National Broadband Plan and the Demonstration Network

The National Broadband Plan calls for the FCC to create ERIC and for ERIC to collaborate with the PSCR program on research, development, testing, evaluation, and standards with both the public safety community and industry. Download the 360-page plan in its entirety or click Explore the Plan for a breakdown of sections.

Page 317 in Chapter 16, “Public Safety,” touches on this collaborative effort as follows:

“ERIC should work with NIST’s Public Safety Communications Research Program to ensure that it collaborates in its work on research, development, testing, evaluation and standards with both the public safety community and industry. No federal laboratory facilities exist to independently test and demonstrate public safety 700 MHz broadband technologies. Creating a neutral host facility will allow all stakeholders to work together to develop a nationwide seamless public safety wireless broadband network and ensure that commercial broadband standards can meet public safety’s specific requirements. This will help make networks and equipment compatible for public safety use.

NIST has announced that it is moving forward with development of a demonstration 700 MHz public safety broadband network in FY2010. Congress should consider allocating long-term public funding to continue this and other programs that support the new public safety network.”