"Wireless Technologies: Enabling Innovation, Economic Growth and Public Safety"
April 17, 2009 The National Press Club Washington, D.C.
Steve Zipperstein, Vice President-Legal, External Affairs & General Counsel
Thank you, John Mayo, for that kind introduction. It is a privilege to be here to kick-off what I know will be a very full day of important and timely discussion.
It is no exaggeration to say that we're at a tipping point that will unleash the next great wave of wireless innovation - as the title of this conference suggests. Nor is it a leap to say that the benefits to society will be profound.
Just as 3G spawned true mobility for broadband data -- as evidenced by all the texting, twittering and emailing that will go on in this room today -- the speed, bandwidth and innovation of 4G will take today's online experiences and social networking to a whole new realm. Mobile connections and mobile connectivity will become deeply embedded into the core of our lives and everything we touch.
Your discussion here today is also very timely, in light of the economy. I don't mean to minimize the challenges our country faces as we try to get our economy moving again. But we all know that wireless innovation has been a significant growth engine of our country's prosperity for the last 25 years, and that it will play a vital role in leading us out of the current recession.
Consider that wireless carriers employ more than a quarter million Americans and last year alone invested $20 billion in our networks, plus paid another $20 billion to the U.S. Treasury in the 700 MHz spectrum auction. Can anyone here name one other industry that actually PAID 20 billion dollars to the Treasury last year? And our partners and suppliers also did their share, investing billions more to develop handsets, apps, chipsets, network components, batteries and operating systems.
At this tipping point to 4G innovation, we anticipate the next 25 years will be every bit as dynamic as wireless' first 25 - an outcome that will be hugely important to our country long-term AND short-term, as a growth engine for putting our economy back on the path to prosperity -- from revolutionizing ways for utilities and homeowners to manage energy...to making businesses more productive... to improving the quality and reducing the cost of healthcare...to mobile connections we haven't yet dreamed of.
The 700 MHz spectrum is an important part of the wireless growth engine. Earlier this year, we announced our plan to begin deploying a 4G broadband network using LTE technology as soon as the transition to digital TV is complete. We expect others to follow our lead.
Indeed, nearly 100 companies emerged from the 700 MHz auction with spectrum that will enable them to participate in the 4G revolution.
And, 700 MHz is not the only game in town. Sprint Clearwire, a joint venture which counts Google and Intel among its key strategic investors, has already begun to deploy its 4G WiMAX network using the substantial amounts of spectrum it has in other bands, and the FCC has issued more than 1,000 licenses for Advanced Wireless Service - or AWS-- spectrum that will allow many others to deploy 4G networks. Not only will building this infrastructure contribute to economic growth, but it will be the on-ramp for all the device and application innovations that will complete the promise of 4G for the American consumer.
The industry is moving fast in that area as well. In late 2007 we at Verizon Wireless launched our Open Development Initiative to help third-party developers certify their devices to run on our network. We also recently announced that we will create the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center as an incubator for developers of consumer electronics, telematics and machine-to-machine wireless products. And today we are announcing LTE standards for our 700 MHz spectrum, and are inviting the device developer community to have at it - to develop new and innovative 4G devices to operate on our network in this new paradigm of openness.
The result is a robustly competitive playing field of wireless companies all making significant investments for our 4G future. I certainly don't need to remind this group of economists and policy-makers that we're here in large part because Congress and the FCC had the foresight to establish a flexible and deregulatory framework for the wireless industry. This limited regulatory approach led to explosive growth in innovation, competition, and investment in wireless networks, providing huge benefits to consumers and the national economy.
But we have not been content to rest on our laurels. Wireless carriers are constantly expanding their products and services, because in the fiercely competitive wireless market they must innovate and improve constantly to attract and retain customers. Policymakers deserve a huge share of the credit, because they have given wireless carriers the flexibility to change course and respond quickly to consumers' needs. Policymakers must continue to ensure that the appropriate balance between regulatory oversight and market freedom remains in place to encourage, and not discourage, more of the massive private sector investment and resulting economic benefits that wireless has delivered to this country for the past quarter century.
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But, today, I'd like to talk about another critical piece of the 4G future - ensuring our nation's first responders have access to these advanced communications capabilities. It is fitting that we discuss those issues today because this week is "National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week." But, it is even more fitting because, as the country prepares to invest in its 4G future, it is important that emergency communications not be an afterthought.
It is absolutely critical that first responders - all first responders -- have access to effective, reliable communications - not just during emergencies, but every hour of every day. In fact, to do their jobs even more effectively and more safely, first responders need reliable, interoperable 4G broadband communications to support real-time, high-quality video and multimedia content and to open up real-time access to valuable information sources, like crime labs and closed circuit video.
When I think back to my own days as a federal prosecutor, I can point to many occasions where the federal, state and local law enforcement agents and first responders I worked with every day would have benefited from such advanced communications capabilities.
The considerable investments that are being made in 4G technology clearly demonstrate that we have the know-how and the technology to make this happen. What we need is a clear national strategy to ensure that the dream of next generation wireless broadband technology is a reality for America's first responders.
I. Interoperability: A Call to Arms
It was in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 when we first started talking seriously and nationally about communication interoperability. We know from the 9/11 Commission Report that rescue efforts would have been better coordinated had the NYPD and the FDNY been better able to communicate seamlessly with each other.
Now, 7 ½ years later, we are still wrestling with this difficult problem. While efforts have been made by state and local governments to make their legacy voice systems interoperable those efforts have not come without considerable difficulty and expense, and they are still ongoing. We must learn from this experience.
This is not just about events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. As I said earlier, this is about the day-to-day, mission critical job every first responder performs in protecting public safety in this country. Therefore, before broadband public safety networks are built, the right spectrum and technology policies should be in place to ensure that interoperability is built-in and embedded from day one --- and not an afterthought that only comes after a major emergency to be forgotten a few weeks later.
We need to stop treating interoperability as some adjunct "project," and instead make it the National Security imperative that it truly is - on a par with other national security imperatives.
So how do we overcome the inertia?
- We need bold action: It is time for a new direction. We need to set aside the models of the past, and think outside the box.
- We need this bold action urgently: we have a window of opportunity with a new administration and a new Congress. Addressing these issues should be a top priority.
- And we need a bold plan: The plan must meet the 21st Century needs of our first responders, and be fully funded to ensure its implementation.
Let's not arrive at the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 without having a plan for fixing this problem once and for all. We must act quickly. It is too vital to our first responders -- the brave men and women on our front line -- and to the 300 million Americans they protect.
II. The Plan: Tapping the Public-Private partnership
So what would such a bold plan look like?
I suggest we rally around a new public-private partnership approach, the one put forward by the NYPD and supported by many municipalities around the country.
This approach would ensure that control over the process remains in the hands of those that best understand public safety's needs -- state and local law enforcement and first-responder agencies.
In my view, a regional approach that is driven by state and local interests will achieve the goal of nation-wide interoperability better than one that relies on a single national solution. So let's give public safety what it needs:1) the spectrum; 2) the funding; and 3) a solid national plan to carry out this strategy.
I believe there are four key - and interdependent - principles.
First: the D Block 700 MHz spectrum should be reallocated to Public Safety, directly.
Granted, that requires Congressional action -- so let's make that a priority. By providing public safety with both access to sufficient spectrum AND direct control over its use, Congress can ensure that the D Block is used to meet public safety's expanding communications needs.
Second: the D block spectrum and the adjoining 10 MHz of public safety broadband spectrum should be licensed to public safety agencies on a state and local (or regional) basis.
Direct assignment of all of the spectrum to state and local public safety entities will enable them to have greater control over network design and day-to-day operation, based on local factors such as geography, population distribution, public safety capacity needs, and existing commercial network deployment.
Third: a national technical framework must be established that will ensure nationwide interoperability.
While local or regional networks may be the best way to satisfy public safety diverse needs, letting them develop independently without any guiding national principles would simply repeat the mistakes of the past. This problem can be avoided by using IP-based solutions and establishing national technical standards that ensure these IP networks work together as one.
The result is a true nationwide network made up of regional and local networks all singing the same tune - in essence, a "network of networks."
Fourth: public safety should be free to select the commercial partner or partners of their choice, using an RFP process or similar competitive approach to best meet their individual needs.
Establishing local or regional partnerships that are tailored specifically to meet the needs of individual public safety agencies across the country is more likely to achieve the nation's overarching objectives than attempting to establish a single national partnership through an auction, which would require public safety to commit to a single model that may not satisfy their individual requirements.
By establishing a national plan that follows these principles, and providing state and local government with federal funding to implement the plan, Congress puts the country in the best position to address its emergency communications needs.
The advantages of this four-principle approach are straightforward:
1. Control. Public safety gets control over its destiny - control over use of the spectrum; control over how the networks are built; and control over who they partner with.
2. Cost Savings. By partnering with the private sector, Public Safety leverages a tremendous investment in networks that have already been made - eliminating significant costs for state and local government.
3. Timely Deployment. By leveraging investments that have already been made and those that will be made in the next few years, Public Safety gets the advanced communications capabilities it needs much more quickly than it could if it were to build networks without the help of a commercial partner.
4. Interoperability. Perhaps most importantly, we finally achieve comprehensive and sustainable 4G broadband interoperability for the future.
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III: Rebutting the Critics
While this plan has the support of many in the Public Safety community, I realize there are some skeptics.
Some have argued that this plan would favor larger cities and may leave smaller and rural communities without the broadband networks they need. This is not true. In fact, because the plan necessarily includes funding for areas that are un-served or under-served, it is a far better solution for those areas than the FCC's proposed auction approach.
Some have argued that this plan is flawed because it does not provide an opportunity for more commercial operators to gain access to 700 MHz spectrum. That claim is also not true.
First, the problem that Congress and the FCC are trying to address is how to solve Public Safety's communications problems. It is not supposed to be about providing more spectrum for the private sector. The failure of the D Block auction has already demonstrated that the auction approach is not the best way to address those problems, and many in the Public Safety community have now concluded that direct control of the spectrum is needed.
However, the proposed local or regional RFP approach is actually more, not less, likely to provide spectrum opportunities for commercial operators. We fully expect that a shared network arrangement will be the best solution in many parts of the country. By establishing partnerships at the local or regional level, a greater number of commercial operators - large and small, national and regional - will have an opportunity to partner with Public Safety and gain access to shared spectrum - while ensuring, however, that Public Safety's needs come first.
The result is that a much broader array of operators will have an opportunity to partner with Public Safety in constructing local and/or regional 4G networks, and Public Safety will be assured of the best possible partners from which to choose.
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We at Verizon Wireless are very excited about the future of wireless, and we're making investments in 4G technology that will result in significant benefits to the U.S. economy and American consumers. Adopting the plan I've outlined today will ensure that Public Safety is at the forefront of this 4G revolution.
It is time for a bold, new direction.
It is time we get everyone to view interoperability as a matter of utmost national security.
It is time - before the 10th anniversary of 9/11 - to put the country on the right course to fix interoperability once and for all.
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Thank you for your time and attention. Have a great conference.
