The $7 billion set aside by Congress for...
The $7 billion set aside by Congress for FirstNet is billions of dollars less than it would cost to build a nationwide public safety network, and public safety will need to partner with carriers to get the job done, consultants…
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from Televate said in a white paper released Friday. The money allocated by Congress from auction proceeds “is insufficient to fund the construction of a nationwide network, [and] only 3.5 percent of the land area including 50 percent of the expected user population can be served with this funding level,” the white paper said (http://bit.ly/12xtzHp). Nationwide service would cost “$5.5 to $9.4 billion more to build than the existing funding supports” and public safety user fees are likely to cover only 40 to 50 percent of operating costs, Televate said. “Private participation is needed whereby a partner will derive sufficient value to invest some $5.5 to $9.4 billion in capital to build the network, and secure more than $1.5-$2.0 billion in additional revenue annually to cover network operations costs,” the paper said. “The private partner must be able to capture sufficient value to make such investments.” The firm provides expertise to public safety and hopes to play an active role in FirstNet, according to its website (http://bit.ly/13Shr6c).