Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Re: [WFHSG] AT&T Wireless Lands Priority Access Contract

From: Alan Dixon <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 21:31:15 -0400

Tim,

I am pleased to know that you have been following my concerns regarding
PAS/WPS "over the past few years".  Given this, you are no doubt well
aware of my early political involvement in this matter.  Since my initial
formal comments filed before the FCC in 1996, I have been working to
raise public and industry awareness if this ill-conceived invention of
the Clinton administration.  My first of several published reports on PAS
appeared in 1999, but as late as 2000 many within the industry and the
trade press were still totally unaware this service's ongoing
implementation.  Some had confused PAS with GETS, which as you know is
fundamentally different in several aspects.

For the benefit of others on this list, I will elaborate just a little. 
I am hardly alone in my assessment of PAS/WPS.  Substantial resistance
within the industry remains, not only among certain wireless carriers,
but within the CTIA as well.  Additionally, my series of articles
generated a groundswell of calls and e-mail from alarmed citizens who
were just learning of this plan.  If we learned any lesson at all from
9-11, it is that ordinary citizens—the first responders of the real
world, outside of the Capital Beltway—needed the strategic intelligence
provided by wireless connectivity in order to bring down United Airlines
Flight 93.  Had terrestrial wireless telephone circuits been commandeered
and unavailable, Flight 93 would doubtless have continued until impact
with its target in DC.  Government at every level and public safety have
substantial dedicated wireless resources available, exclusive of public
commercial services.  Everyday citizens have little else to which to
turn.

There is more than one reason that objections to PAS/WPS have been
raised.  The most grave concern though, is that PAS completely ignores
and bypasses the single most important use of radio communications as
upheld by tradition and convention, as well as by law in most radio
services: Immediate safety of life.  When and until all commercial
wireless calls are prioritized by urgency rather than by user "rank",
every aspect of wireless priority access service remains
intrinsically—and quite literally—fatally flawed.

The GOP platform has, in general, promoted less government intrusion into
the lives and businesses of citizens.  All of we within the party need to
bear this in the forefront of our every train of thought, and likewise
advocate policy accordingly.

Again, kind regards,

Alan Dixon
Contributing Editor
Popular Communications

Wireless Priority Access Service: "Get Less"

--- In [email-masked], Timothy J Moriarty <tmoriarty2@c...> wrote:

Mr Dixon:

Appreciate your interest.

"WPS" as a program evolved from the initial requirements 
of "PAS," as authorized by the FCC in its Report & Order, 
in the immediate post-11 September 2001 timeframe, 
based on the tasking received by NCS from the White 
House.

WPS includes not only the technical capability to meet 
the FCC's requirements for PAS, but other technical 
features to provide end-to-end priority routing on a 
call-by-call basis.  As noted on the NCS WPS website, 
WPS was fielded in its "Immediate Solution" configuration 
during 2002 in designated geographic locations and its 
"Nationwide Solution" configuration starting in December 
2002.  It's important to also keep in mind that the 
nationwide WPS configuration is designed to meet the 
FCC requirement that wireless carriers ensure "a 
reasonable amount of CMRS spectrum channels are 
available for public use," even when WPS is in use.

Additionally, regarding your previously expressed 
concerns about eligibility for the "first" vice "emergency" 
responders over the past few years, while NCS does 
state on its website that "WPS should only be 
requested for key personnel in NS/EP leadership 
positions" and that "WPS is not intended for use by 
all emergency service personnel," examination of  
the "Who Qualifies for WPS" page of the NCS 
WPS website identifies the following representative 
individuals:

 ·     Incident Command Center Managers, local emergency managers, other
state and local elected public safety officials
 ·     Local fire and law enforcement command
 ·     Emergency medical service leaders
 ·     Search and rescue team leaders
 ·     Emergency communications coordinators
 ·     Power, water and sewage and telecommunications utilities
 ·     Medical recovery operations leadership
 ·     Detailed damage assessment leadership
 ·     Disaster shelter coordination and management
 ·     Critical Disaster Field Office support personnel
 
From my perspective, I would submit that the 
discriminator for WPS eligibility is whether or 
not the individuals can be expected to use a 
cellular phone in the performance of their duties 
in responding to an emergency, especially if those 
duties are of a leadership or supervisory nature.  
It should also be remembered that it's the using 
organization that identifies who it wants to become 
a WPS subscriber, subject to NCS concurrence.

R,

Timothy J. Moriarty, Jr.
GETS/WPS IC Program Support Manager
CSC - Federal Sector

From: Alan Dixon  <wpuc720@j...>
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re: [WFHSG] AT&T Wireless Lands Priority Access Contract
30-07-04 20:08

Say, Tim-
Exactly when did we quit using "PAS" as the name of this service?? 
Kind regards,
Alan Dixon
Pop'Comm

--- In [email-masked], Timothy J Moriarty <tmoriarty2@c...> wrote:

All-
Just to clarify, it's "WPS."
The NCS WPS website is http://wps.ncs.gov/
R,
Tim

Timothy J. Moriarty, Jr.
GETS/WPS IC Program Support Manager
CSC - Federal Sector

From: Marcelrf@B...
To <[email-masked]>, <[email-masked]>
cc [email-masked]
Subject [WFHSG] AT&T Wireless Lands Priority Access Contract

AT&T Wireless Lands Priority Access Contract
BY SUSAN RUSH
JULY 27, 2004

AT&T Wireless has become the latest carrier to ink a 
contract with the U.S. government to provide wireless 
priority service (WSP) [sic] access to security and 
emergency personnel. The carrier says its first WSP [sic] 
point is the city of Boston, the host of the Democratic 
National Convention.

<snip>

http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=newsat2direct&starting=4&pub
date=07/27/04

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