Redl discusses FirstNet, spectrum sharing during nomination hearing for NTIA post

NTIA will conduct the final statutory mandated review of a state’s application to pursue the “opt-out” alternative, which would occur only after the FCC conducts and approves the application from an interoperability perspective.

While FCC commissioners are scheduled to vote on proposed rules associated with its review process on June 22, the NTIA has not yet released its final proposed review rules. However, NTIA staff has been developing its opt-out review process, and its release is not contingent on Redl’s nomination being approved, according to a source familiar with the situation. NTIA plans to announce its opt-out review process before FirstNet distributes its final state plans in the fall, according to the source.

Redl also pledged to ensure that the FirstNet system provides coverage in rural areas.

“The statute is clear that NTIA is to work with FirstNet and with the states to make sure that is deployment, particularly in rural areas,.” he said. “We’ve been happy to see that AT&T has said they would be able to get public-safety users on their network as priority users on their networks as soon as the end of this year, and the rural benchmarks that are included in the Middle-Class Tax Relief and Job-Creation Act will help make sure that there is buildout to rural areas where we don’t already have coverage.”

In addition, Redl also agreed to—if confirmed—work with lawmakers on several other initiatives, such as:

• Deployment of next-generation 911 systems;
• Streamlining regulation of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, so they are burdened by unnecessarily overlapping regulatory regimes, based on outdated rules;
• Ensuring that the 5.9 GHz band—slated for vehicle-safety technologies—is leveraged efficiently without compromising its dedicated mission; and
• Working to enable timely siting of network infrastructure on public lands.

Joining Redl during the nomination hearing were Derek Kan, who has been nominated as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s undersecretary for policy, and Robert L. Sumwalt III, who has been nominated to be a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Like Redl, Kan and Sumwalt did not face any confrontational inquiries during the nomination hearing.