Satellite Industry Seeks Spectrum Protection, Flexible Regulation on Public Safety

On the table is additional allocation of spectrum to emergency responders in the 700 MHz band in connection with the DTV transition. The 700 MHz band isn’t satellite spectrum, but industry officials are concerned about protecting their bands when regulators make other decisions. The Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International and the National Public Safety Telecom Council told the FCC the proposed 24 MHz piece in the 700 MHz band “will not respond to public safety’s growing need for wide-area, broadband mobile communications.” The Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety agreed that current spectrum allocations don’t meet public safety needs.

The Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) asked the Commission to stop saying satellite solutions are ideal for public safety networks then reallocating satellite spectrum to other uses. SIA cited the Commission’s decision to reallocate 5 MHz of Big Leo MSS spectrum to terrestrial use in 2004 and 30 MHz of 2 GHz MSS spectrum to terrestrial in 2003. The SIA said satellite operators are “investing billions of dollars” in next-generation systems that can be tapped by the public safety community and that the Commission “should facilitate, not hinder, the ability of emergency response providers to integrate satellite services into their… planning.” Commission reallocations have “not served the needs of emergency response providers for nationwide interoperable broadband networks, let alone general consumers,” the SIA said. Comments filed by Iridium also called for protection of satellite spectrum.

But the SIA and others also said the ideal regulatory approach to public safety spectrum would be “flexible.” MSV said focusing on spectrum in and around the 700 MHz band assumes a need for more spectrum and near-term completion of the digital transition. The Commission should “think more broadly,” MSV said. MSV officials suggested the FCC “reject the calls for a ‘one-size fits all’ solution” and recognize that more than one service may be required to support a next-generation public safety network. Beyond allocating more wireless spectrum, “the FCC should consider the virtues of a hybrid approach that would incorporate the traditional land mobile radio system [LMR] along with terrestrial, satellite, and emerging wireless broadband systems,” MSV said.

Iridium, TerreStar, and MSV lobbied the FCC in separate comments about the role of mobile satellite services (MSS) in emergency response communications. TerreStar and MSV agreed that ATC-enabled MSS systems will outdo terrestrial or satellite-only communications systems in the future. The companies are the only ATC-authorized MSS providers. SIA asked the FCC to seek comment on additional govt. or commercial satellite allocations. These could let satellites communicate directly with existing and planned public safety equipment and the public, extending and backing up terrestrial infrastructure during an emergency, SIA said.

To develop a hybrid architecture beyond isolated LMR systems, the Commission will have to rely on commercial systems and do more than “wait until it can assemble the sufficient spectrum in the 700 MHz band to enable public safety agencies to deploy their own LMR systems,” MSV said. MSV suggested the Commission provide agencies with flexible rules to govern use of spectrum -- like allowing agencies using public safety spectrum to trade spectrum with others and rent out their spectrum to maximize the resource. Said the SIA: “The Commission’s technical rules and policies” must “continue to evolve” if satellite operators are to serve the needs of emergency responders.