Law Enforcement Groups Launch 700 MHz Discussions
Major law enforcement groups met in Washington Monday to start to hammer out what could be an alternative proposal for the 700 MHz D-block. But details were scant and those attending agreed not to talk.
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In recent months, AT&T and Verizon have gone public with their arguments that the D-block should be given to public safety to use and not offered in a second auction. That has pitted some of the major cities, led by New York, which want access to the spectrum, against other public safety communications groups, including APCO the National Emergency Number Association and the Public Safety Spectrum Trust.
The Major Cities Chiefs and the Major County Sheriffs’ Association hosted the meeting, which was attended by APCO, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the National Emergency Management Association, and Metro Fire Chiefs. The National Emergency Number Association was not invited to attend. Harlin McEwen, chairman of the PSST also attended. Frank Hartmann, a lecturer at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, was brought in as a mediator. A future meeting is expected to take place at APCO.
The group “moved toward consensus on an approach to license spectrum to create a nationwide broadband wireless network while maintaining a significant measure of local control and management,” according to a press release. “It was a very positive meeting,” said one attendee. “I am very encouraged by the discussions that took place.”
But others question the likelihood that the discussions will lead to a plan that could be adopted by the FCC. “The bottom line is there is absolutely no consensus,” said an industry source. The statement that emerged “tells us nothing,” said a public safety official, who predicted big problems with any plan that could grow out of the meetings. The spectrum must be sold at auction, unless Congress intervenes, the official said. “I also don’t know how they expect that broadband network to be built since there is no money to build it.”
In a speech last week at the National Press Club, Steve Zipperstein, general counsel to Verizon Wireless, urged “bold action” and a new direction on the D-block. “We need this bold action urgently: we have a window of opportunity with a new administration and a new Congress,” he said. “Addressing these issues should be a top priority.”