Some things we don’t know yet that promise to impact FirstNet’s ultimate success
Will FirstNet’s Band 14 airwaves in the 700 MHz band count against a winning bidder when policies are implemented that employ spectrum caps? [[EDITOR'S NOTE: I goofed. We actually do know the answer to this, thanks to the FCC's ruling in June 2014 that says any deal with FirstNet will not impact a carrier's spectrum-cap calculation (See page 56). Shout out to Ryan Oremland for catching this, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience the error may have caused–Donny Jackson]]
Will foreign-ownership concerns limit the pool of potential winning bidders? If successful, the FirstNet system will carry public-safety information from local, state and federal sources. In addition, it might play a big role in communications for critical-infrastructure entities—for instance, in the utility, transportation and healthcare sectors—depending on the final definition of a “public-safety entity” that can receive prioritized access to the network.
That’s a lot of highly sensitive information that promises to have significant national safety and security implications, especially as Internet of Things technology mature. Given this, would the federal government and potential public-safety subscribers be comfortable if a significant portion of FirstNet’s winning bidder—for instance, the carrier partner or a key software vendor—was owned outside the U.S.?
Many would argue that it would be fine allow foreign ownership where the foreign entity is a political ally, but allies can change over time, and FirstNet is proposing a partner agreement that spans 20-25 years. Then again, what if the U.S.-based option simply is not as good?
If this is an issue, policymakers should let potential bidders know now—publicly or privately—so they do not waste a lot of time pursuing teaming arrangements that will not be accepted.