Wireless in the District of Columbia: Public Safety and Public Access

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Wireless in the District of Columbia Public
Safety and Public Access

• Digital Cities ConferenceDecember 11, 2007

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Wireless Broadband for Public Safety
Current Police Communications Platform
Mobile Data Terminal Limited throughput non IP
Centric 6,000.00
Stand alone Land Mobile Radio 4,200.00
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The Future of Police IP Centric Interoperability
Video Camera System 1,500. 00
Rugged Mobile Data PC 5,000.00
Rugged PDA 800.00
IP Based Land Mobile Radio
IP Centric solution results in reduced costs and
greater efficiency
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Getting There

• Problem
• Commercial wireless data networks are
  inadequate for public safety
• Unreliable in emergencies
• Best effort standard
• Usage limits
• Lower availability

Hurricane Katrina
Solution Public safety grade reliability, end
user dedication and control, and application
flexibility.
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Enhancing the Productivity of Government
Fire/Permitting Inspection Reporting
Wireless Motor Vehicle-Criminal Database Research
Wireless Traffic Management
Transportation Services Enhanced for Vehicle
Location and Service Routing
Wireless Connected Parking Meters
Wireless Ticketing Capabilities
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Regional Wireless Broadband Network (RWBN)

• Public safety 700 MHz high speed wireless
  network, built by the National Capital Region
  (NCR)
• Attributes
• Covers 80-95 of the 69 square miles of the
  District (outdoor)
• Dedicated Public Safety network no contention
  with cellular or commercial users
• Uses EVDO revision A, the same technology as
  Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless, supports
  commercial roaming at 1.9 GHz.
• Uplink rate -- 1.8 Mbps (peak) / 600 Kbps
  (average)
• Downlink rate -- 3 Mbps (peak) / 1.2 Mbps
  (average)
• Advanced security features including Quality of
  Service (QoS), DCWAN firewall protection,
  intranet access via static IP addresses, AAA
  access control, limited and known user base.
• Recently received FCC authorization to operate in
  700 MHz.
• Status
• Deployment 12 radio sites and core in the
  District of Columbia
• Devices Currently, only PC cards expect
  options to increase and prices to decrease as
  manufacturers prepare for 700 MHz commercial
  market.
• Future Plans Migrate WARN pilot network users
  (including Police, Fire and EMS, USSS, FBI, US
  Park Police, and others) onto RWBN, achieve
  network acceptance, obtain commercial roaming
  agreements, operate until subsumed into
  nationwide 700 MHz broadband network.

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An Organic-Hybrid Approach with Digital
Inclusion Benefits
Wireless Broadband Access for the Public

• A substantial problem for major city wireless
  efforts is funding the initial investment
  required for deployment.
• Organic network growth is viral, spreading the
  cost of deployment broadly among
  user-participants.
• Viral growth can be uncoordinated, poorly suited
  to revenue generation.
• Digital inclusion programs typicallyrely upon
  subsidies for services and equipment for
  low-income residents.
• Hybrid approach could be coordinated,using
  revenues generated by the organic, grass-roots
  network to subsidize services and equipment.

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City as Participant, Not Owner

• The city could jump-start an organic network by
  being a major participant, sharing hotspots with
  the public and helping to market the network.

• The city could encourage participation by sharing
  fiber backhauland perhaps ISP serviceswith
  network users, just as a café might share its DSL
  line and Internet access.

• The city could also ease participation by
  allowing participants to hang access points on
  city assets.

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Non-Governmental Administrator

• A non-governmental organization could administer
  the network.
• The administrator could be responsible for
• Technology preferred network design (for
  efficient infrastructure placement), capture
  portal, authentication, network monitoring,
  network standards
• Marketing recruiting participants, advertising
  the network, selling ad space, obtaining
  discounts on equipment and services for
  participants
• Digital Inclusion using advertisingrevenues to
  drive the network into underserved areas,
  providing training, hardware.
• Administrator could out-sourceas necessary.

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Three Layers to an Organic Network

• (1) City nodes City-owned
  point-to-multipoint nodes tethered to city fiber,
  may include hotspot functionality.
• (2) Private nodes Point-to-multipoint
  nodes with hotspot functionality, deployed by
  businesses, neighborhood groups, and individuals,
  pursuant to Administrators design.
• (3) Organic mesh Affordable,
  residential-grade 802.11b/g access
  points/repeaters mesh to grow the network
  organically and share resources.
• Participants could connect the network to
  the Internet at any/all of these layers, if
  permitted by ISP-Subscriber Agreements.

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Organic-Hybrid, Open Source Pilot

• The District of Columbia will build a small pilot
  to test this organic-hybrid approach using
  non-proprietary equipment and open source
  software at both the node and residential layers.
• Open source allows wider choice of equipment,
  easing participation in the network for
  businesses and residents.
• Open source spurs innovation among users,
  including local students developing technical
  skills and capabilities.
• Pilot to start at neighborhood scale, testing
  both the technology as well as the social aspects
  of this approach.