Public Safety LTE Network Tested During Super Bowl

Emergency managers successfully tested a next-gen wireless broadband network at Super Bowl 47 in New Orleans on Sunday.

Real-time wireless video was delivered to the Emergency Operations Center from a rugged tablet supplied by the Harris Corp. to showcase 700 MHz Band 14 LTE capabilities. The demonstration is part of a six-month pilot program.

During the test, participants in the city of New Orleans' Emergency Operations Center—where multiple agencies coordinate response and recovery during emergency incidents—accessed live, streaming video from the field. The tablet is designed for operation on LTE networks.

The pilot program allows the City of New Orleans to test a series of mission-specific, public safety LTE devices and applications. The program was granted a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to operate in the 700 MHz Band 14 by the Federal Communications Commission with consent from FirstNet.

Cisco and Nokia Siemens Networks also provided technology and expertise in developing the pilot network. Harris devices and applications for LTE include the recently-introduced InTouch handheld device, BeOn Push-to-Talk application and MBC-100 vehicular modems. Cisco is supplying the local Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Nokia Siemens Networks provided eNodeB base stations.

The New Orleans pilot program follows the first nationwide public safety LTE demonstration, which was conducted by Harris in July 2012 and connected pilot programs in Las Vegas; Miami; Rochester, N.Y.; and Chelmsford, Mass., to show participants real-world use of streaming video, voice, mapping, and presence for mission-critical operations in a national scenario.