TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) on 9 October issued a consultation paper on public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) communication networks.
ST Abbas, advisor (Networks, Spectrum and Licensing) at TRAI, will b receiving comments by 20 November, 2017 and counter-comments by 4 December, 2017.
The TRAI consultation paper focuses on technology, spectrum, etc. for communication networks during disaster.
Many independent state agencies are running primary PPDR communications systems. Mission-critical organizations operate their own voice oriented networks on a variety of frequency bands and technologies.
The PPDR communication networks in India use narrowband radios. The narrowband nature of these radios limits them to 2-way voice communications with no inherent support for high-bandwidth transmission requirements.
US structure
FirstNet will provide mission-critical, high-speed data services to supplement the voice capabilities of today’s LMR networks. It is planning to provide voice over LTE (VoLTE). FirstNet users will be able to send and receive data, video, images, text, as well as use voice applications.
FirstNet will bring latest tools to tens of thousands of organizations and individuals that respond to emergencies at the local, state, tribal and federal levels. All 56 U.S. states and territories must have a radio access network that is connected to the FirstNet core network to create a nationwide network.
FirstNet will be leveraging existing telecommunications infrastructure and assets. When FirstNet was established in 2012, Congress provided $7 billion for costs related to planning and deploying the broadband network, and $135 million grant to assist states with plans to connect to FirstNet’s broadband network.
FCC has allocated a dedicated spectrum band 14 (700 MHz), which is 2×10 MHz FDD band (788-798/758-768) for this project.
UK
UK Home Office led Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) provides emergency services network (ESN) 39, for the 3 emergency services (police, fire and rescue, and ambulance) and other public safety users.
ESN will provide the next generation integrated critical voice and broadband data services for the 3 emergency services and over 300 other organizations who are active users of the current emergency communication service.
The mobile services operator will provide broadband data service with full coverage in the defined area, along with extension services to offer coverage beyond the network. The user services provider will provide systems integration for the ESN, public-safety application development and operation, and other services. Motorola was the winner to provide user services. EE was the winner to provide mobile (access) services. In addition to user services, Motorola will provide system integration and critical functionality for the new public safety LTE network.
EE will host the new Emergency Services Network (ESN) on its existing 4G network, which is already used to deliver mobile services to general public. EE would serve both ESN customers and EE’s commercial customers in the same network using EE bands.
EE said that it will improve its network to provide nationwide coverage for critical communication. EE has a total bandwidth of 10 MHz in <1 GHz spectrum and 160 MHz in >1 GHz spectrum that can be used to provide LTE mobile (access) services.
South Korea
The South Korean government plans to build a broadband network dedicated to public safety using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology to be deployed nationwide by 2017. The network will be used by about 200,000 users from 324 mandatory agencies including police, fire, EMS, Coast Guard, military, provincial administrative offices, electricity, gas and the forest service.
