FCC Public Safety Bureau Allows Utility to Share Public Safety Spectrum
The FCC Public Safety Bureau said it will allow three electric utilities owned by FirstEnergy to share 700 and 800 MHz public safety frequencies with Ohio’s Multi-Agency Radio Communications System, consistent with a request by the state. In making the…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
request, the state and the utilities said public safety agencies and the public “rely on the safe and reliable operation of the FirstEnergy electric grid,” the bureau said. But the order contains a caveat. Future use of the 700 MHz spectrum depends on the outcome of the commission’s pending rulemaking on nongovernmental use of 700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum, the bureau said. “In response to a request for declaratory ruling filed by the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, the Commission declined to address the scope of permissible non-governmental use of 700 MHz broadband spectrum by utilities,” the bureau said. “We emphasize to the Parties that they accept the instant waiver at their own risk and that our decision does not prejudge the outcome of the pending rulemaking, supra, or any other future action the Commission may take to define permissible non-governmental use of 700 MHz public safety spectrum.”