About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 [1] (September 17, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveqqx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: a Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative deb4~ since 1914 September 17, 2024 4.9 GHz Public Safety Band: Competing Views on Use During the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, public safety agencies experienced communication issues. In 2002, citing earlier congressional directives to reallocate spectrum from federal to nonfederal use, and in response to the 9/11 Commission's call for additional public safety spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated the 4.9 GHz band (4940-4990 MHz) exclusively for public safety use. The band was to support new broadband applications for public safety use, including high-speed data and mobile applications to provide officers with access to public safety databases from vehicle-mounted laptops, data transmission (e.g., videos), enhanced dispatch operations, and the ability to establish local area networks for incident management. The FCC granted licenses to state and local public safety and nongovernmental entities. Secondary users, including transit agencies, critical infrastructure operators, utilities, and federal agencies that support public safety, homeland security, and safety of life missions, could enter into sharing agreements with licensees. In 2018, the FCC sought comment on proposed changes to 4.9 GHz band use. The FCC found that band use was fragmented (i.e., licensees using the band in different ways, using different technical terms), resulting in a lack of economies of scale, equipment and devices, and use. The FCC observed, although nearly 90,000 public safety entities are eligible under our rules to obtain licenses in the band, there were only 2,442 licenses in use in 2012 and only 3,174 licenses in use ... in 2018. The FCC noted, the 4.9 GHz band remains underused outside of major metropolitan areas, with stakeholders citing high equipment costs and limited availability of broadband equipment, among other reasons. 2020 - Rules for the 49 GHz Adopted On September 30, 2020, the FCC, under Chairman Ajit Pai, adopted new rules for the 4.9 GHz band, changing the leasing framework by granting states the option to lease spectrum access in the band through a single statewide entity called the State Lessor. The State Lessor could lease unused spectrum to state and local public safety and non-public safety, commercial, or other private entities, or could use the band for non-public safety purposes themselves. While the order protected incumbent public safety operations, it also created a new framework for managing the band, resting with the state, and opened the band to commercial use, reversing the initial intent to grant spectrum exclusively for public safety use. Per the FCC, the order would empower states to determine the best use of the 4.9 GHz band, by enabling them to balance the needs of public safety agencies with the benefits that can come from non-public safety use. The FCC also froze any new applications for new or modified licenses. Petitions F ed In December 2020, several entities filed petitions for reconsideration before the rules took effect. Public Safety Spectrum A lance (PSSA) PSSA, a coalition of public safety officials and organizations interested in preserving the 4.9 GHz band for public safety, filed petitions for a stay and reconsideration. PSSA opposed the FCC's rules stating that 10 public safety associations and 800 public safety leaders signed a petition in support of its position, advocating for a new 4.9 GHz framework like that used by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and its federally funded nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN). PSSA argued that using a nationwide governance model, predictable spectrum rules, and financial incentives, FirstNet, with its partner AT&T, created economies of scale and developed an ecosystem of equipment for public safety in the 700 MHz band. Association of Publi-Safety Communications Officias (APCO) APCO, a group of over 35,000 state and local public safety officials, also filed a petition for reconsideration. It argued that ceding this spectrum to states would create a scenario whereby local public safety agencies' access to spectrum would be contingent on the state or whereby states could lease spectrum to the highest bidder. APCO asserted that this approach could lead to band fragmentation (different rules in each state) and lack of economies of scale. It argued for local control of use and a national-level framework governing future use to create economies of scale and spur vendor interest and investment in the band. National Pubc Safety Te ecommunications Council (NPSTC) NPSTC also filed a petition for reconsideration. Founded in 1997, NPSTC is a federation of 16 major public safety organizations that represent public safety interests in telecommunications. NPSTC argued that the FCC did not provide adequate notice of the rule for public comment and that state management of the band would risk existing public safety users losing priority or protection from interference. NPSTC also stated that the FCC's decision to freeze applications would result in fewer uses in the band-the issue the order intended to fix. 2021 - FCC Reconsiders the Rules On September 30, 2021, the FCC, under Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, granted the petitions to stay and reconsider the 2020 rules, finding they were not in the public interest; it also lifted the freeze on existing licensees. 9