FirstNet initiates $40 million grant program to relocate 700 MHz narrowband systems by August 2017
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FirstNet initiates $40 million grant program to relocate 700 MHz narrowband systems by August 2017
This is not the first time the federal government has sought to relocate public-safety LMR systems from this band. In 2008, the FCC conducted its 700 MHz auction and stipulated that the winner of the D Block would work with public safety to build a nationwide LTE network and would pay to relocate incumbent LMR systems from the band. However, the D Block auction failed to attract a qualifying bid, leaving the incumbent public-safety entities with no funding to pay for the relocation of their LMR systems, which continued to operate on the D Block spectrum.
In January, FirstNet released its request for proposal (RFP) to solicit bids from offeror teams to build and operate a nationwide network that will leverage LTE technology on the 20 MHz of Band 14 spectrum that is licensed to FirstNet. Bids are due on May 13, and government officials hope to award the contract in by Nov. 1.
Poth said FirstNet’s goal is to have all incumbent systems relocated by August 2017, so FirstNet’s contractor will be able to utilize all of the Band 14 spectrum to offer communications services to public-safety users, as well as to serve commercial customers on a secondary basis.
FirstNet officials repeatedly have noted the fact that the Band 14 spectrum would be cleared of incumbent users so quickly as a significant benefit to potential offerors, many of which may consider bidding in the FCC’s incentive auction of 600 MHz spectrum that will begin later this month. Winning bidders in the incentive auction may not be able to use their new spectrum for several years as they wait until incumbent broadcast TV stations are relocated to other spectrum bands.