Posts Tagged ‘D Block’
House Introduces Companion Bill to Sen. Rockefeller’s Public Safety Legislation
Posted on July 13, 2011Congressmen John Dingell (D-MI) and Gene Green (D-TX) have introduced legislation that would establish a framework for the deployment of a nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband network for public safety. The proposed legislation, entitled the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act (HR.2482), is a companion bill to the SPECTRUM Act (S.911) introduced into the Senate by Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) earlier this year. In addition to creating a public safety network, HR.2482 would also allocate the 700 MHz D Block to public safety, allow public safety to use narrowband spectrum in a flexible manner, conduct a one-time voluntary incentive auction of frequencies currently assigned to television broadcasters, require the Comptroller General and all federal entities to complete spectrum reports detailing spectrum inventory, spectrum use, and current and future spectrum needs, and direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to submit to Congress a report about the costs for specific Next Generation 9-1-1 service requirements and specifications, as well as recommendations for the statutory framework for such services. While both the House and Senate versions of the proposed legislation call for the re-purposing of broadcast spectrum, HR.2482 adds explicit protections preventing the FCC from involuntarily reclaiming frequencies licensed to broadcasters, as well as unilaterally revoking the licenses of broadcasters or otherwise penalizing them for not taking part in the incentive auction. The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and the House Committee on Armed Services for further deliberation.
McCain, Lieberman Push Yet Another D Block Reallocation Bill
Posted on June 2, 2011Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) have introduced legislation that would, among other things, reallocate the 700 MHz D Block to public safety. The bill, formally entitled The Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 (S.1040), is companion legislation for a bill introduced by Representative Peter King (R-NY) and thirty-four cosponsors in February 2011. Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) have also released a bill attempting to reallocate the D Block. While there are differences between the three proposed bills, including components dealing with network funding and revenue-generating incentive auctions, the main purpose of each is to give public safety authorities an additional ten megahertz of airwaves across the country for mobile broadband services. The McCain-Lieberman bill has been referred to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications and Technology for further deliberation.
Rockefeller Pushes Spectrum Bill, Again
Posted on May 18, 2011Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has introduced into the Senate an extremely short bill that does little more than urge his congressional colleagues to enact, and the President to sign, “bipartisan legislation to strengthen public safety and to enhance wireless communications.” The specific “bipartisan legislation” that Sen. Rockefeller has in mind is a separate piece of legislation he introduced into the Senate in January 2011, the “Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act” (S.28). The main purpose of Rockefeller’s earlier bill was to reallocate the Upper 700 MHz Band “D Block” for use by public safety so that it would not be re-auctioned by the FCC. Sen. Rockefeller’s earlier bill would also implement voluntary incentive auctions to increase the amount of spectrum available for next generation mobile broadband services. Sen. Rockefeller and his cosponsors are working hard to get the D Block into the hands of public safety before the 10 year anniversary of September 11th, but even if the bill leaves the Senate, it faces an uncertain future in the GOP-controlled House where Republicans are keen to auction-off the D Block in order to help reduce the deficit. The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, as well as Sen. Rockefeller’s more recent reminder legislation, have both been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for further deliberation.
Bipartisan Bill Gifting D Block to Public Safety Introduced Into House
Posted on February 14, 2011One day after President Obama unveiled his Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative imploring Congress to reallocate the 700 MHz D Block to public safety, Representatives Peter T. King (R-NY) and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) introduced legislation that would not only gift the highly sought spectrum to public safety but also bundle it with $11 billion in federal funding to construct and maintain the nationwide broadband network. The respective Homeland Security Committee party leaders, together with five co-sponsors, formally introduced the Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 (HR.607) as a call to action in response to the President’s request. In addition to reallocating and funding the D Block, which the FCC would be required to do within 60 days of the bill getting enacted, the proposed legislation contains other provisions, including: (1) requiring that the public safety spectrum remain fully interoperable; (2) authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to manage the grant and maintenance program; (3) requiring the FCC to re-auction the 1755-1780 MHz band as part of re-paired AWS-3 Band for commercial use; (4) increasing the size of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust Board of Directors from 15 to 40 members; (5) incentivizing public safety entities to consolidate all spectrum use between 700 and 800 MHz and abandon operations between 174 MHz and 512 MHz within ten years; and (6) allowing secondary use of the D Block by non-public safety entities. Rep. King introduced a similar D Block reallocation bill, this one without funding, in 2010, while Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John McCain (R-AZ) are expected to introduce a companion bill to HR.607 in the next few weeks.
President Obama: 4G to 98% of All Americans Within 5 Years
Posted on February 11, 2011President Barack Obama has announced a comprehensive initiative to expand wireless broadband throughout the country, including plans to enable high-speed wireless services to at least 98 percent of Americans within five years. The details of the plan were released by the White House as part of the Wireless Innovation and Infrastructure Initiative. Other specifics of the initiative include: (1) following through on promises made in the National Broadband Plan to unleash 500 megahertz of spectrum for commercial use within ten years, including 115 megahertz set for “fast track” release; (2) instituting “voluntary incentive auctions” whereby existing commercial and governmental licenses can return unused spectrum in exchange for a percentage of auction proceeds, which the Federal government anticipates will garner up to $27.8 billion in revenue for the U.S. Treasury; (3) reallocating the 700 MHz “D Block” to public safety; (4) reforming the “Universal Service Fund” to ensure millions more Americans will be able to access wireless broadband; (5) appropriating $500 million in auction proceeds to spur innovation through research and development of emerging wireless technologies and applications; (6) investing $3.2 billion for the reallocation of the D Block; (7) investing $7 billion to support the deployment of the D Block; and (8) investing $3 billion from auction proceeds to support basic research, experimentation and testbeds, and applied development in a number of areas, including public safety, education, energy, health, transportation, and economic development. According to the official White House press release, the overall initiative will reduce the federal deficit by $9.6 billion.