Verizon can Compete Effectively Against FirstNet for Public-Safety Users

[quantar21]

I have been following this forum and Critt313 (Matt) on other sites as well. It's been interesting reading to say the least....

I have Verizon MBP added to my personal phone a Sonim XP8 and have zero issues. My agency is a part of DHS so I could have went the WPS route but chose not to. Who cares what the "speeds" are. The main thing can you make a voice call, send texts and connect via IP? If the answer is yes, then it is working as designed. If you were at 9/11 and the Boston marathon then you would know what true loss of cellular communications is like. Nothing worked except Iridium Sat Phones. MBP should get your information through at an event such as those. You were worried about a college town event, were you able to make a call and text? Then it worked. Apple texting had issues? Get a real public safety devise like the XP8 and forget the Iphone crap. Verizon's Band 13 is 700mhz as is FirstNet/AT&T's Band 14. Verizon will try to keep the subscriber unit on Band 66 and others first before falling back to band 13.

I'll stay with Verizon for their superior coverage and service, I never cared for AT&T and all the dropped calls.

From what I have read in numerous articles, FirstNet uses all normal AT&T channels all the time. The subscriber unit will switch to band 14 if it can't connect on the normal bands. Not all sites will have Band 14 especially in rural areas.

And yes by January 2020 Verizon is scheduled to shut off all CDMA cell sites. The entire system will be LTE (data & voice) so any old devices will have to be upgraded.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Critt313]

Quantar21, thanks for your interests in following me even on other sites. A lesson in reading and retaining would do you a lot of good though as I’ve stated multiple times above that I had ZERO LTE speeds and couldn’t even send a message. So, no, Ghost Ryder, the answer was not Yes to being able to use my device on a saturated network. Just my two cents.

 

[burtinboy]

First post - i wrote a whole "megillah" and the hit the back button. F-me.
so here's the condensed version - see vzw here: Response Ready Solutions

I jumped through all these hoops and can answer questions as i have many of these solutions active on my lines and explain the differences.

 

[Critt313]

First post - i wrote a whole "megillah" and the hit the back button. F-me.
so here's the condensed version - see vzw here: Response Ready Solutions

I jumped through all these hoops and can answer questions as i have many of these solutions active on my lines and explain the differences.

Burtin, I have not noticed a difference on my phone or Jetpack after having WPS and MBPS added. If the network is saturated, my device performs the same as all the other Verizon devices in the same location. What differences should I be noticing? I guess ive been under the impression that my device should still work on completely saturated networks because of the priority features. Is that correct or no?

 

[burtinboy]

Burtin, I have not noticed a difference on my phone or Jetpack after having WPS and MBPS added. If the network is saturated, my device performs the same as all the other Verizon devices in the same location. What differences should I be noticing? I guess ive been under the impression that my device should still work on completely saturated networks because of the priority features. Is that correct or no?

So your impression is not incorrect but I think what you haven't considered is how Verizon determines priorities for Network congestion and how your priority would be triggered.
Before I get into that, I just want to contrast Verizon first responder Network to that of AT&T firstnet. Firstnet, is a ground-up purpose-built reserved Network on the AT&T cellular backbone. They have their own APN's and reserved spectrum. Verizon's offering, is based on their commercial network but built out of many different business and Enterprise level Solutions then tailored to first responders.
Now (and if anyone has better or more updated information please feel free to correct me) after much digging and speaking with Verizon and third party (like our pptolte) providers, I've come to understand how my contrast above has come to lead to much confusion.
Part 1....I'm going from mobile to desktop now.

 

[burtinboy]

Part 2, sorry for the delay.

So now on to your lack of distinction once those features (above were) added. I think that if I break down their offerings (from here) it may clarify why you are not experiencing a difference. This is my 2 cents and I'm no expert but spent time researching back and forth. Most people @ vzw have no idea about any of this having NEVER added these features to anyone. Please note, I'm sure you signed up for the services listed on this page (initially, I did too). Leaving WPS aside (see below), MBP is the only other listed service and makes you assume that its the gold standard - it's far from it. Actually, almost as far as you can get. Lets dive in:

1. WPS (GETS for landline) - So there is plenty of online info for this as its a Government sponsored (and managed) program that (essentially) routes your VOICE (only) call when used with a GETS/WPS option, with elevated priority bypassing many of the protections and limitations in place on the switched and wireless networks. WPS is the wireless version of GETS. WPS is available on all carriers once approved by DHS. Here's VZW's solution brief: WPS
2. Mobile Broadband Priority - This is an elevated (per vzw, mostly for products, like mifi's) data feature that elevates a request but, as best i can tell, only works when a "disaster strikes" - that is, its available but not active. How/who declares an "emergency" or "disaster" is anyone's guess - hence you not seeing a difference. Additionally, this is not "preemption" but elevation (think Disney FastPass) in the queue. Solution brief: MBP
3. Preemption - This is where VZW's offerings get interesting. What preemption does, is exactly what it sounds like - preempts any commercial traffic (seemingly data only) to the cell site/node. In this case you are "always on" (unlike MBP) and will actually kick someone off the node to complete your request. This is known as "ruthless preemption". (this is probably what you thought you had ). Once activated on your line, this happens automatically when network congestion/traffic is at peak loads. This is what you may want for your device. Of note, VZW claims that the chances of priority or preemption (needing to) happen(ing) are minuscule as their network is soooo robust. Solution brief: Preemption
4. Responder Private Core - This is product that acts (for end user) most like FirstNet (IMO). It's VZW's name for dedicated block allocation on the LTE network for "Responder". Per their brief, "The Responder Private Core segregates public safety traffic from Verizon commercial and consumer traffic. This means public safety agencies don’t have to compete with commercial users to access the network." Simple - a dedicated network. Not sure, as i've been sent in loops by VZW, if it can actually be activated and added to an account. I'll update if I get it. Solution brief: RPC
5. Private Network Traffic Management - I know the least about "PNTM" but from what I gather, its essentially a Verizon network VPN and QOS platform for critical on demand devices. I don't (personally) see the need unless SHTF on a serious level and your mission critical applications need priority routing over the network. In my mind, i equate this to a using layer 2 switching (which is what they use) to more efficiently and speedily connect devices on the verizon backbone. One thing I am unclear about in VZW's offering is how (and it is only in this "feature"?) does their access class barring (ACB - LTE's radio transmission prioritization protocol. see 4.2 in brief) work differently (or does it) to prioritize Public Safety subscribers (with class 11 - 15) and ruthlesly preeempt non-PS subscribers (classes 0 - 9) "ruthlessly" - is it different (for prioritization) than #3 or 4? Solution brief: PNTM

I want to just make clear that alot of these items can be added (and overlapped) by enterprise CSR's once you are approved as an authorized First Responder account. (BTW, I use "First Responder" here synonymous with anyone in the public safety/ES/Recovery industry). I for example have, WPS, MBP and Preemption active on my account. I am trying to add RPC to my account as our communication system should operate outside of the commercial network and always have dedicated bandwidth/spectrum. I imagine, similar to FirstNet, you have rock solid reliability (aka, cell coverage) but sometimes at the cost of speed. Time will tell.

I'm sure i'm leaving stuff out and there are other offerings (like but ask away if you want clarification or have other/better knowledge.

#burtinboy