Washington, D.C. Today, Reps. Jane Harman (D-Venice) and Chip Pickering (R-MS) wrote a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin urging the FCC to move forward with a plan to use the upper 700 Mhz band to develop a nationwide wireless public safety network. Below is the full text of their letter:

 

May 17, 2007

The Honorable Kevin Martin
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Martin:

In recent years, our nation has made little progress improving the communications systems used by first responders and other public safety officials. Four years after 9/11 and after billions of dollars spent on communications equipment, Hurricane Katrina revealed that firefighters, police officers, and EMS personnel experienced the same communications failures that result in slow response, recovery and loss of life. Our nation has little to show for the more than $2 billion spent on emergency communications since 9/11, and though it will help, the additional $1 billion to be distributed this year is unlikely to result in real, nationwide improvements necessary to avert another catastrophe.

For these reasons, we write in support of the public safety network build-out concept described in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted on April 25, 2007. This idea, proposed by Frontline Wireless but open for competitive bidding by any interested party, presents the federal government with one of the last opportunities to create a single, national system to help public safety agencies achieve seamless operability and interoperability. Commercial interest in the 700 Mhz band spectrum can produce a viable, survivable solution for public safety.

The FCC has tentatively concluded that “providing broadband spectrum for advanced public safety communications would best serve our goal of enabling first responders to protect safety of life, health and property.”  We strongly agree. However, without a national network, broadband communications will join the balkanized and fragmented emergency voice communications landscape partly responsible for the destruction and loss of life after 9/11 and Katrina. Allowing a commercial wireless provider to build a nationwide network for public safety use can produce a realistic and affordable solution.

We urge the FCC to move forward with a plan for the upper 700 mhz band that leverages private sector resources for the benefit of public safety.

 

Sincerely,

 

/s                                                                                                    /s                                                              
Jane Harman                                                                                 Chip Pickering
Member of Congress                                                                      Member of Congress

 

Cc:

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein
Commissioner Michael Copps
Commissioner Robert McDowell
Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate