FirstNet

charlie

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10 Ways FirstNet will Help Public Safety Save Lives and Secure Communities
Across the country, millions of law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics and other public safety personnel bravely serve their communities every day. They answer the call when emergencies strike and risk their lives to secure and protect others. FirstNet is developing the first nationwide public safety broadband network to provide first responders the advanced communication and collaboration technologies they need to help them do their jobs safely and effectively. Here are ten ways FirstNet will help public safety save lives and secure communities:



  1. Because Emergencies Cross Jurisdictions: Sharing One Network Improves Communication

    Today, first responders rely on more than 10,000 separate, incompatible, and often proprietary radio networks to communicate with each other during emergencies. Because they’re not connected on one network, it’s hard, and at times impossible, for emergency responders from different jurisdictions or agencies to communicate and work together to save lives. To help address this challenge, the FirstNet network will be a single, nationwide, interoperable LTE network dedicated to public safety communications. Read more.


  2. FirstNet: Connecting Responders in Rural America

    Emergencies don’t just happen where people live – that is why reaching rural America is one of FirstNet’s top priorities with the nationwide public safety broadband network. When life-threatening emergencies happen in remote or wilderness areas, public safety could benefit from having a network connection that enables expert medical support during transport to the hospital. Read more.


  3. Flying Blind is Dangerous: Enhancing Situational Awareness During Emergencies

    FirstNet will carry high-speed data, location information, images, and video that can mean all the difference when seconds count. Just as smartphones have created a new era of real-time information and connectedness for individuals, the FirstNet network, devices and applications will enable the collaboration the public safety community needs to save lives.Read more.


  4. Public Safety Needs True Priority

    During emergencies, public safety needs to be able to communicate without interruption - lives depend on it. It is critical that our nation’s law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics and other responders have True Priority for their daily and emergency communications needs. This is why FirstNet is deploying a wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety.Read more.


  5. Capacity is Key for Planned Events with Large Crowds

    Emergencies aren’t the only times when public safety needs capacity to communicate and send data. Planned events take place across the country that draw more people to a single location than usual – such as concerts, festivals, and sporting venues. In these situations, networks can become congested, making it difficult for users to get a signal.Read more.


  6. Delivering Actionable Data Via Innovative Apps, Devices

    For our nation’s first responders, FirstNet intends to drive the type of innovation they need to protect and secure their communities over a nationwide network that can take advantage of economies of scale to maximize the value of every public safety dollar. Read more.


  7. FirstNet to provide reliability and security when disaster strikes

    Across America, first responders in every state face the challenge of preparing for and responding to natural disasters. Having reliable communications is an integral component of any plan or response effort. FirstNet can help public safety save lives and secure communities by ensuring a reliable communication system is in place to assist public safety and rescue crews before, during, and after a natural disaster. Read more.


  8. Ensuring Coordinated Responses to Man Made and Natural Disasters

    In the face of man-made attacks or natural disasters, the ability to communicate is one of the most important objectives for first responders. Incident commanders need the ability to quickly convey vital data to every first responder. They need to know what resources from neighboring jurisdictions can be available if required. FirstNet is working to deliver a broadband network with interoperability built-in from day one to enhance public safety’s ability to protect and serve. Read more.


  9. FirstNet: Driving Innovation & Maximizing Value for Public Safety

    FirstNet’s mission is to ensure the delivery of a single nationwide interoperable network for public safety agencies across the country. Once built, the network will modernize the communications used by law enforcement, fire, and emergency medicine personnel, providing them with access to new technologies and increased capacity for their mobile communications and data needs.Read more.


  10. Delivering a nationwide broadband network for public safety, by public safety

    FirstNet is working to establish a public-private partnership to deploy the first nationwide, high-speed wireless broadband network for public safety. This mission grew out of the public safety community’s commitment to and advocacy for a dedicated network to address the communications challenges they faced on 9/11, during Hurricane Katrina, and with other incidents and events in their communities.Read more.
 

charlie

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Rived network interesting story, the guy talks about using bandwidth as a commodity like electricity. so if you call your GF at busy hours it's going to cost you more.

He is the guy who invented Ruthless preemption

It's bit technical but guys who work in 2 way radio industry know what it is.


Rivada fleshed out its FirstNet plans, announcing a handful of vendor partners, claims of agreements with a nationwide LTE carrier and regional telecom operators
Fresh off plucking a former Sprint executive to help lead its cause, Rivada Mercury unveiled vendor partners lined up to help the company in its efforts to build out a nationwide public safety network should it win a part or all of the First Responder Network Authority bidding process.

Rivada said partners include Harris Corporation, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel Security, Fujitsu Network Communications and Black & Veatch. The companies plan to pool their resources behind Rivada as it bids in the ongoing FirstNet process that is to culminate with the building of a nationwide public safety network using 20 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band.

While not named, Rivada is also said to be working with a nationwide wireless operator already running an LTE network as well as a number of regional telecom operators. Among established wireless carriers, AT&T Mobility has expressed interest in partnering with FirstNet and its $6.5 billion in funding, while Verizon Wireless has been more guarded in its interest. T-Mobile US has stated it can’t see how a partnership would work for the carrier, while Sprint is not expected to participate in the FirstNet program.

The FirstNet process is set up to allow carrier partners access to parts of the 20 megahertz of spectrum, with public safety provided priority access when needed. FirstNet was set to close bidding on the process May 31, following an extension on the deadline.

Rivada provided more color on its approach, claiming it will subsidize the cost of building the nationwide LTE network and use existing partner infrastructure to speed deployment and reduce costs. Rivada had previously touted its dynamic spectrum arbitrage tiered priority access technology, which it claims ensures priority network access for public safety agencies over commercial wireless services provided by FirstNet’s planned network partners.

“By allowing businesses to access wholesale bandwidth through both long-term agreements and open market transactions, Rivada is enabling the advancement of [the ‘internet of things’]and other innovations while creating new opportunities for institutional investors,” the company noted.

Brian Carney, SVP for corporate communications at Rivada Networks, outlined the company’s plans at the recent Dynamic Spectrum Summit.
http://www.rcrwireless.com/20160607...nclude-ericsson-nokia-nationwide-carrier-tag2
 
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charlie

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Wireless Companies Join Tech and Security Firms for Big Bid on Emergency Spectrum

Phone makers join IT and security firms in a novel broadband bid.

Companies spanning the telecom, tech, and security industries announced a partnership on Tuesday that seeks to win a $6.5 billion contract to build a national emergency network. Their bid also contains a major economic twist that could, if successful, see the companies shake up how companies buy and sell precious wireless spectrum.

The consortium, which is holding a press conference at 10 a.m. ET, includes wireless network makers Nokia NOK -1.75% and Ericsson ERIC 0.00% , Intel Security INTC 0.37% , and Harris Corporation HRS -0.20% , a defense and IT contractor.

The companies together are backing an upstart called Rivada Mercury, which is leading the bid to create a long-awaited communications platform for emergency responders across the country. On the ground, this would mean building the country’s first nationwide 4G LTE network for public safety.


The origins of the proposed emergency network, which has reportedly attracted two other bidders in addition to Rivada, dates back more than a decade.


It began when the 9/11 Commission, citing snafus that snarled telecommunications on that tragic day, called for a dedicated platform for emergency communications. Today the goal of the proposed platform is to ensure firefighters and other first responders can always talk to each other, and across state lines, even in the event of a major blow to urban infrastructure.

Congress gave the go-ahead in 2012, but the project was tangled in bureaucracy and technical disputes until last year. But since then FirstNet, the government agency responsible, has moved it forward, and is expected to select a winner by the fall, allowing construction to begin in 2017.

The winning bidder will receive at least $6.5 billion to build out towers and other infrastructure needed for a national network. But the real prize, in the eyes of telecom types, is the 20 MHz the winning bidder will receive to operate the network.

The reason the spectrum is so valuable is it sits in Section D of the 700 MHz block, which is considered the beachfront realty of the airwaves. It is highly suitable for transmitting the sort of wireless data consumers gobble on their cell phones.

While FirstNet wants bidders (unsurprisingly) to guarantee reliable emergency service, the process also lets them deploy the spectrum for commercial purposes. This is possible since the vast bulk of the 20MHz will not be needed by first responders on any given day.

In the event of a disaster, the network operator will be able to flip a switch and allocate the entire block for emergency purposes. Rivada co-CEO Declan Ganley described the technique to Fortune as “ruthless pre-emption.” Most of the time, however, Rivada (or whoever wins the bid) will get to sling the spectrum as they wish.

Selling Spectrum on the Open Market

A national emergency network will likely be a useful service, and may even offer room for innovation — some have floated the idea of an app store full of home-spun appsfor firefighters. But if Rivada Networks wins the bid, the real disruption could come in the way bandwidth is bought and sold.

Currently, big telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon acquire spectrum and then hoard it. They deploy it, of course, but only to their own subscribers or occasionally to small discount resellers called MVNOs, which they largely control.

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What Rivada Networks wants to do is create something closer to a commodities arrangement. The company wants to take all that prime 700 MHz spectrum and sell it on the spot market, and even create a futures market.

The scheme may sound far-fetched but for the recent surge in spectrum demand, in which everyone from car companies to home appliance makers are scrambling to stuff their products with Internet features. A source close to the company says Rivada has already been in discussion with utilities, automakers, and MVNOs about selling spectrum a la carte.

In a release, Rivada’s co-CEO Joe Euteneuer described the overall pitch like this:

“As a pioneer in dynamic spectrum arbitrage, Rivada Mercury’s innovative technology will both fund the FirstNet build out and sustained operation and maintenance by selling excess capacity to commercial users.”

The question, of course, is whether the agency receiving the bid will buy into Rivada’s vision enough to award the contract.

High-Stakes Bid

If FirstNet awards the bid to Rivada, the consortium will receive at least $6.5 billion and a chance to remake the broadband market. If it loses, it will get nothing.

One factor that could tip the bid in Rivada’s favor is money. Under the terms of the FirstNet process, companies that bid must pledge to pay a minimum of $5.65 billion to the government over 25 years in exchange for using the spectrum. If Rivada thinks its open market spectrum plan will pull in a lot, it may have pledged to pay out a lot more when the bids closed at the end of May.

Rivada also has a formidable team in place. Ganley ran telecom operations during Hurricane Katrina, while his co-CEO, Euteneuer, was CFO at Sprint S -2.69% and Comcast CMCSA -0.10% . The company has also namedformer governors and recent presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Martin O’Malley to its board.

Finally, the country’s broad-ranging partnerships, including Harris Corporation, which has a long track record of emergency services, could persuade the government that Rivada has the chops to do the job. (The company is also partnering with two other familiar telecom names, Black & Veatch and Fujitsu Network Communications, to help with back-end engineering.)

On the other hand, Rivada isn’t the only one bidding. While FirstNet’s procurement rules do not permit the government to disclose the bidders, the source close to Rivada believes that there are two other bids, including one led by AT&T T 0.77% and Motorola MSI -0.34% , and another by a fellow upstart.

Any bid by AT&T would receive strong consideration given the company’s size and its deep influence in Washington lobbying circles. While AT&T’s interest in FirstNet has been reported by the trade press, the company has yet to announce a bid. A company spokesperson, reached by phone and email, did not provide a formal answer as to the nature of AT&T’s bid, or even confirm that a bid was submitted.

Meanwhile, rival phone giant Verizon VZ -0.23% has likewise been identified in the press as a contender, but has yet to announce its intentions.

“Federal contracting rules prohibit us from commenting until after the contract has been officially awarded,” said a Verizon spokesperson.

FirstNet is expected to announce the outcome in the fall. The result could deliver the U.S. a national platform for emergency broadcasts—and possibly a brand new type of broadband market.

http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/firstnet-rivada/
 

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