[EAS] {Disarmed} D Block-- for public safety-- House bill-- Obama

[Richard Rudman]

I have a friend who is an APCO member who is also a mutual friend of Art Botterell. 

I'll ask.

Richard

On Feb 11, 2011, at 3:41 PM, Gary Timm wrote:

> NEWS FLASH
> The federal government has given up on auctioning off the D-Block and is planning to just GIVE it to Public Safety (at least that's the way I read this - pending passage of Congressional Bill).
> So with Public Safety in charge of the spectrum allocation (if I'm not presuming too much) could we cut a deal with APCO or whoever to set aside nationwide EAS channels?
> What does everyone make of the last sentence about "a single licensee"?
> One license gives a Public Safety agency access to the entire D-Block?  That would sound like caos.
> Need to track down the Bill to see what it says.
> Gary Timm
> 
> Subject: D Block-- for public safety-- House bill-- Obama 
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> CQ HOMELAND SECURITY
> Feb. 10, 2011 – 8:21 p.m.
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> D Block Turnover Gets Obama’s Backing, Legislative Vehicle
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> By Rob Margetta, CQ Staff
> The leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee introduced a bill Thursday that would turn a valuable swath of broadband spectrum over to public safety to create a national first-responder network.
> The announcement of the bill (HR 607) from Chairman Peter T. King, R-N.Y., and ranking Democrat Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., came the same day President Obama announced that he intends to pursue the same course of action. The president’s new “Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative” would put $3.2 billion toward reallocating the spectrum in the 700 MHz range known as the D Block, $7 billion for building the network and $500 million for research and technical development.
> For years, lawmakers and security officials have debated what to do with the D Block, and whether it could be used as the basis for a nationwide, interoperable public safety network — something recommended by the Sept. 11 commission. 
> The Federal Communications Commission had originally developed a plan to auction the block off to communications carriers, with the stipulation that they create such a network, but Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a January speech that the administration had opted to give the spectrum directly to public safety, a move that some in Congress and the emergency management community had sought for years. King and Thompson said they were among the advocates for turning it over.
> “This legislation is exactly what America ’s first responders have long advocated, so I welcome President Obama’s support,” King said. “Allocation of the D Block to public safety will ensure that our nation’s first responders have sufficient spectrum to develop a wireless broadband network. Public safety officials must have access to new technologies to perform increasingly complex duties.”
> King introduced a similar measure in the last session. Thompson said lawmakers have been working on a solution to the network issue for a decade.
> “A unified vision for how to achieve this elusive capability has finally emerged,” he said. “As a former volunteer firefighter, I take great pride in the role that this committee has played in amplifying the voices of the first-responder community. Our efforts have secured, for the first time, administration support for investing significant resources towards ensuring that a nationwide network is built out.
> The bill would designate a single a single licensee for the entirety of the public safety broadband spectrum. It would include the 10 MHz currently dedicated to public safety, as well as the 10 MHz D Block.
> Rob Margetta can be reached at rmargetta at cq.com 
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> Source: CQ Homeland Security 
> © 2011 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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