Responses to FirstNet public notice reveal little consensus on ‘public-safety entity’ definition

AT&T and others also expressed concern that FirstNet’s latest proposed interpretation would not be practical to execute and would create uncertainties that would undermine the feasibility of the NPSBN.

“Leaving FirstNet’s primary user base unsettled will deprive stakeholders and potential partners of a solid foundation for evaluating whether and how to participate in the network,” the filing states. “Establishing a bright-line definition of public safety entities at the outset is a more sensible approach to identifying the NPSBN’s primary user base going forward. FirstNet’s proposed approach also invites administrative difficulties if FirstNet intends to determine different entities’ status on an on-going basis.

“In particular, if FirstNet exercises its discretion to define the public-safety entities that the NPSBN actually serves on an individualized basis, such decisions may be susceptible to dispute. For example, could FirstNet decide after consultation with Ohio that a local Red Cross organization is eligible for direct network access as a public safety entity, but—after consulting with Indiana—conclude that a similar local organization should not qualify as a public-safety entity? FirstNet invites conflict to the extent it becomes mired in individualized definitional determinations of this type.”

Not surprisingly, utilities expressed support for a broader definition of a public-safety entity, noting that they qualify as “emergency response providers” under the Homeland Security Act. Filings from the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) and other utilities note that electric utilities’ mission-critical applications consume about 250 KB/s—less than 1% of the available bandwidth in an LTE cell sector—that would require prioritized access at all times to ensure that the power grid remains functional.

Without a guarantee that these mission-critical applications would be prioritized at all time—even during public-safety emergencies—utilities likely would not want to participate in the FirstNet system.

“Utilities desperately need access to the 700 MHz PSBN for reliable communications—especially during emergencies—for these mission-critical applications,” the UTC filing states. “If there is no guarantee that these mission-critical applications would be supported by the 700 MHz PSBN during emergencies, utilities would be discouraged from using the 700 MHz PSBN at all or certainly only to a much more limited extent.

“As such, it is critically important for FirstNet to provide access for these utility mission-critical applications; otherwise, utilities may decide to refrain from using the 700 MHz PSBN.”