An Essay
27 August 2009

Note: This is the text of a presentation made by Bill Schrier at an FCC Workshop on the National Broadband Plan. The workshop schedule is here. The slideshare version of this presentation is here.

A Vision for Fibering and Un-Fibering America
The National Broadband Plan
FCC Workshop: Public Safety and Homeland Security
25 August 2009
Bill Schrier, Chief Technology Officer City of Seattle, Washington, USA
The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials

Summary

The technologies used by the public and public safety officers in the United States to communicate are evolving and improving. But America’s present wired and unwired networks lack sufficient bandwidth to accommodate these newer communications technologies and applications. The National Broadband plan should set a goal to build a national fiber network to every home and business in the nation, coupled with fourth generation wireless broadband networks for both private and public safety uses. Such a plan will not only be an engine for economic development and improve public safety, but will make the United States more secure by reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

History of Communications

Throughout our history, the United States has built many national networks. These networks include the telegraph, electrical grid, telephone, radio, public safety radio, broadcast television, national highway system, cable television, cellular telephone and Internet. The lessons from this history are clear:

• Private companies and public agencies (such as local governments) have participated in this construction.
• Each of these networks has improved the economy through the creation of jobs and the expansion of business.
• Each of these networks has improved public safety either directly (e.g. 911 systems, ANI/ALI, public safety radio systems) or indirectly, by improving information collection or distribution.
• Congress and the FCC have actively enabled much of this explosive growth via thoughtful regulation of telecommunications, radio, television and the airwaves.

New Technologies have Great Potential

Since 1990, we’ve developed several new networks and many new applications to use them. Specifically:

• The Internet is widely available, at relatively low speeds (cable modems, DSL). Internet-based applications include web browsing, electronic mail and social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube).
• Cellular telephone and data networks now cover much of the nation. Besides phone calls, newer applications include text messaging (SMS) and even multi-media. Many cell phones have integrated still image cameras; many will have video cameras in the future. Freeing of 700 MHz spectrum through the digital transition will enable more bandwidth for these networks.
• Use of digital photography and video is exploding. Many homes have digital or high-definition television sets. Surveillance video – both public and private – is expanding. Many police cars now have video cameras. Handheld still and video digital cameras are in widespread use among the public. Private citizens increasingly use and share video via many websites such as hulu.com and YouTube.

Public Safety and Technology Change

For the most part, public safety, emergency management and homeland security agencies have not harnessed these new applications. To a great extent, insufficient bandwidth is available in public and government networks to accommodate these bandwidth-intensive applications. Potential public safety and emergency management uses include:

• Video telephony. More and more homes and businesses will have digital and high definition television sets. Inexpensive HD video cameras, coupled with HD sets will allow two-way video telephony. This, in turn, would allow video telephone calls into 911 centers. Such calls have great potential for to reduce or collect evidence to solve assaults, domestic violence, burglary-in-progress and similar calls.
• Video surveillance. Both public and private video surveillance cameras can be tied into 911 centers to allow rapid viewing of crime scenes, incident scenes and disaster response.
• Mobile video. Video cameras on cell phones and in police vehicles could, with sufficient wireless bandwidth, become two-way, so dispatchers and supervisors could view video in real-time from officers at a call. This improves both the safety of the public and of the public safety officers responding to crimes, fires and emergency medical incidents.
• Next generation 911 will scratch the surface for using these new technologies, e.g. text messages and sending images, but may not be able to handle the proliferation of video telephony and high-definition two-way video feeds.

All these applications are very bandwidth-intensive. A single HD television feed, one way, is 6 million bits per second, uncompressed. Multiple feeds (e.g. multiple television sets) and two-way video feeds require even more bandwidth. Today’s’ copper wire and coaxial cable networks are incapable of such high speeds. Even fourth generation wireless networks will not have sufficient capacity to reach every home and business with multiple two-way HD video streams, in addition to voice, data and other bandwidth demands.

The Recommendation: Build National Fiber and 4th Generation Wireless Networks

The National Plan should embrace construction of a fiber network to every home and business in the United States, just as, a hundred years ago, we built the copper wire telephone network to every premise. These fiber networks would also interconnect PSAPs, 911 Centers and other government locations. Using both existing and new fiber networks as a wired base for radio sites, we can build fourth generation (LTE, WiMax) wireless networks. Private 4G networks planned and under construction by telecommunications carriers can interconnect the mobile public. Government public safety 4G networks built with the same technologies can reliably connect first responder and first responder support agencies.

Fiber and 4G Networks have Many Uses

Beyond public safety, fiber networks have many uses required for the economic future of the nation. These uses include

• Telemedicine – linking hospitals and clinics, allowing sharing of information and diagnostics, and allowing people in their homes to visit their health care providers via two-way high-speed video with medical monitoring.
• Tele-education – linking schools, colleges and universities, so people of all ages can take classes and interact with instructors and other students via real-time two-way high-definition video and Internet links. Teachers will have access to other educators anywhere on the network, as well as to a wealth of high-definition educational content.
• True telecommuting. With very high speed data networking and two-way high definition video, true telecommuting is possible. Remote workers can collaborate with co-workers, attend meetings, talk to customers.
• Quality of life. Through two-way high-definition video, quality of life will be improved for all. Families scattered geographically can visit with each other through video conferencing from their homes. The elderly and others confined to their homes can use two-way video to better connect with friends and family.
• Every home and business will be a potential video studio creating new opportunities for entertainment, interactive gaming and showcasing of products and business using video telephony.

Homeland Security and Environmental Benefits

The applications described above will reduce the need for automobile and public transit use. If the high-speed fiber network is national we could also reduce highly polluting aircraft trips. These panel presentations to the FCC, for example, could be conducted by panel members scattered across the nation. Such video conferencing also improves productivity, by reducing the amount of time lost in travel and in traffic jams. Traffic reductions reduce the strain on transportation infrastructure, so fewer resources need be devoted to expansion and replacement of that infrastructure. Fewer automobile trips also mean a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Less gasoline use also means less dependence on foreign oil, which not only improves the balance of trade but also makes the homeland more secure.

A Daunting Task

Building national fiber-to-the-premise and fourth generation wireless networks is a daunting task and a noble long-term goal. There are 163 million wired telephone lines and 255 million mobile phones in this nation of 306 million people. (CIA Factbook) There are 6,181 PSAPs in the United States and 99% of the nation’s population is covered. An estimated 240 million calls a year are made to 911, about one-third from mobile phones (NENA). There are 111,000,000 households / occupied housing units in the United States (2005-US Census), and 22,659,000 small businesses (Small Business Administration – 2003) to be connected with a fiber network. With leadership and vision, the National Broadband Plan will include a truly 21st Century network, fiber-to-the-premise, across the United States. With funding of pilot projects and leveraging private sector investments, we can build such a network, just like we built the telegraph, telephone, and the Internet.