Emergency Communications a Bipartisan Goal, Officials Say
Congress, DHS and the FCC must ensure that first responders get the equipment, money and administrative support they need to build a strong interoperable emergency communications system, 2 former govt. officials said Wed. The Deficit Reduction Act, which spelled out rules for the DTV transition, ordered 24 MHz of spectrum auctioned for public safety -- “prime” frequency that will meet 21st Century communications needs, said a white paper by Larry Irving and Michael Gallagher, former Commerce Dept. communications officials under President Clinton and the current President Bush, respectively.
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“We have a good opportunity to get this thing through the goal post,” Irving said. But the FCC needs to stay focused and make sure the public safety spectrum auction is preserved for public safety, he said. Gallagher agreed: “We need to keep the auction on track.” Both praised Homeland Security Secy. Michael Chertoff’s recent speech promising an expedited grant for emergency preparedness. Grant guidance will be issued 30-60 days after Congress appropriates the money for the 2008 cycle, “earlier than we've ever done it before,” Chertoff said.
Chertoff also promised that major cities would get interoperable communications systems next year and states before 2009. What’s needed is the completion of governance plans and getting the specifications for the next generation of digital equipment to first responders, Chertoff said: “The bottom line is we have to be able to communicate during a disaster, and this remains a priority for all of us.”
Reaching that goal requires more money than the $1 billion authorized in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Gallagher and Irving said. The $1 billion will be a “catalyst,” they said, but Congress must take up first responders’ financial needs and ensure that future money is available to complete the task. The govt. can assert leadership by putting strict conditions on financing, the study said, recommending that requirements for grants funded by the DTV transition be clearly defined.
The study recommended “open and transparent” bidding in the auction of the 24 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be vacated by broadcasters. The FCC “should establish rules that promote public-private partnerships that will enable public safety systems planners to maximize the use of innovative technology while minimizing the cost of deployment,” the study said. Using IP-based and other new technologies, public safety systems should be able to interconnect with 3G wireless networks in place today, it said.
Separately, Cyren Call said it’s receiving broad-based public support for its national public safety wireless network proposal -- an idea Gallagher and Irving declined to endorse. The company released a statement Wed. saying more than 1,200 citizens and organizations publicly support its proposal for a public safety broadband trust to hold the license for a segment of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. “The needs of public safety come last, not first, in our nation’s regulatory agenda,” said Cyren Call Chmn. Morgan O'Brien.
The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) endorsed Cyren Call’s proposal in comments submitted to the FCC Wed., the close of the 30-day comment period on the proposal. “It would be a missed opportunity, we believe, if the remainder of the 700 MHz spectrum were to be auctioned for commercial use on the present schedule without further consideration by Congress and the FCC of the Cyren Call proposal or other plans that would provide increased spectrum and broadband capabilities for public safety,” NENA said. A number of public safety groups said they support aspects of the Cyren Call plan in comments filed with the FCC (CD Nov 30 p8). Reply comments are due Dec. 14.