Feature Article

Free eNews Subscription>>
March 04, 2014

LTE Capacity and Interoperability Tests for Public Safety Communications Research Reaches Completion for Aviat

The goal of the Public Safety Research Communications Demonstration Program (PSCR) is designed to provide objective technical support, with a focus on fostering public safety communications interoperability. This includes research, development, testing and evaluation.

The PSRC program is a collaborative effort. To begin with it is a joint effort between the Law Enforcement Standards Office (OLES) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

In addition to these two U.S. Department of Commerce agencies, PSCR has collaborated with several private sector and public safety partners. The effort has resulted in a demonstration test bed for manufacturers, carriers and public safety agencies. This is where they can evaluate advanced broadband communications equipment and software for a future 700 MHz interoperable public safety broadband network.

This allows PSCR the ability to provide a wireless test bed. This is where interoperability between equipment from a wide variety of companies that supply mission critical communications solutions to the nation’s first responder agencies can be demonstrated.

Today Aviat Networks, Inc., which is a global provider of microwave networking solutions, providing public and private operators with communications networks to accommodate the exploding growth of IP-centric, multi-Gigabit data services, announced that it has completed LTE evaluation in the PSCR program.

The evaluation took place at the Commerce Department's Boulder Laboratories in Boulder, Colorado. In doing so, Aviat Networks becomes the first and at this time, the only vendor to deploy high-capacity microwave radios for LTE interoperability testing at PSCR in licensed spectrum.

Tony Ljubicich, who is vice president of North America sales and services for Aviat Networks, said "Aviat has worked with public safety network operators in North America for more than 50 years. The linchpin for those operators has always been the robust, wide bandwidth available in Aviat's portfolio of high reliability, high-capacity licensed microwave radios. Similarly, the Eclipse radio platform provides this to help enable the PSCR demonstration network. As a global leader in wireless infrastructure solutions for telecom networks, we welcome the challenge to prove the interoperability of Eclipse radios with other vital emergency communications equipment."

Aviat was there when PSCR’s 700MHz demonstration network needed high-bandwidth microwave backhaul radios to test LTE base stations. Aviat's LTE-proven microwave was able to provide sufficient capacity for the needs of PSCR as well as for public safety LTE.

Frank Ohrtman, an analyst and author of the Mind Commerce 2013 report “Public Safety Broadband Market: Who's on FirstNet,” made the following comments, "Public Safety Communications Research lab serves as a gatekeeper for interoperability testing of LTE products for the U.S. public safety broadband market. Ultimately, it's critical that public safety networks that want to join FirstNet purchase equipment that has been thoroughly checked out in real-world conditions, such as those that exist in the PSCR field lab."




Edited by Cassandra Tucker


FOLLOW MobilityTechzone

Subscribe to MobilityTechzone eNews

MobilityTechzone eNews delivers the latest news impacting technology in the Wireless industry each week. Sign up to receive FREE breaking news today!
FREE eNewsletter