The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and Motorola, long the top provider of public safety radios, disagreed on the state of industry competition, in filings on an Aug. 19 FCC Public Safety Bureau public notice. Motorola also took issue with the notice’s characterization of the market as one where “first responders rely on communications systems supplied by a small number of equipment providers to support mission-critical communications.” Questions about competition in the public safety equipment market were raised by leaders of the House Commerce Committee in a June 30 letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Verizon Wireless is asking for what public safety considers a significant change in E-911 wireless location accuracy, an issue tentatively on the agenda for a vote at next week’s open FCC meeting. FCC officials said the order has gotten some discussion in recent days, though not nearly as much as proposed white spaces rules (CD Aug 16 p1). In an agreement with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and the National Emergency Numbering Association, that the FCC was expected to ratify, Verizon and other CDMA carriers would have been allowed to exclude data from up to 15 percent of counties from being taken into account in assessing its accuracy in pinpointing the emergency calls, provided the counties were forested. Verizon asked for a change, allowing it to exclude 15 percent of counties for “any reason.” APCO and NENA protested, saying that’s not what was in the agreement they worked out with the carrier in 2008. “Limiting the exclusion to heavily forested areas was a material element of the negotiated agreement. Our concern had been, and remains, that a broader exclusion could lead to substantial areas receiving substandard location accuracy for E911 calls.” Verizon said the change is a matter of fairness and brings the agreement more in line with one for GMS-based carriers worked out between the public safety groups and AT&T.

September is expected to be busy for public safety issues in Washington, but time and funding concerns are working against passing any legislation this year, said public safety and telecom industry officials. Legislation to set up a $70 million NTIA grant competition for public safety communications devices (CD July 30 p5) may have a better shot than bills involving the D-block, they said. The House and Senate have introduced nearly identical bills, HR-5907 and S-3731, sponsored by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and neither has generated opposition.

The National Emergency Numbers Association supported giving the D-block to public safety agencies under legislation introduced this month by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. The association previously supported auctioning the D-block commercially as proposed in draft legislation by House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., calling that the best approach to secure funding for the network. The Rockefeller bill, which would pay for the public safety network through network leasing and proceeds from incentive and other auctions (CD Aug 9 p3), deals with both public safety’s spectrum and funding shortfalls, NENA President Steve O'Conor said Wednesday. Rockefeller’s “recognition that the public safety wireless broadband network must be integrated with our nation’s 9-1-1 centers demonstrates a clear understanding of their vital role in the emergency response chain,” O'Conor added. The association “also recognizes the significant work” of other lawmakers working on the public safety issue. Several overlapping and conflicting public safety bills have been announced or introduced, including by Rockefeller, Waxman, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Ct., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. Waxman hasn’t introduced his bill, the only one that would enact the National Broadband Plan’s recommendation to auction the D-block. Rockefeller’s committee may hold a public safety hearing next month, after the Senate returns from recess Sept. 13 (CD Aug 25 p2).

The FCC is expected to take up an order on wireless 911 location accuracy at the Sept. 23 meeting, as well as notice of inquiry on 911 VoIP issues, agency and industry officials said Wednesday. A few other orders also may get a vote, including finalizing rules for the TV white spaces and an E-rate item. Odds appear slim at this point the commission will attempt to vote at next month’s meeting on a declaratory order reclassifying broadband transmission as a Title II service.

Only a handful of public safety agencies seeking Broadband Technology Opportunities Program funds got money to build early 700 MHz networks, as the White House unveiled $1.8 billion in awards Wednesday -- the biggest set of announcements in the history of the stimulus program. Many of the 21 governments and government groups that got waivers from the FCC to launch systems in 700 MHz spectrum had applied for BTOP funding. It’s unclear how many more public safety grants will be awarded and how many systems won’t get built without federal funding. New York City, Washington, and Boston were among grant applicants that did not get awards in Wednesday’s round.

HOUSTON -- APCO played a major role in restoring emergency communications in Haiti following January’s massive earthquake, President Richard Mirgon said Tuesday at the group’s annual conference. A major side effect of the earthquake was the destruction of Haiti’s land mobile radio system, with its transmitter in the presidential palace. An estimated 10,000 emergency calls were made and not answered after disaster struck, Mirgon said.

Equipment makers could seek grants to develop public-safety devices that support voice, data and video communications in the 700 MHz spectrum, under a bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday by Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif. HR-5907 would set up a $70 million competition, run by NTIA, for research and development grants. “This process will produce devices ready for first responders’ use within five years -- hopefully sooner,” Harman said Wednesday on the House floor.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is expected to circulate within the next few weeks a long-awaited order on location accuracy rules for wireless, based on proposals by AT&T and Verizon Wireless and incorporating changes sought in by T-Mobile, industry and FCC officials said. Last week, The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) filed a letter at the commission endorsing the tweaks sought in a June 16 letter by T-Mobile to AT&T’s proposal for GSM-based carriers. The Public Safety Bureau has started to brief eighth-floor officials on the order.

Public safety resistance to a D-block auction only seemed to intensify after Democrats and Republicans endorsed the approach at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Thursday. It’s unclear how a nationwide, interoperable public safety network would otherwise be funded, subcommittee members said. Legislators also backed bipartisan 911 legislation that includes language to stop states from misusing 911 funds.