RFSTUF

FCC National Broadband Plan One Year Later: Where Are We Now?
PC Magazine
But if the 2008 700 MHz auctions were any indication, getting these types of ... something that still eludes us is interoperable public safety network that ...

...PUBLIC SAFETY

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, something that still eludes us is interoperable public safety network that would let first responders from different states, counties, or departments communicate with one another during an emergency. The broadband plan calls on the government to use the power of broadband to improve public safety and create an interoperable public safety wireless broadband communication networks by 2020.

In April, the FCC created the Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC), which will create a framework for this public safety network. In January, the FCC also adopted a rulemaking on a public safety network; stakeholders will have several months to submit their comments and suggestions.

The FCC estimated that the interoperable network would require as much as $6.5 billion over 10 years, with most of that money needed between the second and fifth year. The wireless plan Obama unveiled last month calls for a $3 billion Wireless Innovation (WIN) Fund, which will support basic research, experimentation and testbeds, and applied development in areas like public safety, education, energy, health, transportation, and economic development. About $500 million of the WIN Fund's $3 billion would be used for R&D related to the deployment of an interoperable public safety network. Overall, Obama called for a $10.7 billion investment in such a network, including $3.2 billion to re-allocate D-Block spectrum to public safety, and $7 billion for the deployment of the network. ...