At its recently concluded annual meeting, the International Association of Fire Chiefs Board of Directors approved a resolution calling for the allocation of 30MHz of spectrum in the upper 700MHz band to be held in trust to create a nationwide public safety wireless network. The text of the resolution can be found in the Government Relations section of the IAFC Web site.

The proposed 30MHz is in addition to and adjacent to the 24MHz of spectrum that the Federal Communications Commission already has allocated to public safety and that Congress has directed incumbent tv operators to vacate by February 2009.

On Oct. 30 the FCC opened a 30-day comment period on a petition by Cyren Call Communications. The Cyren Call proposal calls for allocation of a 30MHz block from the planned auction of 700MHz spectrum to be prioritized and managed for use by public safety. The license for the nationwide block would be granted to a single licensee to be called the Public Safety Broadband Trust. The proposal is available at www.cyrencall.com.

Departments considering broadband applications not currently available in existing public safety land mobile systems should file their comments with the FCC by Nov. 29, the closing date of the comment period.

Written comments may be sent directly to Chairman Kevin J. Martin at the FCC: 445 12th S., SW, Washington, D.C., 20554. Refer to Docket No. RM-11348 in the Matter of Reallocation of 30MHz Spectrum (747-762/777-792 MHz) From Commercial Use. Comments may also be filed electronically by going to this FCC Web site and following the submission instructions. The proceeding number is RM-11348.