Thompson Urges Quick FCC Action on 700 MHz Requests

“We recognize that there is widespread support for early deployment of public safety broadband systems on a regional, state, and local basis,” said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Subcommittee On Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response Chairman Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. “Given the Commission’s lack of progress in securing buy-in for a national public-private partnership to develop a national broadband public safety network, it is time to consider alternatives.”

Granting waivers while a rulemaking is under development “is an unusual step for a regulatory agency,” the two members conceded. “However, we believe that the homeland security imperative that first responders have a reliable interoperable communications network necessitates this approach.”

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, representing major public safety groups, said the FCC should grant the waiver requests, but require that each grantee agree to work with the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) on a national network. NPSTC also said the FCC should “proceed with caution on any waiver request that envisions a new broadband deployment with technology other than LTE” because “migrations of technology are seldom as quick and easy to achieve in reality as they are in theory.”

The PSST said the FCC should approve the waiver requests, but with conditions. “Ideally, the Commission would resolve both the D Block proceeding and the petitions as quickly as possible and include provisions for a nationwide, interoperable, broadband wireless network in the National Broadband Plan,” the trust said. “To the extent the Commission requires more time to reach a decision in the D Block proceeding, however, it should not similarly delay granting the Petitions to bring broadband services to public safety.”

The PSST said the FCC should make petitioners “responsible for relocating incumbent narrowband users in their proposed network service areas before they begin deploying broadband systems” and also require waiver seekers to certify that their proposed local or regional networks “are fully interoperable with the future nationwide network and incorporate a uniform technology, nationally coordinated technical standards and operating requirements, and network sharing and roaming functionality.”

New York State, a leader among those seeking waivers, asked the FCC to move expeditiously. “New York has generated significant momentum across the state to move forward with a statewide-coordinated strategy to implement wireless broadband for public safety,” the state said. “This strategy includes support from many facets of the public safety community at both the state and local government levels. Non-action at this point or petition denial would serve to disrupt current momentum.” New York said that if its petition is approved it can “immediately begin detailed project implementation planning followed by project execution. Without petition approval, potential funding sources are at risk and project execution would be postponed indefinitely.”

NENA, an NPSTC member, was less enthusiastic. NENA said it’s unclear when the FCC will issue final rules on the D-block, but the timing matters. “If the Commission intends to issue final rules for the nation-wide system in the near future (i.e. before the release of the National Broadband Plan), it may want to consider addressing the issues raised in the waiver petitions in its final rules,” NENA said. “This is particularly the case given the fact that petitioners will likely be asked to supplement the record with additional information before being granted a waiver, a fact that will lengthen the process. On the other hand, if it is uncertain when the Commission will release final rules, then more weight should be given to promptly addressing the waiver petitions.”

NENA also said the FCC should act with care because of open questions about the cost of eventually integrating early, stand-alone networks into a final national network. “At this point, these integration costs, and whose responsibility it is to pay the costs, remain unknown,” NENA said. “Virtually all of the waiver requests indicate that they will integrate into the nation-wide network, but funding for this integration is not clearly identified, nor are the costs of such integration known. … Petitioners claiming that they intend to integrate their local or regional network into the nation-wide network without really knowing what that entails prior to the issuance of final rules by the FCC should give the Commission pause.”

NENA said that before the FCC grants any requests, “petitioners should be required to demonstrate that they have funds currently available and presently allocated for the purpose of deploying a public safety broadband network. At a minimum, the budgeting authority for the jurisdiction in question must put in writing its commitment to make funds available through the budget process.”

US Cellular (USCC) said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has indicated the commission will move on 700 MHz D-block rules as part of the national broadband plan due in February and advised the commission to act with care in granting any of the waiver requests. “USCC recommends that the Commission limit the types of deployments which it is prepared to approve to qualifying test-bed early builds in the … band demonstrating LTE technologies,” the carrier said. “Properly selected based on technical and financial qualifications, such waivers for demonstration networks could help the public safety community to gain knowledge and experience with LTE technologies and services.”

AT&T and Verizon urged the FCC to act on the waiver requests. “The Commission should adopt a ‘leveraged network’ approach for the 700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum that allows public safety to utilize commercial network resources and management to provide public safety with broadband communications capabilities,” AT&T said. “This ‘leveraged network’ approach consists of two major elements: (1) making a full 20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum available for local and regional public safety use for broadband services; and (2) directing the local and regional public safety entities to use a request for proposal process to leverage commercial operator infrastructure to ‘host’ the public-safety dedicated spectrum and fully-dedicated radio access network equipment.”