https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Policy


APCO rep: D Block more realistic than 700 MHz funding

APCO rep: D Block more realistic than 700 MHz funding

Yucel Ors said he is not optimistic that Congress will appropriate the $6.5 billion in grant money that the FCC requested to help fund the buildout of an LTE network for first responders.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 11th May 2010

Federal lawmakers aren’t expressing much support for the notion of dedicating the proceeds of a proposed 700 MHz D Block auction next year to help fund the deployment of a nationwide public-safety broadband network in the band, according to a public-safety Capitol Hill representative.

Yucel Ors, director of legislative affairs for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), said he is not optimistic that Congress will appropriate the $6.5 billion in grant money that the FCC requested to help fund the buildout of an LTE network for first responders.

During a March subcommittee hearing on the FCC’s national broadband plan, two key lawmakers — Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), chairman of the House subcommittee on communications, technology and the Internet, and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House energy and commerce committee — said they are working together to draft legislation that would appropriate most, if not all, proceeds from the commercial D Block auction to help pay for the proposed nationwide, broadband wireless network for first responders.

To date, no such legislation has been introduced. If it is introduced, such a bill likely would face significant opposition, according to Ors.

“If there is a precedent set that they’re going to start allocating the money for various specific projects, members of Congress are not very supportive of that,” Ors said. “It defeats the purpose of the auctions [from a federal funding perspective], which is to put money into the Treasury.”

President Obama’s proposed federal budget includes $3 billion in D Block auction proceeds as a revenue item, and that line item likely will be included in the budget Congress passes for the 2011 fiscal year, Ors said.

“A number of times I’ve gone up there to talk about this issue with some the Congressional staff, and they always came back with, ‘Where are you going to offset the cost of building [the 700 MHz broadband network] out in the budget?’” he said.

In addition, current budget proposals call for public-safety communication grant programs to be restructured, with an overall cut of $1 billion from interoperability grant programs compared to the current year, Ors said.

“Not only are we going to have to fight to get that money back into the budget, we’re going to have to fight for an additional $6 billion to build a broadband network [under the FCC’s national broadband plan],” he said. “Actually, getting the spectrum is a lot easier than getting the funding.”

Ors also reiterated the position taken by APCO, most national public-safety organizations and most national associations representing state and local government officials that the D Block should be reallocated to public safety instead of being auctioned for commercial use.

With the D Block and the 10 MHz of public-safety broadband spectrum licensed to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST), public safety would have 20 MHz for its network. Without the D Block, public safety would have 10 MHz of spectrum for its network, which likely would limit the network to purely public-safety use instead of also being able to develop partnerships with other critical infrastructure entities — other government agencies, utilities and health-care facilities, for example—that could be supported on a 20 MHz network, Ors said.

FCC officials have said they are not convinced that public safety needs more than 10 MHz for its network. If additional spectrum is needed, the agency has vowed to find airwaves in other bands to address such a need. But such a spectrum allocation after the network is built would be in a different band, which would create new and expensive challenges, Ors said.

“It’s going to ultimately increase cost. It’s going to create different systems. It’s going to cause problems with interoperability,” he said. “It’s going to recreate what we have with land-mobile radio.”

Under the FCC plan, the D Block would be auctioned early next year. With most members of Congress running for re-election in the fall, educating Capitol Hill about the issues surrounding the FCC’s 700 MHz proposal will be a top priority during the next several weeks, Ors said.

A bill to reallocate the D Block to public safety has been introduced in the House, but it has not been scheduled for a hearing yet, Ors said.

Tags: content Policy

Most Recent


  • Artificial intelligence used to detect guns at schools
    At around midday on Tuesday, May 24 an 18-year-old shooter walked into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and shot and killed 21 people including 19 children. It is the second worst mass school shooting in U.S. history. There have been 30 mass shootings at K-12 schools so far in 2022. “I am sick and […]
  • Restrictions on Chinese imports hurting equipment vendors working in India
    Vendors have requested a relaxation on imports from China so that domestic telecom operators can roll out upgraded networks faster. With 5G deployment around the corner, telecom equipment vendors are finding themselves in a catch-22 situation. Since the Indo-Sino clash on the Galwan border in 2020, cross-border trade with China has been severely restricted. Multinational […]
  • Infrastructure improvements in cities often feature clean energy or connected technologies
    The most in-demand products and services in local governments fall into three interconnected buckets, says Matthew Britt, general manager of smart cities at Honeywell. The buckets, he says, are urban mobility, sustainability and resilience, and public safety. “Urban mobility begins with road infrastructure and understanding how to move people around cities more effectively and sustainably. At […]
  • Hytera, Motorola Solutions refile appeal, cross-appeal in civil case
    As expected, Hytera Communications again has appealed a $543.7 million judgment against it to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, while Motorola Solutions this week filed for second time a cross appeal in the case that was initiated more than four years ago. There was little surprise in the filings, because both Hytera and Motorola […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • New Orleans-area 911 center inks multiyear APEX deal with Carbyne to replace call-handling system
  • APCO rep: D Block more realistic than 700 MHz funding
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public

Commentary


LTE and liability: Why the fire service must move forward with digital incident command

  • 2
6th May 2022

Partnership and collaboration must be the foundation for emergency communications

18th April 2022

FirstNet success means no hypothetical ‘shots’ need to be fired, Swenson says

22nd February 2022
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Artificial intelligence used to detect guns at schools dlvr.it/SR8wBY

27th May 2022
UrgentComm

Restrictions on Chinese imports hurting equipment vendors working in India dlvr.it/SR8sj7

27th May 2022
UrgentComm

Infrastructure improvements in cities often feature clean energy or connected technologies dlvr.it/SR8n7G

27th May 2022
UrgentComm

Panasonic Connect launches Toughbook 40 rugged laptop dlvr.it/SR5vl2

26th May 2022
UrgentComm

Newscan: ‘Predator’ spyware let government hackers break into Chrome and Android, Google says dlvr.it/SR2lBG

25th May 2022
UrgentComm

Malicious Python Repository Package drops Cobalt Strike on Windows, macOS & Linux systems dlvr.it/SR0Qb2

24th May 2022
UrgentComm

T-Mobile’s CEO explains the company’s new private 5G strategy dlvr.it/SQyzhc

24th May 2022
UrgentComm

Hytera, Motorola Solutions refile appeal, cross-appeal in civil case dlvr.it/SQxNX1

24th May 2022

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X