D.C. Area Putting Up 700 MHz Broadband

[n4voxgill]

Interesting reading in the full article. As you can see, they ultimately may move voice onto the new EVDO system. Wonder what we will have to buy to listen to it.

http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/news/28711.html

Washington D.C. is building a state-of-the-art broadband data network for public safety agencies that offers a glimpseinto the future of wireless communications.

The District of Columbia's Regional Wireless Broadband Network (RWBN) will be the nation's first interoperable broadband network built in the 700 MHz spectrum. The network will provide real-time data and video to 30,000 first responders in what's known as the National Capital Region.

"This broadband data network is a very important step toward public safety moving to the next generation of public safety communications," says Robert LeGrande, interim CTO for the District of Columbia.

The new 700 MHz data network will supplement the voice-only Land Mobile Radio (LMR) equipment that public safety agencies in the region use today. The new network will support the transmission of e-mail as well as images, real-time video and other multimedia services.

The new network is being built using commercial technology. In March, Alcatel-Lucent and LGS, its government services arm, won a five-year contract worth up to $110 million to deploy the network

.......
The new network won't replace LMRs for voice communications immediately, but it could in the long run.

"Those LMRs are saving lives of our citizens right now. We're not planning on yanking them out of our first responders' hands," LeGrande says. But he admits that the new network "gives us a next-generation platform to migrate to."

 

[jim202]

I would bet the farm that they are using encryption on all the data being sent. Unless
you have a user ID or IP address with the systen and the correct encryption key, you won't be able to capture squat.

This is the way all the newer systems are being set up.

Voice is not something that fits well with EVDO unless you have large bandwidth available and not much loading on
the system. If you get transmission errors, the data will error correct itself. With voice, if you don't get it the first time
around, it's lost. If you get latentcy in the data flow, the voice will be so broken up you won't be able to get much out
of the transmission.

Jim

Interesting reading in the full article. As you can see, they ultimately may move voice onto the new EVDO system. Wonder what we will have to buy to listen to it.
"