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In the Know BROADER SPECTRUM AHEAD FOR SECURITY AND FIRST RESPONDERS by Jay Hauhn Jay Hauhn, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Industry Relations at Tyco Integrated Security, has more than 30 years' industry experience and is a member of SSI's Hall of Fame. jhauhn@adt.com O n Feb. 22, President Obama signed the "Middle Class Tax Relief" legislation. While the tax implication of that bill was the big story, also included in the bill was legislation that fi nally provided nationwide spectrum for use by fi rst responders. T e events of 9/11 brought to the forefront the challenges our fi rst responders have with electronic communications. T e lack of interoperability between the communications methods deployed by fi rst responders meant fi refi ghters were not aware that police offi cers received orders to evacuate. Tragically, many fi refi ghters lost their lives because the communications technology they were provided failed them. T e 9/11 commission recognized this failure and thus recommended legislation be passed that would provide increased spectrum allocation for public safety use. Finding and then allocating spectrum for public safety use has not been easy. As we become an ever- increasing wireless world, our thirst for spectrum has become insatiable. Timing is everything. T e transition from analog to digital television opened up considerable spectrum, which the FCC divided into fi ve blocks, called A, B, C, D and E blocks. T e government raised considerable funds in auctioning off most of that spectrum. However, use of D-block required the winning bidder to establish public-private partnership with the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST.) T at requirement led to lower bids that did not meet the $1.3 billion reserve price. Consequently, through the tireless eff orts of the PSST, led by Chief Harlin McEwen, the need to assign the D-Block exclusively for use by public safety gained momentum. T e ultimate assignment of D-block for public safety was fi nally realized when the president signed the bill in February. While the spectrum allocation was a huge step, it is only the beginning. T e legislation established the "First Responder Network Authority" (FRNA) referred to as FirstNet. FirstNet will be part of the National Technology Information Administration. Also established was the Public Safety Trust Fund, within the Treasury Department, which was seeded with a $7 billion allocation for construction of the network. T ere is a high probability that the network deployed for public safety will use Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. As we all know from our own use of smart mobile devices, higher wireless data rates provided by LTE open up a plethora of applications. T e applications that are enabled for use by fi rst responders are why this is important to the fi re and security industry, for manufacturers as well as integrators. T e interoperability promise of this network goes well beyond enabling fi rst responder departments to share data with each other. Mobile applications that provide fi rst responders with real-time situational awareness will become the norm and will have a tremendous impact on public as well as fi rst responder safety. Eventually, it is not unreasonable to expect fi re alarm systems, video management systems, building management systems, card access systems, etc., to have secure interfaces to applications deployed by fi rst responders. Information from a building, delivered direct to a fi re offi cer as the engine is rolling to an event will help prepare him for what he will encounter once on scene. T at could be information about what additional fi re 82 / SECURITYSALES.COM / OCTOBER 2012 Eventually, it is not unreasonable to expect fire alarm, video management, building management and card access systems to have secure interfaces to applications deployed by first responders. Information from a building delivered to a fire officer as the engine is rolling to an event will help prepare him for what he will encounter on scene. sensors have activated and where those sensors are located, allow the fi re offi cer to view cameras in the building or know if the air handlers have shut down or are evacuating smoke. T at only scratches the surface of what will eventually be possible to enhance overall safety. Accomplishing this will require that FirstNet and NIST drive the creation of standards that allow such interoper- ability. T ese standards must be such an enabler, while protecting the intel- lectual property rights of manufactur- ers that drive innovation. As chairman of the Security Industry Association I look forward to SIA representing fi re and security manufacturers in this worthwhile eff ort.