PSST inks deals with 20 waiver jurisdictions
All but one of the 21 public-safety jurisdictions that have received permission from the FCC to deploy 700 MHz networks have signed lease agreements with the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST), the licensee of the public-safety broadband spectrum that would be used for the new systems.
PSST Chairman Harlin McEwen said 20 of the 21 jurisdictions receiving waiver approvals for 700 MHz broadband systems have signed spectrum leases based on a template created by the FCC earlier this year.
“The leases are now being reviewed by the FCC,” McEwen said, adding that the only waiver jurisdiction that did not sign a spectrum lease — the state of Alabama — declined to pursue an agreement at this time because it is not prepared to deploy a 700 MHz broadband network in the near future.
In a related matter, McEwen said he is “very, very encouraged” by progress being made on legislation that would reallocate the D Block — 10 MHz of spectrum adjacent to the PSST swath of 700 MHz broadband spectrum — to public safety and provide funding sources to help build and maintain a proposed nationwide network for first responders.
McEwen and Charles Dowd, deputy chief of the New York Police Department, noted that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will be hosting a meeting tomorrow in Washington, D.C., to discuss broadband requirements for public safety.
“I think it’s a very constructive step by the administration,” Dowd said.