Plan for public safety communication network hits snags.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: COMMUNICATIONS

* A Federal Communications Commission plan that would sell to the private sector valuable spectrum that was once reserved for public safety agencies is facing stiff opposition from lawmakers and the Department of Homeland Security.

At issue is the D block of radio spectrum that became free when the FCC ended analog television broadcasts in June 2009.

Original plans called for portions of the block, which has 10 megahertz of spectrum, to be used by federal, state and local public safety organizations. Both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina highlighted the need for interoperable communication systems that would allow all government agencies involved in emergency management to easily communicate with each other.

A 2008 auction that would have sold the D block to a provider--which in turn would have offered its services to public safety agencies--only garnered one bid. The FCC, however, said that bid was too low, and the plan remained in limbo for the remainder of the Bush administration.

In March, the FCC released the National Broadband Plan, which called for the D block to be auctioned off to commercial providers. They would sell their wireless broadband services to consumers, but with the provision that public safety agencies be given priority access in times of emergency. This would give the private sector an incentive to invest in and build up the system's infrastructure, the FCC plan said.

The D block would allow first responders to use wireless broadband, and all the applications that it supports, such as smart-phone technology that could send live, streaming video of a disaster scene to other agencies or back to a command-and-control center. The block is also prized by both first responders and telecommunications providers for its ability to penetrate walls and other structures.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced bills that will require the FCC to revert to the original plan and give the D block to the public safety sector.

Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Liebermann, I-Conn., introduced the First Responders Protection Act of 2010. Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., and Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., introduced similar legislation in the House.

"It is outrageous ... that federal and local agencies are unable to communicate with each other in the matter of a national emergency," McCain said at a press conference announcing the bill. Standing with McCain and Liebermann were representatives from firefighting and police organizations.

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