North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Continues to Address Cyber Security

In the effort to better secure the North American power grid from cyber attack, significant milestones have been reached by NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection program. “Cyber security and critical infrastructure protection continue to be a top priority for our organization as we work to ensure the reliability of the bulk power system in North America,” commented NERC’s CEO, Rick Sergel.

Sergel recently announced significant progress has been made in the following areas of the program:

Revised Cyber Security Standards Recently Approved:
The standards have been filed for regulatory approval in the United States and are already mandatory and enforceable in parts of Canada.

Special Cyber Risk Preparedness Assessment to Begin:
Generalized, aggregated results from the assessment will be used to inform standards development activities, alert the industry to potential areas of concern, and identify areas where research and development investment is needed.

Secure Alerting Portal Enters Pre-Launch Testing Phase:
This new portal will facilitate NERC’s alerts process, whereby the organization is able to notify nearly 5,000 industry personnel at utilities, grid operations centers, power plants, and transmission facilities of emerging vulnerabilities as they arise.

Electric Industry Education Initiative:
Scheduled to begin with a series of online webinars, the initiative will include secured and classified industry briefings coordinated with the U.S. and Canadian governments.

To learn more about the status of this NERC program, click here.

Online Spectrum Auction Fast Approaching

On July 28 & 29th, a highly desirable set of licenses will be auctioned on SpecEx.com. They consist of very high frequency (VHF) spectrum licenses covering the state of Florida and part of Georgia. This spectrum is attractive due to its geographic coverage and the wide availability of compatible analog and digital radio equipment from leading vendors.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) frequently utilizes auctions to sell spectrum to commercial entities. However, auctions have not been used to sell spectrum rights on the secondary or “aftermarket" for spectrum. SpecEx, the online marketplace for spectrum™, now enables buyers and sellers to participate private spectrum auctions.

There are a total of 31 Market-Based VHF licenses available in this particular auction. All licenses will be sold on an individual basis, with no limit to the number of licenses one buyer can purchase.

Call 407-792-1570 x521,
email customerservice@specex.com
or visit the SpecEx auction page for more information

Spectrum Bridge and UTC Partner to Answer Spectrum Questions

The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) and Spectrum Bridge Inc. have formed a partnership that makes it easier for utilities, critical-infrastructure providers and other spectrum users to access licensed wireless spectrum.

Many questions regarding upcoming wireless choices are on the minds of UTC members who are set to start receiving American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars. Since proposals to receive federal grants are to be “shovel-ready,” decisions need to be made on what frequencies to build networks on:

Can unlicensed spectrum be used? Should licensed be acquired? To what extent can carrier’s frequencies be utilized? Maybe a hybrid of all three?

By leveraging SpecEx, the online marketplace for spectrum and Spectrum Bridge’s expertise, the UTC can provide additional spectrum choices to its members and other frequency coordination clientele.

With its extensive experience as an FCC-certified frequency coordinator, UTC can offer unbiased advice on buying or leasing spectrum to its customers, UTC officials said.

Steady Increase Reported in Backhaul Demand

The ever-growing popularity of smart phones is fueling a continuous demand for data service. The increase is helping carriers overcome declining revenues in other areas, but it is also causing the need for a buildup of backhaul systems.

Carriers will need to significantly develop stronger infrastructure in order to handle the increase in demand. According to market research firm Infonetics Research, by 2010, data traffic will surpass voice traffic on mobile networks and profit from backhaul equipment investments is set to explode over the next five years and beyond. Another key figure recently published says demand for mobile backhaul equipment is seen topping $10 billion by 2011.

Infonetics has predicted microwave solutions the big winner. It is estimated that 60 percent of backhaul cell site connections of most regions of the world are currently microwave, and demand is growing fast, including here in the U.S.

To address the demand, SpecEx, the online spectrum marketplace is working to boost their inventory of microwave frequencies and work with carriers to meet exploding customer's demands.

To read the Infonetics Research report, click here.

South Carolina Announces Successful Bidders for its Statewide WiMax Spectrum

The South Carolina Educational Broadband Service (EBS) Commission has recommended leasing spectrum to service providers to create accessible broadband to the populace. Clearwire and Digital Bridge would be allowed to lease up to 95% of South Carolina’s ETV’s unused spectrum.

Both Clearwire and Digital Bridge have committed to offering WiMax technology across the state. In exchange, the two companies would pay nearly $143 million over the course of a 30-year lease into a state general fund, including $7 million upfront.

“The proposal is a great opportunity for South Carolina,” said Neil Mellen, a committee member. “State government will enjoy much-needed revenues for basic services, such as school teachers and public safety, while the lion’s share of the spectrum will be in the hands of those most capable of successfully building it out: dedicated commercial providers. That means broader access, expanded service and lower rates for Internet access throughout South Carolina.”

But Brett Bursey, director of the S.C. Progressive Network stated “This is taxpayer-funded, the millions of dollars South Carolinians have put into building up the broadcast system could and should have resulted in the nation’s first statewide free wireless system.”

After review by a Joint Bond Review Committee, the State Budget and Control Board will have the final say on the proposal next month.

Tyco Electronics to Build New Rapid Transit Communications System

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) agency is now working with Tyco Electronics to deploy a new type of critical communications system. Called OpenSky, the technology will allow tracking of fixed route busses with GPS and provide frequencies to DART Police, light rail, para transit and vehicle lane operations. In addition, rider information such as rail to bus transitions will be linked and tracked.

When complete, the OpenSky solution will be able to handle over 3,000 indoor/outdoor radio users on a cutting edge private voice and data system covering 13 cities. It is based on the widely-accepted IS-732 protocol to support mobile applications with end-to-end TCP/IP connectivity.

Initially operating on DART's 800 and 900 spectrum, the system is a prime example of transportation agencies using wireless to enhance rider experience and streamline operations.

Although DART appears to have sufficient spectrum on-hand for this deployment, other agencies who do not have enough spectrum already available to deploy similar systems can readily buy or lease suitable spectrum on the secondary (i.e. open) market.

View the Tyco press release

Should the FCC Scrap the D-Block Auction Process?

A major carrier is asking the FCC and Congress not to re-auction the 700 MHz D-Block and instead directly allocate it to public safety agencies.

Steve Zipperstein (pictured) of Verizon Wireless spoke in Washington DC on allocating the D-Block to First Responders to deploy an interoperable network. Mr. Zipperstein, Vice President for Legal and External Affairs and Verizon’s General Counsel, called on the FCC to avoid requiring deployment of a specific technology, but instead to create “a national technical framework” that would create an interoperable network based on an open IP backbone.

Giving the spectrum directly to public safety agencies free of charge would be appealing to these agencies, and it also eliminates the prospect of a commercial carrier obtaining spectrum and creating a potential nationwide competitor to Verizon (and AT&T).

This somewhat self-serving interest notwithstanding, the plan would ultimately hand 700 MHz to First Responders - which isn’t a bad idea in itself.

To read more on Verizon's request, click here.