Economic feasibility of mobile broadband network for public safety and security

Abstract

The financing of mobile broadband data networks for public safety agencies is a pressing issue all across Europe where those networks are needed to support new applications of the public safety administration. The study compares dedicated and commercial network-based solutions, both of which supply LTE mobile broadband data services to Finnish PSS (Public Safety and Security) agencies in the 700 MHz band. The business case for a new PSS mobile data network is a sum of the additional values (i.e. the improved service, internal efficiency and impact on GDP) that would be yielded to society minus the costs to deliver those new services. In the commercial network case it is presumed that the commercial operator has already built the network and only additional costs, such as hardening of the existing network, are taken into account in addition to the monthly fee defined according to the heavy business user profile. In the dedicated network case it is assumed that the network is built utilizing also the existing TETRA network sites and services. The time frame of the business case calculation is the next ten years. Based on the study, the commercial mobile service is competitive in rural areas — if non-availability issues such as the disruption of the power supply are improved as well as some crucial functionality for PSS users are added. The business case for the dedicated LTE network is better than that of the commercial network when the population density is greater than 100…200 persons per km2. For the areas located in between rural and urban areas, either a dedicated LTE network or a commercial-based solution would yield the highest surplus to society, depending on the local circumstances of each area. The study concludes with the proposal that the shared spectrum should be used by both commercial and public safety users — the spectrum being allocated for public safety users in urban areas, while in other areas being freely usable by any mobile subscriber. A hybrid solution, where the PSS mobile service is implemented using both the dedicated network and the commercial networks is proposed.