Small Cells Tested in Public Safety’s Band 14

August 15, 2013

Bay Area Regional Interoperable Communications Authority (BayRICS) will oversee the build out and operation of one of the first LTE networks designed exclusively for public safety, which will eventually become part of the FirstNet nationwide public safety broadband network. The Band Class 14 LTE test network will take place in Silicon Valley using small cells provided by PureWave Networks.

“Small cells offer capabilities that will be very useful for public safety wireless networks, and there is much that we can learn about their use and applications from this trial,” said Barry Fraser, general manager, BayRICS. “We are eager to propose specific test scenarios and will monitor the results closely for useful information as we work with FirstNet to develop our regional broadband network.”

The BayRICS Authority is a 13-member Joint Powers Authority (JPA) representing the San Francisco Bay Area, which is responsible for funding, policy and oversight of regional public safety communications projects.

The network will consist of PureWave Networks’ Constellation family of small cell eNodeBs and will operate for the remainder of the year. Small cells will be demonstrated in a range of public safety deployment scenarios. Planned capability demonstrations include deployable networks, multi-tenant small cells and multi-operator core networks.

“Small cells will play a critical role in future public safety networks,” said Ronen Vengosh, PureWave’s vice president of marketing and business development. “In addition to increasing network capacity, small cells are the only effective solution for providing coverage in indoor public venues where public safety communications are required and for providing deployable, ad-hoc network coverage for incident management and event support.”

As part of the trial, PureWave is collaborating with a number of industry partners to evaluate unique eco-system solutions that will offer first responders advanced capabilities, including virtualized evolved packet core (EPC) solutions, and EPC-lite options hosted within the eNodeB itself. The company will also be testing the performance characteristics of the network with different UE types across a wide range of deployment scenarios and applications.

Other FirstNet pilot programs will take place in Adams County, Colo.; Charlotte, N.C.; Mississippi; Los Angeles; New Jersey; New Mexico; and Harris County, Texas.