FCC: Delaying D Block auction could hurt public safety

First-responder agencies could be hampered if efforts to delay the commercial auction of the 700 MHz D Block are successful, according to an FCC deputy bureau chief.

Under current law, the 10 MHz of D Block spectrum must be auctioned to commercial operators, and the FCC is planning to begin accepting bids during the early portion of 2011. Associations representing public safety and state and local organizations are trying to convince Congress to reallocate the spectrum to public safety and combine the airwaves with 700 MHz spectrum licensed to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) to build a nationwide broadband network for first responders.

Many representatives of these organizations have suggested that the D Block auction should be delayed until Congress makes its decision. But delaying the D Block auction could have a negative impact on public safety, said Jennifer Manner, deputy chief of the FCC’s public safety and homeland security bureau.

“The D Block, if auctioned, could potentially give public safety more flexibility, choice and cost-saving to partner with a commercial provider,” Manner said.

Potential benefits of partnering with the D Block licensee include having infrastructure and devices that operate in the same international band class, which should introduce notable cost savings — a significant factor for public-safety entities that are facing tight budgets in the wake of poor economic times.

While other potential partners exist in some regions, the only 700 MHz commercial carriers that public safety could partner with in most of the country are AT&T and Verizon. Manner emphasized that no one in the FCC knows what firm would win the D Block — the proceeding to establish rules for the auction has not even begun — but public-safety agencies could benefit if they had a third carrier as an option to be a possible partner.

Within a week, the FCC expects to release a white paper detailing its research regarding public safety’s broadband capacity needs, Manner said. FCC officials have indicated they believe that the 10 MHz of PSST spectrum should be enough to serve the public safety’s needs in most cases, especially when complemented with priority-access roaming during high-capacity periods, such as during a large incident.

“We believe there is sufficient capacity for the long term [using the PSST spectrum]. What you’ll see when we do release our capacity white paper is that simply having that extra 10 MHz [from a D Block allocation] likely will not be sufficient when you have a large-scale emergency. In times of serious emergencies when there are extraordinary communications needs, ensuring that public safety has access to significant capacity via priority access and roaming on commercial broadband networks is what they’ll really need.”