At a March 30th hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee on the need for a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network, William Carrow, President of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officers (APCO) recognized the important role of utilities in emergency response.  Based on his experience in Delaware, Carrow stated that their statewide public safety radio system for mutual aid assistance includes local utilities in the event of major disasters like the three snowstorms that hit his state this year.  "They [utilities] become at many times more 'first responder' than we are.  If you don't have electricity and you don't have the wherewithal to get the job done, we have to rely on them." 

Rep. Pete King, chair of the committee, has introduced legislation to allocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety to be combined with the original 10 MHz in the 700 MHz band given to public safety to create a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network.  Chairman King referenced a recent study by the Phoenix Center that contends that $3.4 billion could be saved by assigning the  D block to public safety, rather than auction.  The Phoenix  Center is a 501(c)(3) organization funded in part by the major commercial service providers.   

Allocation of the D-block to public safety has been gaining momentum, with the White House, DHS, and most recently, the 9/11 Commission chair and vice chair adding their endorsement at a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee yesterday. 

Joining Carrow at the witness table was Gregory Simay with the Burbank Water and Power Company and At-Large Director on the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communication Systems Authority  (LARICS).  That system enables interoperable communications throughout Los Angeles County.  He cautioned that the allocation of the 700 MHz spectrum is a good first step, but until the 700 MHz network supports voice, UHF systems will still be needed for interoperability.   (HR 607 would require all public safety systems to migrate to the 700 MHz band, giving up their UHF spectrum for auction by the FCC.)