Government Technology - December 2008 - (Page DC10)

New York City Colorado broadcasts will switch to digital broad- tial providers have ﬂoated the idea of a casting on Feb. 17, 2009 — these chan- $49 per month charge for each device nels were vacated. The FCC auctioned on the network. Cosgrave said the New licenses to use these frequencies with the York City Police Department has 30,000 caveat that the winner of this so-called to 40,000 people, so for one year’s service “D Block” would be mandated to partner the city would have to pay $17.6 milwith public safety constituencies to use lion to $23.5 million just for the police the adjacent public safety broadband department — a base price that almost spectrum (conveniently located at 763- certainly excludes add-on services and 768 MHz and 793-798 MHz). Through a taxes, which could increase the price network-sharing agreement, the FCC’s tag another $15 million to $25 million. goal was to create a uniﬁed, commercial/ These costs make such networks prohibitively expensive for most communities. public safety network. Without an alternative, public safety In theory, this sounds like a good plan, but the on-the-ground reality ofﬁcials are forced to swallow a bitter proves difﬁcult to overcome. Because pill. As Geddes lamented, for comthere’s confusion about the require- munities that lack access to adequate ments of interoperability and network spectrum, “The only other option is for sharing, the original reserve price was local government to pay monthly service never met, thereby sending the idea charges for subscription-based wireless back to the drawing board. For public broadband service through a carrier- proposed to serve as a national model for next-generation public safety radio systems.” Cosgrave pointed out that the needs of responders often vary by geography. As such, a single, nationwide network may be a suboptimal solution for many locations. “An FCC-mandated, one-size-ﬁts-all solution fails to take into account some fundamental facts,” Cosgrave said. “In NYC the tall buildings are quite different than, for example, out West with its wide-open areas; a national standard isn’t going to work [for everyone].” Effects of the 700 MHz Auction Though many experts have noted that the 700 MHz auction is a ﬂawed process for maximizing the beneﬁts to public safety, the auction was mandated by a 2005 telecommunications bill sponsored “An FCC-mandated, one-size-ﬁts-all solution fails to take into account some fundamental facts. In NYC the tall buildings are quite different than, for example, out West with its wide-open areas; a national standard isn’t going to work [for everyone].” Paul Cosgrave, commissioner, New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications safety constituencies, the notion that a based service like AT&T or Verizon by Arizona Sen. John McCain. This private entity would control the entire — these services are vulnerable in emer- means that the FCC is somewhat tied infrastructure — and consequently gency situations and are typically over- — it is required to auction spectrums to could charge monopolistic rents — has whelmed and unreliable in the event of the highest bidder, all but guaranteebeen a major concern. For example, Paul a major incident.” ing that a private entity will manage Cosgrave leads his city’s effort to the network’s deployment and ongoJ. Cosgrave, commissioner of the New York City Department of Information develop a proof-of-concept implementa- ing operations. Municipal leaders fear Technology and Telecommunications tion. According to a letter from New York that the build-out timeline of 15 years (DOIT), raised the concern that poten- City DOIT to the FCC, the “project was is so long that it’s likely any technology 10 DIGITAL COMMUNITIES DECEMBER 08

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - December 2008

Government Technology - December 2008 Contents Point of View Four Questions for... On the Scene Big Picture Year in Review Who Controls Your Network? Paper Makes a Comeback Halting Meth Abuse Spectrum Up Close signal:noise Digital Communities Contents Becoming a Digital Community Rethinking 700 MHz Smart Grids: Powering the Future Gearing Up for Crime 2.0 Software Predicts Crime Local Portals on the Red Carpet More Than Just a Pretty Face

Government Technology - December 2008

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