NPSTC Set to Defend Public Safety’s Use of 4.9 GHz Band
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council is expected to weigh in strongly in the 4.9 GHz band docket. The NPSTC’s likely to argue that the spectrum should continue to be set aside for public safety and critical infrastructure use, rather than opened to broad commercial use. The band, once set aside for federal operations, was reallocated to public safety a decade ago, but has seen little use so far. In June, the FCC agreed to launch a notice of proposed rulemaking asking further questions (CD June 14 p2). Initial comments are due Oct. 1. NPSTC members discussed how the group should respond.
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"We're going to have to make a good strong case to the commission,” said Harlin McEwen, chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Communications & Technology Committee, in an NPSTC discussion Friday. “Their opinion is that we haven’t used this resource and now they're looking to share it with other people. What we have to say is there a good reason that we haven’t used the resource as much as we could have up until now. Don’t do harm to us until we can get our arms around the new things that are going on."
Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief David Furth said the FCC welcomes NPSTC’s comments. “We are very interested in developing a robust record in that proceeding,” he said. “We think that the 4.9 GHz band has a lot of untapped potential.” Furth said there’s general agreement that “the existing rules and sort of the overall history of the band has not resulted in heavy utilization.” A few public safety agencies use the band, “but they tend to be somewhat few and far between,” he said.
"Commercial use would have to be shut down on very short and unpredictable basis,” said a slide explaining NPSTC’s position. “Also as Public Safety needs change over time the commercial operations would either hinder that change or require the commercial system to shut down.” NPSTC members said the comments should support use of the band by railroads, airport authorities and critical infrastructure providers like utilities for emergency but not more general communications. A document released by NPSTC said that as of the end of August, there were 2,530 licenses in the band, and almost all belong to public safety agencies with 98 licenses held by municipal utilities, transit agencies and non-governmental organizations.
NPSTC Spectrum Management Committee Vice Chair Stu Overby discussed comments NPSTC is expected to file next month on a consultation by the Canadian government on broadband. “The key issue is whether or not to allocate the [700 MHz] C-block to public safety,” he said. “So far they have held it in reserve."
In a presentation Thursday, McEwen noted that two NPSTC members, Kevin McGinnis and Paul Fitzgerald, were named to the new FirstNet board. “That is really important for us to have people like that on that board representing us,” McEwen said. Without members with a public safety background, “it will be difficult for FirstNet to really make some of the right decisions,” he said.
McGinnis, chief of North East Mobile Health Services, noted that SAFECOM, an emergency communications program of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Emergency Communications, has asked that it be designated as the public advisory committee to the FirstNet board, addressing a requirement of the law establishing FirstNet. SAFECOM, which also met last week, further refined its proposal during a meeting Wednesday, McGinnis said.
SAFECOM also recommended during its meeting that FirstNet consider McEwen and Chief Charles Warner of the Charlottesville, Va., Fire Department as chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the advisory committee, McGinnis said. McEwen and Warner have played major roles in the launch of a national public safety network, but were not named to the FirstNet board.