The staff of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) filed a "non-binding" memorandum on the minimum interoperability requirements for the 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband Network (700 MHz PSBN) in FCC Docket No. 12-74. The memo was sent to the Technical Board for First Responder Interoperability (Interoperability Board), which was established under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Spectrum Act) and which must submit baseline technical requirements for the 700 MHz PSBN by May 22, 2012.
While the Interoperability Board is independent from the FCC, it requested the FCC's PSHSB issue an assessment and is likely to give serious consideration of the FCC's assessment when it develops its baseline technical requirements. The specific issues analyzed by the staff included the definition of "interoperability;" technology platforms and system interfaces; prioritization and quality of service; performance; security; conformance testing; and other issues.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice on April 6, 2012 inviting comments on the "Transition Process for 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband Waiver Recipients." Specifically, the FCC is seeking comment on "the most expedient and cost-effective way to transition the Waiver Recipients' authorizations."
On May 11, 2010 the FCC granted 21 waivers and on May 12, 2011 in granted an additional waiver to authorize certain state and local jurisdictions to construct 700 MHz public safety broadband networks (PSBNs) prior to the development of rules for the nationwide PSBN. Some of these networks are nearing completion, while others are still in early stages of development.
The passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Spectrum Act) raises questions about the future for these waiver recipients because the Spectrum Act gives authority over the PSBN to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), which is an independent authority to be formed within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the Department of Commerce. Thus, as part of the transition process to FirstNet, the FCC is considering various options for moving forward including whether:

• It should issue a stay and halt construction.
• It should treat some waiver recipients differently than others.
• It should cancel the licenses and if so when and how.
• It should issue a Special Temporary Authority (STA).

Comments are due April 20, 2012. UTC invites member input on this issue. Please contact the Legal/Regulatory Department

Your utility could be sitting on an untapped infrastructural resource. Wireless collocation sites, if developed and structured correctly, can boost national broadband and emergency response network build-outs. The popular 'Utility Forum' session at the Annual Utilities Joint Use and Wireless Collocation Summit is attracting industry experts and new entrants that seek to take advantage of this strategic business opportunity. "U.S. utilities operate in different regulated environments," explains Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E) Eric Jacobson, one of the speakers on the panel. Tim Gasser from Puget Sound Energy (PSE), who is also on the panel, says, "There are wide-ranging differences between what each utility does. For example, PSE allows collocation on transmission, distribution and streetlight structures, as well as carrier owned monopoles on substation properties."

"Other utilities do a lot of wireless collocation," Gasser adds, "but they limit it to transmission only, or towers on raw land sites. There are differences on raw land sites as well, with some companies building and owning the towers and others allowing the carrier to build and own the structures – it all depends on what each utility is comfortable with." The panel will be looking into such aspects of the collocation business, using examples and case-studies of successful models. Read more »

UTC has issued the following statement about the Payroll Tax Report that was approved by Congress last week:

"We applaud Congress on approving this report. For years, UTC has advocated that utilities need access to sufficient spectrum to support their mission critical operations and to meet the overarching national policy objectives of energy independence and security. Congress' action today makes it possible for utilities to access the high quality spectrum that they urgently need."

For more information, please read the entire Press Release on UTC's website. Please contact UTC staff if you have any questions about the implications of this legislation for your utility. You can also read UTC's analysis of the spectrum provisions in this bill here.

Additionally, UTC experts have been quoted in the following industry media:

TR Daily Article (subscribers-only)

Urgent Communications

Congressional legislation that was passed last week would permit use of 700 MHz public safety spectrum for non-public safety services and would open up the 5350-5470 MHz band and guard bands for unlicensed operations, creating opportunities for utilities and CII to access additional spectrum. In addition, it would reallocate and auction the 470-512 MHz public safety frequencies and investigate the use of the 11, 18, and 23 GHz fixed microwave bands for commercial services – raising questions about the future of these bands for private wireless generally. Read more »

Spectrum provisions, including those pertaining to access to the 700 MHz public safety broadband network by non-public safety entities, have been included as part of larger congressional legislation that would extend the 2% reduction in payroll taxes, extend unemployment benefits and prevent a 27% decrease in medicare reimbursements to doctors (the “doc” fix). The legislation is expected to be passed by Congress today, and would clear the way for public safety to share the 700 MHz public safety broadband network (PSBN) with utilities and other critical infrastructure industries. UTC is continuing to work with Congressional staff to enhance the abilities of utilities to participate in the creation of the PSBN and ensure that the synergies between the communications needs of public safety and utilities are most effectively leveraged in the final legislative compromise. The House and Senate are aiming to have a final conference report ready for an up-or-down vote by the end of this week. Congress is currently scheduled to begin its week-long President’s Day recess beginning this Friday, although congressional leaders have threatened to cancel that recess if a compromise is not reached by week’s end. The deadline for passage of the conference report is February 29^th when the current payroll tax reduction expires. 

UPDATE: 11:41 AM - The House has approved the payroll tax conference report, 293-132. The conference report now moved to the Senate, where it will also be voted on shortly.

12:45 PM - The Senate approved the conference report 60-36. The bill moves on for President Obama's signature.

It had been widely expected that the $1.2 trillion package produced by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (Super Committee) would have included spectrum auctions and funded the creation of a 700 MHz public safety broadband network (PSBN). But on Tuesday, with the committee's formal announcment that an agreement could not be reached, hopes to use that package as a vehicle for the spectrum legislation were dashed.  This is the second time that spectrum legislation has failed to pass as part of a larger package; the first was the debt ceiling bill passed earlier this year. 

Several legislative vehicles are now being considered, including an omnibus apppropriations bill to fund the government for the remainder of FY12, or individual appropriations bills.  In the meantime, standalone bills will be proceeding under "regular order" in both the Senate and the House.

In the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee has been working on a revision of the Republican draft released in July.  With the failure of the Super Committee, the committee may resume consideration of the bill, with possible mark-up in December.  

In the Senate, S. 911 was passed by the Commerce Committee but has yet to be scheduled for a Floor vote. 

Throughout the deliberations of the Super Committee and now going forward, UTC has continued to carry its message to key congressional staff and Members about the public policy, operational, and monetary benefits that utilities bring to the table as partners in the construction and operations of the PSBN. Our main focus has been to ensure that utilities can share the 700 MHz spectrum and access the network notwithstanding Section 337 of the Communications Act and that State or regional partnership agreements between public safety and utilities, including terms related to traffic management, be given federal recognition.

The creation of the PSBN is on the priority list of both Sen. Rockefeller, chair of the Commerce Committee, and Rep. Upton, chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.  Final enactment, whether as part of a larger package or as standalone legislation, is anticipated in the near term.     

In the wake of massive consumer complaints about the performance of carrier networks in the aftermath of Tuesday's 5.9 earthquake in Virginia, Admiral Jamie Barnett, Chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau stated that the bureau is contacting wireless carriers and public safety call centers to determine the "cause of reported outages in an immediate effort to identify and address the problems." TR Daily reported that Adm. Barnett said the Commission "[was] very concerned by incidents where emergency wireless calls to 9-1-1 after yesterday's earthquake were hampered by network congestion. Thankfully, there have been no reports thus far about serious injuries or lives lost. Nevertheless, these are the moments when mobile phone service is needed most - and disruptions put lives at risk.”

Representatives from the public safety community seized on the issue to urge Congress to address pending legislation that would reallocate the 700 MHz D-block for public safety. "The events of today once again prove how powerful the argument for dedicated spectrum is for public safety, and becomes so understandable for those today that tried to reach their loved ones by wireless devices and could not do so," said APCO International spokesman Sean Kirkendall in a statement issued earlier this week. APCO’s statement was echoed by Charles Dowd, deputy chief of the New York Police Department, who said "Yesterday's earthquake again highlighted the need for a dedicated nationwide PS broadband network,” adding that “[f]irst responders need mission critical communications that assure the public the level of life saving services they rightfully have come to expect."

Currently, this legislation has been stalled over the debate on whether to auction off the 700 MHz D-block spectrum or directly allocate it to public safety. Furthermore, the cost of building out the network is another matter of contention. UTC recognizes the challenges facing emergency communications response, and supports the creation of a nationwide interoperable public safety network. Additionally, utilities actively support public safety needs on regional and local levels through shared networks, and UTC has been promoting to Congress the merits of encouraging utility partnerships with public safety in building out the proposed 700 MHz public safety broadband network. A partnership between utilities and public safety would boost emergency response and significantly lower the cost of building out this network. UTC will continue to keep its members posted on developments to this legislation.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its much anticipated report on the estimated cost of S911, the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act of 2011, and the report concludes that the bill would reduce net direct spending by $6.5 billion over the 2012-2021 period. Proponents of the bill had predicted that the bill would reduce the deficit by $10 billion. This $3.5 billion shortfall could jeopardize the prospects for passage of the bill in its current form, because the bill is being considered as possibly part of the debt ceiling deal that is being developed by the President and Congress. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House Energy and Commerce Committee have circulated a discussion draft version of the bill, which is different from the S911 in several respects – including not reallocating the 700 MHz D-Block for Public Safety. House Republicans favor auctioning the 700 MHz D-block to help reduce the national debt. Read more »