The letter sent on April 20, 2011 to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski from the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested a reply no later than May 5. An extension was granted this week, allowing more time for a reply to the Committee's concerns about Motorola Solutions' dominance in the LMR Public Safety network. Motorola has the lion's share of the marketplace, currently conducting about 80% of equipment business in the marketplace.
The letter outwardly questions whether having such a dominant vendor is the cause of proprietary solutions creating interoperability issues and resulting in higher costs in the Public Safety sector. The Committee was troubled by news that agencies applying for 700 MHz waivers have already selected Motorola as their vendors. In actuality, there have been waivers granted for 20 agencies to use spectrum allocated to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) and 32 entities who have requested such waivers. Only two of these agencies have officially selected Motorola as their vendor for deployment of their 700 MHz broadband networks. The two agencies, Harris County, Texas and the San Francisco Bay Area, both have concerns surrounding their projects. Harris County's 700 MHz spectrum waiver is still pending approval, and San Francisco's system has been plagued with bureaucratic missteps and budgeting oversights on their $50.6 million project.
Voices from the industry bring varying views, with former APCO president Richard Mignon calling the Committee's letter a "red herring," questioning a company whose previously effective products have given brought it the majority of Public Safety LMR business. Some are relieved that a longtime issue is being brought to light, while others hold vendors responsible for participating in the bid processes that are set in place by agencies to encourage competition.
For more on these matters, see the Urgent Communications article.
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