FCC broadband initiatives could benefit public safety

Here’s where the FCC’s USF and E-rate initiatives can come in. Today, the most common connectivity in these rural areas are copper wires—what USF and E-rate traditionally have subsidized—so there is not a big need for robust backhaul. However, if broadband becomes the new “minimum” connection in rural areas, the backhaul in those locations must be revamped to support those services.

If legitimate backhaul options exist, it will be much more reasonable for FirstNet to consider public-safety LTE coverage in rural locations. Conversely, if a backhaul provider is confident that FirstNet will be a customer, it is easier for the provider to justify investing in a more robust backhaul connection. Or, maybe FirstNet builds the robust backhaul link in some cases and leases excess capacity back to commercial broadband providers—wireline and wireless—that want to serve the rural area.

Of course, these are just conceptual outlines of what likely would be complex negotiations. But addressing those complications would be worth the effort, if the result is that government funding from FirstNet and the FCC is used in the most efficient manner possible to help meet two key communications needs: providing interoperable broadband connectivity to first responders throughout the nation and ensuring that those in rural areas have access to high-speed Internet, so they are not left on the wrong side of the “Digital Divide.”