...
Perhaps you will be able to make more sense out of it. My circuit
breaker has tripped.
Bill
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"An official website of the United States government"
What's the news? AT&T is America's public safety communications
partner. In the nearly 5 years since we were selected by the First
Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) to build and operate FirstNet(r), we have moved quickly to bring more coverage, boost
capacity and drive new capabilities for South Carolina first
responders and the communities they serve - rural or urban.
On 3/31/2022 11:39 AM, Bill Horne wrote:
...
Perhaps you will be able to make more sense out of it. My circuit
breaker has tripped.
Bill
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"An official website of the United States government"
What's the news? AT&T is America's public safety communications
partner. In the nearly 5 years since we were selected by the First >Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) to build and operate >FirstNet(r), we have moved quickly to bring more coverage, boost
capacity and drive new capabilities for South Carolina first
responders and the communities they serve - rural or urban.
I'm not exactly an uncritical fan of FirstNet, having been fairly
close to the process that created it, and having worked with real
public safety communications. There was a real mess in the 2005-2009
time frame, not worth recounting here, and it basically ended with
AT&T picking up the pieces. But the idea is not bad and it could be
useful.
FirstNet is a "broadband" public safety network intended to complement
the "narrowband" voice walkie-talkie systems that first responders
(police, fire, EMS) typically carry.
It's basically a 700 MHz LTE network, where the 700 MHz band has
good indoor and cluttered-area coverage. The idea is that AT&T gets
to use the spectrum for commercial (cellular) customers, but
reserves and prioritizes its use for first responders when they need
it. FirstNet's customers, the first responders, pay for the service,
which allows them to download images and video, which could help
them in their front line work.
Not all first responders buy into this; real-world police in many
places, for instance, carry ordinary smartphones, which generally work
fine. But in some places where cell coverage is spotty, FirstNet gives
AT&T an incentive to build out, and it gives local governments an
incentive to permit the necessary towers to be built. Whether that's
good or bad is a matter of perspective...
...
One of the things that happens when I take a vacation from the Digest
is that I come to work with "nw eyes" - I notice things that weren't
grabbing my attention before, and I've just realized that I don't know
as much about radio and Cellular technology as I had thought I did.
Ergo, I'll ask you to give us more detail about the underlying
technology behind FIrstNet(R), and to explain some of the acronyms
that have been mentioned. I hate to do it, but I'll (respectfully)
request an "Executive Overview" that gives a layman's view of the possibilities and problems.
FirstNet is a "broadband" public safety network intended to complement
the "narrowband" voice walkie-talkie systems that first responders
(police, fire, EMS) typically carry.
OK, here's my first double-take: my only experience with two-way radio technology, outside Amateur radio, was fixing the radios in the snow
plows and staff cars used by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, back
in 1972. At that time, "Narrowband" was what we called FM two-way
radios that were set for plus-and-minus 5KHz deviation. However, I've
been told that "Narrowband" now refers to radio transmitters using plus-and-minus 2.5KHz deviation, and "Wideband" is the older +/- 5KHz
system.
Pleae tell us if I'm right, and what that change did to increase the available bandwidth in the bands used by First Responders, and why
FirstNet is considered "Wideband."
It's basically a 700 MHz LTE network, where the 700 MHz band has
good indoor and cluttered-area coverage. The idea is that AT&T gets
to use the spectrum for commercial (cellular) customers, but
reserves and prioritizes its use for first responders when they need
it. FirstNet's customers, the first responders, pay for the service,
which allows them to download images and video, which could help
them in their front line work.
IIRC, 700 MHz was the range used for "trunked" two-way push-to-talk
systems: I thought it was still being used for that. Correct me if I'm
wrong, though: didn't T-Mobile have it's "Push-To_Talk" service in
that band as well?
And, Ghod forgive me, I have to ask what "LTE" means in this
context. Trunked radio systems are now decades old, so if that's what
AT&T is calling "Long Term Evolution," well, I want my tax money back.
Not all first responders buy into this; real-world police in many
places, for instance, carry ordinary smartphones, which generally work
fine. But in some places where cell coverage is spotty, FirstNet gives
AT&T an incentive to build out, and it gives local governments an
incentive to permit the necessary towers to be built. Whether that's
good or bad is a matter of perspective...
Let's pull over into the learning lane for a moment, and I'll ask a
few questions I hope will clarify what is going on.
1. Is FirstNet(R) a service that uses single-channel radios, like the
ones that Police used to have for their exclusive use, or is it for
"trunked" radios like the ones taxicabs, courier services, and
delivery trucks use now? Some Police and Fire departments have
switched to "trunked" systems, because some municipalities have
cobined all their services into a single "trunked" system in an
effort to save money.
2. If FirstNet is a "Wideband" service that allows First Responders to
"download images and video," how can it be shared with older
"narrowband" push-to-talk users? Are there multiple systems with
different capabilities sharing the FirstNet band(s)?
3. Unless I misunderstand the FirstNet PR, the system is equipped to
allow First Responders to interrupt existing "other" users when
First Responders make a call. Is that correct? Is there any public
info you can point us to?
Sysop: | Keyop |
---|---|
Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
Users: | 285 |
Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
Uptime: | 70:25:13 |
Calls: | 6,488 |
Calls today: | 1 |
Files: | 12,096 |
Messages: | 5,275,488 |