[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9586-9587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4421]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket Number: 100217092-0110-01]


Solicitation of Participation In and Public Meeting to Discuss 
Public Safety 700 MHz Broadband Demonstration Network

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation of participation.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 
announces the building of a 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband 
Demonstration Network (Demonstration Network), which will provide 
manufacturers and first responders a location for early deployment of 
their systems in a multi-vendor, neutral host environment.\1\ Emergency 
responders will see how these broadband systems will function and 
determine through hands-on experience how these systems meet their 
unique needs. This Notice of Solicitation of Participation both seeks 
Expressions of Interest from parties that may be interested in 
participating in the Demonstration Network and also announces a project 
kick-off meeting for all interested stakeholders.
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    \1\ NIST Tech Beat (2009), Demonstration Network Planned for 
Public Safety 700 MHz Broadband. http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2009_1215.htm.

DATES: Expressions of Interest in participating in the program are due 
on or before 5:00 pm Mountain Time, April 30, 2010. A kick-off 
informational meeting will be held March 15, 2010, via webinar over the 
Internet. The registration deadline for participation in the meeting is 
due by 5 p.m. Mountain Time, March 12, 2010. Please see registration 
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instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Expressions of Interest in participating in the 
Demonstration Network and registrations for the kick-off meeting should 
be sent to [email protected]. The webinar details, meeting time 
and teleconference bridge information will be e-mailed to registrants 
prior to the event.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emil Olbrich, (303) 497-4950, e-mail: 
[email protected]. The mailing address is 325 Broadway, Mail Stop 
ITS.P, Boulder, CO, 80305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public safety agencies have long struggled 
with

[[Page 9587]]

effective cross-agency radio communications, due mainly to incompatible 
systems and non-contiguous spectrum assignments. But newly enacted 
Congressional legislation \2\ and FCC Rulings \3\ have created 
broadband spectrum cleared by the Digital Television (DTV) transition 
available to local, state and tribal public safety agencies (i.e. fire, 
police, emergency medical services), allowing for a unified system that 
would foster nationwide roaming and interoperability. Though this 
spectrum will provide ample opportunity for the build-out of next-
generation communications systems that could achieve true 
interoperability for public safety, no government or independent 
laboratory facilities exist in the United States to test and 
demonstrate the behaviors of this yet-to-be-deployed 700 MHz network 
and the applications that could run on top of it.
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    \2\ Public Law No: 111-4.
    \3\ Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public 
Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band, FCC WT Docket No. 06-150, PS 
Docket No. 06-229.
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    To address this critical gap, the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology (NIST), through its Public Safety Communications 
Research (PSCR) program, will begin building a Public Safety Broadband 
Demonstration Network. This Demonstration Network will allow NIST, 
manufacturers and public safety users a site for the early deployment 
of their systems in order to evaluate the Third Generation Partnership 
Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, in a multi-vendor 
environment and create integration opportunities for commercial service 
providers.

Public Safety Broadband Demonstration Network

    The goal of this project is to demonstrate and evaluate the 
behaviors of 3GPP LTE technology deployed in the 700 MHz bands, 
specific to the needs of public safety agencies. NIST has developed an 
initial network design that must be evaluated by vendors, service 
providers, academia, and other stakeholders to ensure that it can 
support all test cases. In this project, emergency responders, vendors, 
carriers, academia and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to 
participate in the development, test planning and network design 
evaluation of the Demonstration Network system. Each participant may 
provide individual input to NIST; no consensus advice will be provided. 
Public Safety users will see how these broadband systems will function 
and determine through hands-on experience how the systems meet their 
unique needs. Features and system performance that commercial carriers 
may not be testing for commercial purposes, but that are of importance 
to public safety, will be a primary area of assessing public safety 
user requirements within the 3GPP LTE standard. This will include 
multicast/broadcast capabilities, priority access, pre-emption, SMS, 
and voice. Vendors who are developing LTE equipment (Band Class 14) are 
eligible to participate in this project.
    On or before April 30, 2010, interested parties wishing to 
participate in the Demonstration Network should submit to the e-mail 
address in the ADDRESSES section, their name, address, phone number, 
and an e-mail address. After receiving all submissions, NIST may 
contact any party that submitted an expression of interest to follow-up 
on how its technology would meet the above evaluation criteria. As part 
of the Demonstration Network project, NIST will enter into Cooperative 
Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with participating 
equipment stakeholders.
    The following information details the technical specifications of 
the Demonstration Network as it relates to radio frequency and the 
ability to transmit over the air.
    Demonstration Network Technology: Equipment utilizing minimum 3GPP 
LTE Release 8, Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and IP Multimedia System 
(IMS). Other air interfaces may be considered.
    Demonstration Network Frequency Band: 758-768 MHz & 788-798 MHz 
(3GPP Band Class 14) Authorization to transmit over-the-air for the 
Demonstration Network: Via a request for FCC Special Temporary 
Authority (STA) for Part 90 and/or Part 27.
    Phases for Stakeholder Participation: The Demonstration Network 
will have the following three major phases for stakeholder 
participation:
    Phase 1--Network and Test Planning: Stakeholders will be involved 
in creating a common test plan for all vendors and creating a common 
network deployment and coverage scheme.
    Phase 2--Deployment: Equipment is scheduled for delivery to site 
locations. Coverage, network planning, site preparation completed. 
Installation and commissioning takes place.
    Phase 3--Testing and Demonstrations: Test plan execution takes 
place. This may be staggered into sub-phases as equipment and features 
become available. Network is available to perform system level testing 
and demonstrations on.
    Equipment Disposition: Stakeholder equipment used for the 
demonstration network will be returned to the stakeholders, at their 
expense, after the completion of the project or upon withdrawal from 
the project.
    Demonstration Network Timeline: This demonstration network is 
currently in the preliminary planning stages and is expected to go live 
in mid 2010.
    Webinar NIST intends to hold a webinar meeting on March 15, 2010 
webinar to bring together interested stakeholders (vendors, carriers, 
public safety practitioners, academics) to specifically discuss how to 
move forward on the Demonstration Network and to establish the focus 
and goals of the project. There is no charge for participation in the 
meeting. The registration deadline is 5 p.m. Mountain Time on March 12, 
2010. Please submit your name, email address and phone number to 
[email protected] and you will be provided with the logistics for 
the webinar meeting.

    Dated: February 26, 2010.
Marc G. Stanley,
Acting Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-4421 Filed 3-2-10; 8:45 am]
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