Colorado Says FCC Should Require FirstNet to Divulge Network Policies

“Because it is the Commission’s role in the Spectrum Act to evaluate alternative state plans against the network policies, the Commission necessarily has the power to demand that FirstNet divulge those same network policies in a manner that will provide the Commission the time necessary to carry out its statutorily required obligations.” The FCC needs the policies so it can develop the process for deciding whether states seeking to opt out have met requirements, the state officials said. States fear that they won’t have access to network policies “until well after it is possible to develop an alternative state plan that complies with such policies,” the officials said. “It is unclear what the network policies even consist of other than that opt-out states will have to comply with them.” If they're on interoperability, they're key to the network design of any state alternative plan, the state officials said. Public availability of network policies benefits states and the FCC, they said. “This availability will serve both the Commission’s role in ensuring network interoperability as well as carrying out Congress’s intent to give states a real choice to either accept FirstNet created state plans or create alternative state plans.”