House and Senate Support for D-Block Strengthens
Support for a bipartisan bill to reallocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety (CD Feb 11 p3) appeared strong at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday. Public safety officials testified in support of the assignment for the full 20 MHz of public-safety broadband to a single licensee, in an effort to get legislation passed and a network put in place by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
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The reallocation of D-block is “absolutely essential,” said HR-607 author and committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y. “For those who say we can’t afford it now, I say we can’t afford not to.” Ranking Member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he hoped the hearing would convince the FCC of the importance of public safety reallocation and asked the agency not to auction the spectrum to wireless bidders, but rather directly allocate spectrum to public safety.
Most committee members endorsed the legislation, but some voiced concerns over the financial implications of the bill, including the use of multi-band radios for voice interoperability. Multi-band radios would require the trade-off of expensive radios for even-more-expensive radios, said Gregory Simay, the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communication System (LA-RICS) at-large director. “I'm glad you outlined how expensive [broadband build out] is,” said Rep. Hansen Clarke, D-Mich. Later, Simay said the estimated cost is $600 million to deploy LA-RICS’ integrated wireless voice and data communications system. If the bill passes, Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif., asked the committee to consider using LA-RICS’ formal structure as a blueprint for an interoperable communication system nationwide.
Members also questioned public safety officials on whether there would be excess spectrum if 20 MHz is reallocated to rural areas where the possibility of an emergency is lower. Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald, vice president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said the leasing of excess spectrum to commercial providers is a viable option only where the 20 MHz spectrum is underused, such as in rural areas. But he said access to the full 20 MHz is necessary for larger cities like New York, where emergencies are bound to occur at a higher rate. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sounded interested in a spectrum leasing possibility. “Excess spectrum will not go unused … it will go to the real, true emergency,” said President William Carrow of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials. “Kids today have better communication than the first responders do,” said Fitzgerald. He’s sheriff of Story County, Ia.
In the Senate, the ex-9/11 Commission chairmen, former New Jersey Republican Gov. Tom Kean (R) and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., jointly endorsed the immediate allocation of the D-block to public safety. They urged Congress to pass the legislation that’s also before the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “To remedy [9/11 communication] failure, the Commission recommended legislation to provide for the expedited and increased assignment of radio spectrum for public safety purposes. To date, this recommendation languishes. We find this unacceptable, because quite literally lives are at stake,” Kean and Hamilton said in prepared testimony. “We must not approach these urgent matters at a leisurely pace. We don’t know when the next attack or disaster will strike. Further delay is intolerable. We urge the Congress to act."
"Judging by today’s [Senate] hearing, this public safety message is getting through,” said Sean Kirkendall, Public Safety Alliance spokesman.