Does Cisco want to run the FCC's national public safety network?

by Matthew Lasar Feb 28 2007 - 9:02pm Public safety

March 28, 2006: "Family friendly" Internet proposal stimulates debate about FCC auctions

Reading Cisco Systems Inc.'s comments endorsing the Federal Communications Commission's proposal for a nationwide, public safety communications network run by a single entity, one could get the impression that the IP hardware giant has a candidate in mind for the job. To wit, paragraph two, sentence one of the February 26th filing:

"Since its inception in 1984, Cisco has been the world's leading manufacturer of Internet Protocol ('IP') networking equipment and IP communications hardware and software, and the company has a long record of developing new technologies to serve the communications needs of the public safety community."

Sentence two: "Cisco has developed mobile wireless routers used in first responder vehicles, and has crafted wireless solutions from its 802.11 product set to deliver broadband services to public safety."

Sentence three: "Cisco's engineers are continually developing innovative IP networking technologies and industry-leading products in its core areas of routing and switching, including wireless broadband equipment and advanced technologies in IP telephony and other IP-enabled services."

To be fair, the rest of the brief offers a pretty reasoned case for the FCC's plan, with an occasional product placement ad slipped in.

On December 20th, 2006, the FCC launched a Notice proposing a national public safety communications services provider, based in the 700 MHz band, that will operate almost 250 video and broadband channels, and be allowed to access hundreds more under certain conditions.

The network will be run by an entity that charges on a fee-for-service basis, even permitted to market spectrum to other companies "through leases or in the form of public/private partnerships."

The idea has come under fire from some quarters. RCC Consultants, which provides wireless support to state and local governments, filed a statement strongly critical of the proposal on February 15th.

The firm charged that the plan essentially proposes a monopoly over public safety communications.

"Freed of competition and the availability of choice on the part of customers, monopolists have no history of prompt, effective, customer-driven actions," RCC argues.

Needless to say, Cisco disagrees. Their filing argues that:

A broadband based system will enhance interoperability.
"The fragmented scheme by which spectrum historically has been allocated and assigned for public safe communications use is inefficient and has failed to encourage competition and innovation in the market for public safety equipment," Cisco writes. The firm praises the proposal for its capacity to accommodate an IP-based system, which Cisco says will easily accommodate both data and video applications.

Oh, and by the way: "As the worldwide leader in IP-based broadcasting, Cisco can attest to the ability of IP-based networks to facilitate this type of integration."

A single entity system will simplify the licensing process.
Aside from replacing thousands of licensees with one, it will, Cisco argues, "dramatically reduce the transaction costs of selecting technologies, overseeing deployments, and managing this new network."

A national public safety entity will create opportunities for equipment manufacturers.
"A broadband national public safety broadband [sic] network will provide a large market for which manufacturers of broadband technologies, services and products will compete, thereby spurring innovation and ultimately resulting in cost savings . . . " Cisco says.

"Opponents of this plan may believe that it is too disruptive of the status quo, but Cisco regards this disruption as one of the plan's best features," the Cisco filing concludes:

"The fragmented and inefficient system for licensing public safety entities has been inadequate to the task of meeting the communications needs of public safety entities, and the Commission is right to depart from that broken model by embracing an IP-based broadband architecture to fulfill the promise of public safety communications."

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