D-Block Auction to Be Proposed by National Broadband Plan

The plan effectively rejects a proposal by major public-safety groups that the FCC ask Congress to give public safety direct control of the D-block. Public safety groups led by APCO slammed the proposal, asking “has America learned nothing from Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, Columbine and the Oklahoma City bombing?”

Jamie Barnett, the Public Safety Bureau chief, briefed reporters on the public safety aspects of the plan after Genachowski spoke.

The plan will make only recommendations and won’t be voted on by the commissioners, so the FCC will still have to act later to approve an auction, commission sources said. Barnett said under the plan his bureau would essentially hand off the D-block to the Wireless Bureau, which would develop rules for an auction. A D-block auction probably would be held in early 2011, but could take place before, Barnett said.

“As you know, this is a very difficult and complex issue, where the commission’s first effort was not successful,” Genachowski said of the D-block. “That’s why I asked Admiral Barnett to lead the effort of taking a fresh and critical look at all the options to achieve the goal of deploying a nationwide interoperable public safety broadband wireless network as soon as possible, including a fresh assessment of the role that the D-block should have with respect to public safety. … I believe they have done so and that they have developed an extremely strong plan.”

Genachowski said the plan will call for setting up an Emergency Response Interoperability Center to oversee the network (CD Feb 22 p2). It will also recommend “significant public funding” for a grant program to support the network’s development and operation. “This is important,” the chairman said. “We have gone too long with little progress to show for it. The private sector simply is not going to build what the country needs in terms of a public safety network.”

Public safety should shift its attention beyond the D-block, Genachowski said: “In order to ensure sufficient reserve capacity for the network, as well as redundancy and resiliency, the plan envisions that public safety will be able to access not just the D-block spectrum, but the entire 700 MHz band through roaming and priority access arrangements. Rather than solely focusing on just the D- block, through the plan, public safety isn’t limited to 10 or even 20 megahertz of spectrum, but could have access to as much as 80 megahertz under these arrangements.”

Rather than choosing one company to build a network, under the plan “public safety can select any commercial operator it determines is appropriate or, if it prefers, a systems integrator to partner with,” Barnett said. But he said the D-block licensee “might not have any other relationship with public safety, they're not obligated to be the public safety network builder or provider.” Public safety retains the 10 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum it’s getting from the DTV transition, Barnett said. “It’s a level playing field,” he said. “It greatly reduces the requirements that were envisioned for the original D- block. We want the D-block auction to work. We want the relationship with public safety entities to work.”

A few special requirements would be imposed on a D- block winner: Service would be offered using LTE rather than another standard and devices would have to be available that would also work in the 700 MHz block controlled by public safety. But others who already bought 700 MHz spectrum would also face new requirements. “If public safety wants it, they would have to offer roaming and priority service, for which those carriers would be compensated,” Barnett said.

Public Safety Bureau Deputy Chief Jennifer Manner said the plan includes a grant fund to pay for the extra cost of building a hardened public safety network and another to pay for operations and the costs of upgrades as technology evolves. About $6 billion would be needed to support build out and $6-10 billion for operations and upgrades.

“Congress asked us for recommendations,” Barnett said. “We are recommending to them what we think is best for the nation. … I think they're looking for something that’s technologically feasible. We're not going to pull any punches and tell them that you can do that on a dime. It’s going to take some money if you really want to address that.” He said the proposal has started to discuss the need for funding with Congress: “We have talked to Congress and that’s going to continue. We've gotten a lot of good feedback. There’s a great deal of interest.”

Barnett said he expects “various levels of disappointment” among public safety groups that the FCC isn’t recommending that the D-block be turned over to public safety. “When public safety and the public looks at the entirety of the plan and realizes the strength, I think they're going to be excited about it,” he said. “It may take some time. The only disagreements that I've found so far is the D-block, and the D-block is just one thing. … In essence we're giving ourselves a tremendous amount of work to do.” Barnett also indicated the FCC probably will turn down petitions for waiver seeking authority to deploy local or regional public safety wireless broadband systems on a local or regional basis in the 700 MHz D-block. They were filed by Boston, New York, San Francisco Bay area governments and others.

But APCO and other public safety groups issued a joint statement criticizing Genachowski’s comments, expressing their “profound disappointment” regarding the proposed D-block auction. “This action would take a critical national asset away from public safety and give it to the commercial market, effectively precluding public safety’s ability to obtain 20 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 700 MHz band for continuing technological development to secure the nation and its citizens’ safety with enhanced capabilities for day-to-day operations and during critical events,” they said. The statement was endorsed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, International Association of Fire Chiefs, Major Cities Chiefs Association, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, National Emergency Management Association and National Sheriffs’ Association.

“Our nation’s state and local public safety leaders have worked tirelessly, cooperatively and positively to demonstrate the dire need for this spectrum,” APCO President Richard Mirgon said. “The practical and operational field experience of our state and local public safety technology professionals has been overlooked.”

Genachowski, who took only a handful of questions, was asked about the chance that Congress would approve the funding program or that broadcasters and others would turn over spectrum for a mobile futures auction, a proposal he discussed Wednesday (CD Feb 25 p1).

“Our job as part of the broadband plan has been, one, to lay out a strategic plan for the country for broadband, built on this significant record, extensive participatory process, that we have,” he replied. “Job one, step one, is to lay out what these incredible people who have been working … on this plan now for so long think … is how we make sure that the U.S. is globally competitive, with respect to broadband [and] how we move forward on public safety. Obviously, in the course of all of this the team has been consulting with as many people as they possibly can throughout the ecosystem. … These recommendations are built on the record, conversations, discussion, that cause us to believe that they are the right thing for the country and that they are doable.”

Genachowski was asked whether the commission’s toughest job lies ahead, in trying to achieve the plan’s goals. “You know what?” he replied. “The hard part started six months ago. The hard part is the next two weeks. And then the hard part after that is the next six months and then the years after that. So if there’s an easy part, let me know.”