FCC Leaves to Congress Allotting 700 MHz Spectrum to Public Safety
Cyren Call will be forced to turn to Congress after the FCC rejected its bid for an order reallocating 700 MHz spectrum, now slated to be sold at auction, to a 30 MHz public safety broadband network. In a surprise twist, the FCC’s Public Safety Bureau formally rejected the petition late Fri., just days after the agency put Cyren Call’s petition for rulemaking out for comment. CTIA last week had urged the FCC to immediately dismiss the petition.
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Cyren Call was formed this year by Nextel co-founder Morgan O'Brien with a goal of establishing a nationwide, next-generation network serving public safety, which Cyren would manage. The startup has received support from top public safety groups that want spectrum set aside for their member agencies.
“It’s regrettable that the commercial wireless industry is so fearful of new solutions that they've tried to stop a public debate over how to best meet public safety’s needs. But despite their best efforts, two important facts remain. First, the public may still offer comment on our proposal until November,” O'Brien said Mon.: “And second, Congress will have the final say over how to best use this valuable spectrum resource… We know this plan will require congressional action. That’s why we have been working with public safety leaders over the last few months in drafting legislation, and we are confident that this plan will ultimately receive strong backing from Congress.”
Comr. Copps said he was disappointed the Bureau had acted during the comment cycle. “In the final analysis, Cyren Call is Congress’s call,” he said: “But I do think the FCC should nevertheless facilitate a full and open debate about the merits of the company’s proposal. We are the government agency with the greatest expertise on public safety communications, and we must try our hardest to share that expertise with the rest of the government by issuing reports on critical public safety issues.” Copps said the order “even though it leaves the docket open, may inhibit the fullest possible debate by discouraging parties from filing comments.”
Several sources said the Bureau order came as a surprise even on the 8th floor of the Commission. “It was odd the way the FCC handled this -- asking for comments then rejecting the petition a few days later,” said a regulatory lawyer who follows wireless issues: “It really doesn’t make sense. You would think they'd at least wait for the comments to come in.”
In a 5-paragraph order, the Bureau said Cyren Call had acknowledged that the Commission couldn’t simply reallocate the spectrum under the provisions of the DTV Act of 2005. “Even in its most recent response, Cyren recognizes that Congressional action will be needed before its proposal could be implemented. But the FCC clearly has the authority to develop a public record,” the Bureau said: “Indeed, in its petition, Cyren Call recognizes that the spectrum it seeks has been designated to be auctioned for commercial purposes and indicates that it ‘has committed itself to pursuing legislative relief.'”
“Public Safety again sits at the mercy of the distinguished members of Congress in hopes that they will reconsider the auction process of the 700 MHz band in order to allow for an opportunity such as the Cyren Call proposal to provide a public safety broadband trust and [provide] much needed affordable broadband to public safety agencies across the nation,” said Charlottesville, Va. Fire Chief Charles Werner.