO). Among those recognized were Congressmen Curt Weldon (R-PA) and Jane Harman (D-CA), as well as FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. I attended as a guest of Freedom Technologies, whose President Janice I. Obuchowski is opening the two-day GovMAX track at WCA 2006. I spoke with leaders of several public safety organizations, including APCO, to foster ongoing communications between the most relevant WCA members and those using public safety equipment. These discussions will result in an enhanced GovMAX program, as well as other benefits in the months ahead.
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| April 6, 2006 |
New 700 MHz Plan Aimed At Solving Public Safety Problems To Be Presented To FCC
A group of "wireless industry veterans with access to significant financial and political resources" plans to ask the FCC this month to scrap plans to auction the 700 MHz spectrum being freed by broadcasters and instead use 30 MHz for "a fourth-generation nationwide public-safety network that industry would build and share" with public safety agencies whose radio systems still lack interoperability, RCR Wireless News reported. |
| March 16, 2006 |
| The FCC at its March 17 meeting will consider an order creating a Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. Also, the FCC will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on public safety communications needs in the 700 MHz band. Details. |
| March 2, 2006 |
FCC Chairman Proposes FCC Homeland Security Bureau
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin began circulating an order for the March 17 meeting that would create a new Public Safety/Homeland Security Bureau without eliminating any existing entities Communications Daily predicted that the FCC is also likely to vote on an order that could allow public safety to provide video and other broadband applications on 700 MHz spectrum.
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