On Wednesday, November 15, Cyren Chairman Morgan O'Brien is set to speak at the IWCE/MRT Wireless Summit, a two-day conference focusing on the latest issues facing the communications industry.

O'Brien is participating on a panel entitled "Nationwide Interoperability: 700 MHz for Public Safety?" that will delve into the principals behind Cyren's proposal. O'Brien will be joined by Glenn Bischoff, Editor of MRT Magazine; Alan Tilles, Partner of Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker law firm; and Steve Devine, Patrol Frequency Coordinator of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Communications Division and Chair of the National Association of Regional Planning Committees (NARPC).

Click here to learn more.

Public-safety support for the notion of a nationwide, public-safety-grade, broadband network utilizing 700 MHz spectrum that would be built by commercial operators continued this week with the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association (VFCA) asking the FCC to open a proceeding to consider such a proposal.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin dated Aug. 29 but released yesterday, the VFCA described the 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum already earmarked for public-safety use as "insufficient" and requested that the commission open a proceeding to consider a proposal from Cyren Call Communications.

"Based on the tenuous state of our nation's public-safety communications systems, a discussion of this nature is long overdue," according to the VCFA letter.

To read the full article, click here

The Virginia Fire Chiefs Association (VFCA), wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission requesting initiation of a proceeding to allow public consideration of and comment on the Cyren Call Communications' Petition for Rule Making for a nationwide, state-of-the-art, seamless, next generation broadband network for public safety.

To read VFCA's letter, please click here.

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) yesterday asked Congress and the FCC to seek public comment on the Cyren Call Communications proposal to use 30 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum for a public-private network built to public-safety specifications.

Although NENA's focus is on 911 systems, the organization did not hesitate to take a position on the spectrum issue, said Patrick Halley, NENA's government affairs director.

"More and more, NENA is looking at 911 not as a standalone system but as part of bigger system," Halley said. "We believe the 911 system of the future will let video from a robbery be sent to a PSAP or allow a picture to be sent from a wireless phone to a dispatcher. But all of that's going to [require] a broadband connection."

To read the full article click here.

The National Emergency Number Association (NENA), an organization whose mission it is to foster the technological advancement, availability, and implementation of a universal emergency telephone number system, passed a resolution urging Congress and the FCC to initiate proceedings in an accelerated manner to seek public comment on the Cyren Call Communications proposal to license 30 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 700 MHz band to a public safety trust for public safety use and for the creation and use of a national broadband network.

"NENA appreciates the innovative approach and the significant potential benefits to the public safety community of this plan. We also appreciate the timing of this proposal. Our nation has a one-time opportunity to take advantage of the clearance of a nationwide block of 30 MHz of frequencies in the 700 MHz spectrum band. These frequencies are adjacent to spectrum currently occupied by public safety or allocated for use by public safety and would provide additional spectrum and capacity for a next-generation broadband network because of its one-of-a-kind physical properties. We will lose a tremendous opportunity to improve public safety through improved interoperability if a debate is not initiated to license this spectrum to public safety for a nationwide broadband network before this spectrum is auctioned off and lost forever. The spectrum offers perhaps the last meaningful chance for creating a fully interoperable, advanced public safety emergency communications system capable of using broadband and wideband technologies linking each and every local, state, and federal emergency response entity."

To read NENA's statement click here.

ORLANDO , FL -- Morgan O'Brien, chairman of Cyren Call Communications Corp., issued the following comment on the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials' (APCO) statement today. In its statement, APCO urges that 30 MHz of the spectrum that will become available after the transition from analog to digital TV broadcasts should be set aside to enable an advanced national network for public safety communications:

"We appreciated the good dialogue at the APCO Conference and the many insights shared by public safety leaders taking part in the meetings. APCO's statement reflects the strong public interest, vision and leadership of its members. As the statement notes, APCO has long advocated for additional spectrum that will enable effective public safety communications including advanced broadband applications. At present, such capabilities are widely available to commercial sectors and private citizens in the U.S. – but not to the vast majority of our first responders."

O'Brien, who participated in a panel discussion and other meetings during APCO's annual conference in Orlando this week, added, "We've done a lot of listening this week to public safety officials from across the country. What I've heard from these leaders is a strong interest in a public/private solution that combines the requirements of the public safety community with elements of the commercial market."

"We look forward to working with APCO, other public safety organizations, interested industry members and government leaders to develop a public/private partnership that will safeguard our citizens and serve our communities now and for generations to follow. This is the right thing to do, especially as we are reminded today that there are still those who are plotting to harm Americans."

RCR Wireless News
Aug 10, 2006
By Heather Forsgren Weaver

WASHINGTON - The Association of Public-safety Communications Officials endorsed Cyren Call Communications Corp.'s proposal that would set aside 30 megahertz of spectrum in the upper 700 band for a next-generation public-safety network that industry would build and share with first responders.

This spectrum is currently slated to be auctioned in 2008.

"Rather than auctioning the spectrum, a more viable approach would be to assign the 30 megahertz to a government-created entity that, through public/private partnerships, would construct and operate a nationwide broadband network to address public-safety communications requirements," said APCO in a statement. "An auction would forever place control of the spectrum in the hands of commercial enterprises that do not have public safety as their principal overriding objective. In contrast, assigning the spectrum to a government-created entity with public/private partnerships would ensure that a broadband network developed for the spectrum, while used in part for commercial purposes, would be built and maintained to public-safety specifications, including coverage, reliability, survivability, functionality and on-demand access. Critical first-responder communications should not be dependent upon the business plans, successes or failures of commercial providers."

Read the full article here.

RCRMobile Radio Technology
Aug 10, 2006
By Donny Jackson

ORLANDO—The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials today announced its support for reallocating 30 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum—currently designated to be auctioned—so it can be used for a nationwide broadband data network for public safety, but run by commercial operators.

"What we're saying is that we support the concept and the 30 MHz for public safety," APCO President Wanda McCarley said in an interview with MRT at APCO's annual conference here. "I think the big challenge is getting that spectrum off the auction block. That's the critical issue."

APCO issued the statement one day after Cyren Call Communications CEO Morgan O'Brien outlined a plan to address the projected $5 billion budget shortfall Congress would face if the 30 MHz of 700 MHz airwaves—half of the 60 MHz in the band scheduled to be auctioned by February 2008—was licensed to public safety.

Read the full article here.

The Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP) passed a resolution urging Congress and the FCC to let Cyren Call present their proposal at a federal level.

"All we're asking for is that Congress and the FCC give them (Cyren Call officials) a chance to present their proposal at a federal level," MACP Executive Director Tom Hendricksen said in an interview with MRT. "We're looking for a conversation on it at the federal level, before they auction the spectrum."

Michigan emergency responders realized the need for such a system last year when their radios were unable to operate on Louisiana systems in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hendricksen said.

Read the full article here.