The fight for legislation allocating the D-block of 700 MHz wireless broadband spectrum to public safety has been a long road for lobbyists and supporters. Recently Administrative and Congressional attention has been turned in that direction. The 9/11 Commission began an initiative more than seven years ago based on the added safety and efficiency this allocation would provide. In a recent speech at Northern Michigan University, in Marquette, Mich., President Barack Obama officially pledge his support. Representatives Peter King of New York and Bennie Thompson of Mississippi also got behind the cause by reintroducing a bill (First Responder's Act of 2011, H.R. 607) to designate the D-Block to public safety agencies.
The unacceptable capability of commercial networks used for public safety are a safety liability. Agencies currently use networks that are simply not sufficient in uptime, availability, and redundancy. With current daily usage, the networks hold up. However, in the event of a major catastrophe masses of panicked people will use the carrier network to reach loved ones, causing the systems to fail. This puts police officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel at significant risk during large-scale emergencies.
The networks are also inefficient in their current state. Public safety needs a full 20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum to maintain a strong nationwide broadband network to suit their data, video, and, in the future, voice communications. The current 10 MHz already occupied by public safety is already adjacent to the D-Block. Extending the allocation would remedy a number of technical issues (including interference), and the cost and complexity of building the network would be reduced.
See the full text of H.R. 607 here.
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