FirstNet's Band 14 License Expires, but Use of Spectrum Can Continue
FirstNet’s band 14 license “expired” Tuesday without being renewed by the FCC. But FCC officials said there’s no reason to worry -- FirstNet’s current license remains active as long as the renewal application is pending in the agency’s universal licensing system. The FirstNet Authority board met Wednesday, but members didn’t express concerns about the renewal. Authority officials said the initial band 14 deployment is now scheduled to be completed in March.
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“Over this past year we were focused on the process to renew the … band 14 spectrum license,” said Lisa Casias, FirstNet acting CEO, near the end of the meeting: “The FirstNet Authority filed its renewal application in August and the proceeding remains pending before the FCC.”
FirstNet adoption “continues to grow at a fast pace” and more than 525 devices are available for use on the network, said Future Planning Committee Chairman Jocelyn Moore. The network covers more than 2.8 million square miles, and more than 23,000 agencies use it, she said.
“The committee is excited to see the tremendous amount of progress in the growth of the coverage footprint year over year and [that’s] even more impressive if you consider the deployment of band 14 started in 2018,” Moore said.
The Spectrum Act, which created FirstNet, provided licensing for an initial 10-year term. The law limits renewal to a term “not to exceed 10 years.” Band 14, 20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum, offers the base spectrum for the network AT&T is building in partnership with FirstNet. The National Sheriffs Association and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (see 2209070059) and 2208250056) raised questions, and T-Mobile urged the agency to ask additional questions and require more transparency before renewal (see 2210040041). But most commenters urge renewal.
FirstNet was active in Puerto Rico during Hurricane Fiona and in Florida during Ian, said board Chairman Stephen Benjamin. “The FirstNet network was up to the challenge in Florida through the deployable fleet and newer solutions such as compact rapid deployables,” he said. “FirstNet was there for public safety in hard to reach areas like Sanibel Island and Pine Island” and “found ways to keep responders connected throughout the storm,” he said.
NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, attending his first board meeting in that role, said FirstNet remains “a major priority” for NTIA. “When I left my last tour of duty at the [Commerce] Department just about six years ago, FirstNet was really a PowerPoint deck,” he said: “It was an idea, and to see the progress that has been made over a very short period of time is really incredible.”
Richard Carrizzo, chair of the Advocacy Committee, updated the board on recent attendance at public safety conferences. The board still has a big job ahead, he said. He said “what we learned” at a recent meeting sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs is that basic education “is always going to have to be done because too many people are turning over, constantly, and we kept hearing people did not understand FirstNet and it was just kind of odd after five years. It kind of brought reality to the whole of the mission of this board.” FirstNet has held more than 1,800 meetings with public safety agencies across all the states and territories this year, he said.