[ANSS-netops] 4.9 GHz and 700 MHz public safety spectrum

[Nathan L Edwards]

Hi all,

I am wondering if anyone has looked into utilizing the 4.9 GHz or 700 MHz public safety bands.  These are set aside for "public safety" outfits (seismic data certainly qualifies under the very liberal criteria I have seen) at state, county and municipal levels (federal entities are prohibited) as well as certain non-governmental organizations.  I have had some difficulty finding licensing information on this and seems to vary state to state, but licenses are - as I understand it - not site specific and good for an entire state.  They seem to offer a lot of the protections of regular licensed solutions without the drawbacks (higher cost, site-specific licenses, etc.) and seems like it may be a good fit for regional network telemetry.  Point-to-point and multipoint radios are available.

If anyone can offer any experience with this (hardware, licensing procedures, etc.) or can correct me on the information I have presented here, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Nathan Edwards
Development Technician
Nevada Seismological Laboratory
University of Nevada Reno
Reno, NV 89557-0174
o:  775-784-1106
m:  775-303-5899
f:  775-784-4165