Frequency Coordination An AASHTO service for all Public safety

Public Safety Radio First Responders (Police, Fire and EMS) Highway Maintenance Traffic Control Advisories Data New services (VII, DSRC, ITS)

The Role of the Coordinator The FCC defines frequency coordination as: “The process of obtaining a frequency that will most effectively meet the applicant’s needs while minimizing interference to licensees already operating in the band” Many states have only ONE coordinator

AASHTO Services AASHTO can coordinate all Public Safety frequencies:  Relieving the local coordinator’s burden  Rapidly process applications leading to faster licensing  Competitive Pricing  AASHTO is the Public Safety Frequency Coordinator for the State of California

Special Committee on Wireless Technology Purpose  Support Frequency Coordination Needs  Input to FCC Rules and Regulations SCOWT conferences provide:  Training  New Techniques and Technologies  New FCC Rules and Regulations  Mentoring  Support

Contact Bill Brownlow, AASHTO Telecommunications Manager

Frequency Coordination RadioSoft’s full-time staff of RF Engineers and Coordinators Deliver complex radio system engineering and design solutions

Other Options Cellular Telephone / Nextel / Pager  Only in highly populated areas  Easily overloaded in an emergency  Inflexible design – Blackberry  Same limitations as Cellular  Unsafe to operate while driving

Commercial vs. Public Safety Public Safety Systems cover a geographical area regardless of population Commercial networks allocated by population rather than area Systems overload / shut down in emergencies One-to-One not One-to-Many design No control

New Services VII – Vehicle to Infrastructure Integration DSRCS – Dedicated Short-Range Communications Service 75 MHz reclaimed from Federal use  1 Control Channel  2 10 MHz Public Safety only channels  “Communications involving the safety of life have access priority over all other DSRC communications.”

DSRC Issues State and Local Governments may have a non-exclusive license for all DSRCS frequencies based on geo-political boundaries (State, County, City) All other eligible applicants are issued licenses based on their proposed area of operations which may include nationwide.

DSRC Issues (2) Command and Control No frequencies assigned for commands  No spectrum assigned for talking to RSUs No frequencies assigned for reporting  No assigned spectrum for the RSUs to talk back to Central Operations

The Spectrum Conundrum Virtually ALL Public Safety Communications is in 4 Bands 700 – 869 MHz Band 450 – 512 MHz UHF Band 150 – 170 MHz VHF Band  70% of all Licensed Stations are in this Band 30 – 50 MHz Low Band