The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology listened to expert witnesses about the benefits of a dedicated broadband network for public safety at a hearing entitled, “Creating an Interoperable Public Safety Network.” Chief Jeff Johnson, testifying on behalf of the Public Safety Alliance (PSA), discussed the need for D block spectrum to be allocated to public safety before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Johnson addressed three key issues in achieving an interoperable public safety network including:

Allocation of the D Block spectrum. To achieve coast-to-coast and border-to-border connectivity, the 10 MHz of D Block spectrum, currently slated for Federal Communications Commission auction, must be added to the current 10 MHz of spectrum licensed to public safety in order to build out a 20 MHz network with sufficient capacity.

Federal funding. PSA supports the auction of spectrum by the FCC — from incentive auctions, auctions of the unsold portion of the Advanced Wireless Spectrum, or of designated federal spectrum as long as the top priority of the derived proceeds are marked for funding the construction, operation and maintenance of a nationwide public-safety broadband network.

A governance model. A governance structure must be created to manage and operate this new nationwide public-safety broadband network. Public safety first responder delegates would constitute a majority of the governing body that sets the rules and enforcement for network operation and facilitate the nationwide build-out. The governing body should include private-sector representation from commercial and other stakeholder groups.