Late this afternoon, Rep. Pete King, Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced HR 607, a bill to allocate the 700 D block spectrum to public safety for the creation of a broadband nationwide interoperable emergency response network.  Significant changes have been made to provisions in prior bills introduced in the last Congress which address many of the concerns of utilities regarding their ability to partner with public safety in the network build-out and operations.  In particular, the bill directs the FCC to establish regulations to authorize shared use of the public safety broadband spectrum and network infrastructure by non-public safety entities under network sharing agreements.  Notably, Utilities Telecom Council is given a seat on the Board of Directors of the Public Safety Broadband Licensee in recognition of the synergies between utilities and public safety in terms of network operational requirements, including reliability under extreme conditions, particularly those weather-related, and coverage in rural areas. 

Issues do remain, however, regarding the requirement that public safety retain priority access.  That requirement may serve to limit the practical value for utility participation in network buildout and access if utilities could be kicked off the network when they need it the most – when the power goes out and coordination with public safety is critical to the emergency response and power restoration efforts. Moreover, even though utilities perform critical life saving activities following both natural and manmade disasters, there are limitations contained in this much improved bill which may undermine the economics of utilities being able to share the massive infrastructure investments required.Momentum for the allocation of the 700 D block to public safety seems to be building, with the announcement last week of Administration's support.  Hearings are scheduled for February 16 by the Senate Commerce Committee on a bill introduced by Sen. Rockefeller which also allocates the D block to public safety.  Of note:  2011 is the tenth anniversary of 9-11, when the inability of public safety to communicate with each other resulted in lives lost.