700 MHz being rebanded

[Landman]

As if the rebanding fiasco with 800 MHz wasn't bad enough, the band plan for public safety frequencies in the 700 MHz band has been changed. See the PDF document linked to below and scroll down to pages 7 through 9.

http://siec.louisiana.gov/metadot/in...on&op=download

I hope that scanner manufacturers will offer a flash upgrade to deal with this issue as the channel number assignments used to do control channel only trunking will change.

[DaveNF2G]

Just to avoid any confusion -

The change on 700 MHz is not "rebanding." That term refers to the Sprint-Nextel proceedings on 800 MHz and does not affect 700 at all.

[N_Jay]

Originally Posted by DaveNF2G

Just to avoid any confusion -

The change on 700 MHz is not "rebanding." That term refers to the Sprint-Nextel proceedings on 800 MHz and does not affect 700 at all.

Yes and No!

NO: Sprint/Nextel/800 MHz rebanding has NOTHING to do with 700 MHz, Cellular, Digital TV, or any of the other things people have mistakenly connected it to.

YES; the 700 MHz public safety band is being "Rebanded" to create a band plan suitable for the "Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corporation" (now renamed), to build a system on.

There are few 700 MHz deployments so it should not be a big issue compared to the 800 MHz fiasco.

[Landman]

My concerns are these:

1- Control channel only scanning will point the scanner to the wrong voice frequency after rebanding.

2- The public safety voice channels will start at 763 instead of 764 so that you will not be able to trunktrack any tower that uses a control channel from 763 to 764 because currently scanners start at 764.

3- Currently there is a gap in scanner coverage in the upper 760's and lower 770's which is now used for broadband. Part of this area will be rebanded to voice and the broadband frequencies moved up so that all voice is contiguous and all broadband is contiguous so as not to interfere with each other. This will create another scanner coverage gap.

The scanner manufacturers need to address this issue just. Hopefully it is just as easy as a flash upgrade to make the scanner tune the correct frequencies. That is, unless, there is a more sophistocated blocking method in place on these frequencies like the way they block cellular in the 800 band. If that is the case then everyone in an area which will predominantly be 700, like about 90% of all public safety agencies in the state of LA over the next few years, will be screwed.

[kevins669]

I guess we will see how versatile "firmware updates" really are.

I sure hope they work to our advantage. If a scanner manufacturer took care of me with an investment I made with them, I would still be one of the first in line to buy a new model when one is released.

On the other hand, I would be very upset if my firmware-updateable radio could not be updated for something like this.


-- Kevin

[mancow]

I still say the end is near. (ok maybe not near but well on its way)

There will soon be the day when PS comms are indistinguishable from cellular to an end user. The system/systems will all be privately owned and leased by agencies. They will be proprietary and encrypted and interoperable (ie: nextel in concept).

It only makes sense.

You will look back and tell people "I could hear the California highway patrol from Kansas" and people will think that's just insane.

[Landman]

I sent an email to GRE and received a quick reply. They assured me that the hardware is capable of receiving the upper 760/lower770 gap that now exists. I interpreted that to mean that there is not a hardware based lockout of these frequencies like the one that blocks out 800 cellular. They said that they anticipate having a firmware upgrade available before the first 700 systems get rebanded.

I have got to say that GRE is one of the most pleasant to deal with companies as far as customer service goes. I have asked them questions by email a couple of times and both times the responded in a prompt and pleasant manner without the usual canned B.S. that many companies give you. I tried to send a nice thank you email each time but their answer came from a noreply email address.

So with that said I think that we can put this thread to bed.

[Wyandotte]

Originally Posted by Landman

I sent an email to GRE and received a quick reply. They assured me that the hardware is capable of receiving the upper 760/lower770 gap that now exists. I interpreted that to mean that there is not a hardware based lockout of these frequencies like the one that blocks out 800 cellular. They said that they anticipate having a firmware upgrade available before the first 700 systems get rebanded.

I have got to say that GRE is one of the most pleasant to deal with companies as far as customer service goes. I have asked them questions by email a couple of times and both times the responded in a prompt and pleasant manner without the usual canned B.S. that many companies give you. I tried to send a nice thank you email each time but their answer came from a noreply email address.

So with that said I think that we can put this thread to bed.

Yes, it is very true that IF the radio transmissions on 700 are the type your GPE recieves now, then you most certainly will be able to hear them.

But what will be the mode of transmission on 700 mhz?
I keep reading about 700 mhz being earmarked as a nationwide spread sprectrum public safety network.
What's that all about?

[N_Jay]

Originally Posted by Wyandotte

Yes, it is very true that IF the radio transmissions on 700 are the type your GPE recieves now, then you most certainly will be able to hear them.

But what will be the mode of transmission on 700 mhz?
I keep reading about 700 mhz being earmarked as a nationwide spread sprectrum public safety network.
What's that all about?

Parts, Yes!

Parts, No!

Keep reading!

[studgeman]

And hey who said anything about spread spectrum? It all depends on the D-Block. Leading contenders TODAY are EVDO-RevA. LTE and WiMax. That could change, and probably will, tomorrow.

[k8ble]

Anyone Heard That The Gov Is Going To Buy Nextel???? Because They Won't Move Freq's Around ???

[KS4VT]

NEXTEL is not a seperate company to buy. They are owned by Sprint, hence the new name Sprint/NEXTEL.

Will the gov't buy the infrastructure, doubt it. They have no need to buy a proprietary technology (iDEN) system along with all of the other headaches that go along with system ownership.