Last week the FirstNet Board of Directors took another stride forward in approving a Spectrum Lease Agreement in a Special Meeting on June 27th, 2013. This milestone will enable the nation's first early deployer, the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority (LA-RICS), to move forward with the nation's first Public Safety LTE pilot program.
The lease agreement, which took 60 days longer than expected to negotiate and approve, is the first of 8 agreements which are expected to move the 7 Public Safety BTOP programs forward, with an additional LTE pilot in Harris County, Texas, negotiating an agreement parallel to the BTOPs.
The next step is FirstNet's recommendation to the NTIA to waive the LTE suspension and BTOP funding freeze, which was put into place last year in preparation for a nationwide LTE architecture, for these agencies. FirstNet has been very clear that their approval of lease agreements and their recommendation to the NTIA does not guarantee a lift of the freeze, but that the final decision still rests with the NTIA once they receive individual requests from the agencies.
Curious about the contents of this agreement? Read it here, with the enabling resolution on the NTIA's website.
Showing posts with label LA-RICS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LA-RICS. Show all posts
Monday, July 1, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
FirstNet Extends BTOP Negotiations, Again
The seven Public Safety Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant recipients are currently engaged in negotiations with the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), through board member Sue Swenson. The agencies, along with fellow early builder Harris County, Texas, were subject to a suspension of their pilot projects, in preparation for implementation of the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN).
FirstNet has decided to utilize these pilots as learning tools, and to set a standard of operations and infrastructure, in their planning efforts to build the NPSBN and the FirstNet organization which will run the network.
The seven agencies include: the Adams County, CO Communications Center; the City of Charlotte, NC; the Executive Office of the State of Mississippi; the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority; Motorola Solutions (for the San Francisco Bay area); the New Jersey Department of the Treasury; and the New Mexico Department of Information Technology. Harris County, TX, was not a BTOP grant recipient, but did receive authorization initially from the FCC to move forward with their LTE pilot. Sue Swenson is negotiating a lease agreement with them as well.
Very little information has been released surrounding these spectrum lease negotiations, except that according to Fierce Broadband there are concerns about the lease agreement terms - specifically the fear that states could opt out of FirstNet participation, risking the BTOP grantees' access to the 700 MHz spectrum, after an expensive buildout has already been initiated or in some cases completed. The deadline for negotiations was extended for a second time, to July 12, 2013.
The resolution to extend the negotiations has a page but is not currently posted on the NTIA's website.
FirstNet has decided to utilize these pilots as learning tools, and to set a standard of operations and infrastructure, in their planning efforts to build the NPSBN and the FirstNet organization which will run the network.
The seven agencies include: the Adams County, CO Communications Center; the City of Charlotte, NC; the Executive Office of the State of Mississippi; the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority; Motorola Solutions (for the San Francisco Bay area); the New Jersey Department of the Treasury; and the New Mexico Department of Information Technology. Harris County, TX, was not a BTOP grant recipient, but did receive authorization initially from the FCC to move forward with their LTE pilot. Sue Swenson is negotiating a lease agreement with them as well.
Very little information has been released surrounding these spectrum lease negotiations, except that according to Fierce Broadband there are concerns about the lease agreement terms - specifically the fear that states could opt out of FirstNet participation, risking the BTOP grantees' access to the 700 MHz spectrum, after an expensive buildout has already been initiated or in some cases completed. The deadline for negotiations was extended for a second time, to July 12, 2013.
The resolution to extend the negotiations has a page but is not currently posted on the NTIA's website.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
LA-RICS Requests Waiver for 700 MHz Narrowband Reserve Channels
The LA-RICS system is in need of an upgrade to replace aging equipment, improve efficiency and capabilities, and promote interoperability in the Los Angeles County region. To move forward with this endeavour, their hybrid UHF T-band/700 MHz system will require more 700 MHz narrowband channels than are currently available, both in the short-term and long-term, with the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 mandating migration off of the UHF T-Band spectrum within the next nine years. Due to this deficiency, LA-RICS requested that the 46 pairs of 6.25 KHz channels, also known as "narrowband reserve channels," be made available for licensing as part of their hybrid system.
LA-RICS released a new RFP for their LMR project on October 25, to which Motorola and Raytheon have responded. The agency is currently evaluating the responses. Their LTE project is currently on hold, pending a decision by FirstNet.
Comments on the waiver are due Feb. 11, with reply comments due Feb. 25.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
LTE Procurement: It's not pretty.
Just like most public safety communications projects, LTE networks are proving difficult for entities to procure. The challenges are greater with LTE projects because they blaze the trail of broadband- these networks are the first of their kind for public safety.
The obstacles can usually be divided up into two categories: spectrum and funding.
The FCC granted 700 MHz waivers to 21 governmental agencies last May, so the spectrum is available- and becoming more accessible to agencies. The funding is also available, with a few of the agencies accessing grants associated with the economic-stimulus package.
Although the procurement process is expected to take some time, negotiations with vendors have been moving like molasses or not at all. Only one of the agencies that were granted waivers, Adams County, Colorado, has reached an agreement with a vendor and began the installation process.
The BayWeb project in San Francisco, Cal. has had its fair share of complications, and they are not alone. In fact, the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) decided last week to restart its bidding process for its massive P25 and LTE project, after attorneys deemed that the long procurement process did not meet state guidelines. This news may be disheartening to those who once called LA-RICS the model for all future public safety LTE projects.
Some say the state buckled under the possibility of legal action from Motorola, who has been outspoken about perceived flaws the LA-RICS procurement process. Internal attorneys at the state seem to have folded under the pressure, and decided that the process was indeed flawed. Raytheon, chosen by LA-RICS to work on the project, has been wondering where these voices have been for the past three years they have been working on the project.
Now, not only does the agency have to go back to the drawing board, but they must return to Washington seeking a waiver for an extension on its $154 million of grant funding (something the federal government has never granted to public safety broadband projects to date).
Public safety entities are already tightening their belts under economic pressure, and they don't have the time for wasted money and resources. We are living in an age of innovation, and forward motion is necessary to manifest the amazing technology that has come from our generation.
Our public safety agencies should not be spending their time arguing with lawyers, stumbling over bureaucracy, and battling with politics. They have a much more important task at hand: protecting the public.
If your agency has faced negotiation or funding issues, contact EMR Consulting today to gain an ally and powerful tool to help your communications system see success. We are here to help.
The obstacles can usually be divided up into two categories: spectrum and funding.
The FCC granted 700 MHz waivers to 21 governmental agencies last May, so the spectrum is available- and becoming more accessible to agencies. The funding is also available, with a few of the agencies accessing grants associated with the economic-stimulus package.
Although the procurement process is expected to take some time, negotiations with vendors have been moving like molasses or not at all. Only one of the agencies that were granted waivers, Adams County, Colorado, has reached an agreement with a vendor and began the installation process.
The BayWeb project in San Francisco, Cal. has had its fair share of complications, and they are not alone. In fact, the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) decided last week to restart its bidding process for its massive P25 and LTE project, after attorneys deemed that the long procurement process did not meet state guidelines. This news may be disheartening to those who once called LA-RICS the model for all future public safety LTE projects.
Some say the state buckled under the possibility of legal action from Motorola, who has been outspoken about perceived flaws the LA-RICS procurement process. Internal attorneys at the state seem to have folded under the pressure, and decided that the process was indeed flawed. Raytheon, chosen by LA-RICS to work on the project, has been wondering where these voices have been for the past three years they have been working on the project.
Now, not only does the agency have to go back to the drawing board, but they must return to Washington seeking a waiver for an extension on its $154 million of grant funding (something the federal government has never granted to public safety broadband projects to date).
Public safety entities are already tightening their belts under economic pressure, and they don't have the time for wasted money and resources. We are living in an age of innovation, and forward motion is necessary to manifest the amazing technology that has come from our generation.
Our public safety agencies should not be spending their time arguing with lawyers, stumbling over bureaucracy, and battling with politics. They have a much more important task at hand: protecting the public.
If your agency has faced negotiation or funding issues, contact EMR Consulting today to gain an ally and powerful tool to help your communications system see success. We are here to help.
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