Major City Police Chiefs Lodge FirstNet Complaint at FCC
The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) lodged a complaint against FirstNet at the FCC, raising concerns that the group said “demand immediate attention” by the regulator. “FirstNet was created to provide an essential nationwide broadband network for public safety, yet…
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reports indicate FirstNet has expanded access and provided priority and preemption to non-public safety entities such as truckers, cable companies, and maintenance personnel,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 12-94. Recent authority board appointments made by the Commerce Department “excluded three highly qualified MCCA candidates from having a seat at the table,” MCCA said: “The lack of forethought to include a major city public safety representative on the Board has produced a situation where major urban area police department interests are no longer represented by a trusted and experienced professional who understands the challenges that are unique to America’s major cities. This is particularly concerning given the number of threats currently facing MCCA members.” The FCC is considering the FirstNet Authority’s pursuit of a 10-year extension of its nationwide Band 14 license (see 2208230076). “The FirstNet Authority filed its license renewal application with the FCC on August 22 and will be following the process outlined in the FCC’s subsequent public notice,” a FirstNet spokesperson emailed in response to the complaint. A Commerce Department official noted the board already has three public safety representatives.