Public Safety Officials Defend Proposal Giving FirstNet License for 4.9 GHz Band

Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) officials made their case Friday for assigning the 4.9 GHz band to FirstNet, a proposal that faces objections on numerous fronts. A year ago, commissioners approved 4-0 a long-awaited order and Further NPRM on the band's future, establishing a national band manager governing the leasing process. The FCC also sought comment on rights and responsibilities of the band manager (see 2301180062). The PSSA has asked that a single, national licensee get the spectrum (see 2304240057).

There are no options for seeing additional deployments in 4.9 GHz other than through FirstNet, Jeff Johnson, CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association and former FirstNet Authority vice chair, said during a webinar. “By law” there’s one national public safety network, he said. The 4.9 GHz band is “very good mid-band spectrum for 5G” and “that is its highest and best use, in our eyes,” Johnson added.

The PSSA proposal is a lightning rod for criticism. Last week, the California Office of Emergency Services opposed PSSA’s proposal effectively giving FirstNet control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2401170070).

Major carriers other than AT&T, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Edison Electric Institute and the Competitive Carriers Association formed the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI), which opposed awarding FirstNet control of the band (see 2311160052).

While AT&T is building the FirstNet network, “this isn’t about AT&T, it’s about public safety,” Johnson said. AT&T made a 25-year commitment to the network as part of the FirstNet contract, he said. Other companies “can come and go in this market,” he said. “You need a plan, and you need a promise, and you need public safety oversight and we have those things built into FirstNet.”

People are comfortable with auctions, but public safety agencies lack funds for spectrum licenses, said former FirstNet Authority Chair Sue Swenson. That’s why Congress legislated 700 MHz spectrum for public safety, she said. “Public safety should not be behind the technological curve of the rest of the nation,” she said. In addition, public safety needs the 4.9 GHz band, she said. Use of the band is "fragmented," without a "broad ecosystem" supporting deployments, she said.

The PSSA proposal would protect the band's current users, Swenson said. The PSSA doesn’t expect the FirstNet Authority to be designated as the band manager, she said. The manager is important to protect incumbents from interference and “that should be their main responsibility,” she said.

In 2002, the FCC allocated 50 MHz of 4.9 GHz spectrum to public safety, which “stands separate and apart” from the FirstNet network, said John Paul Jones, executive director of the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association. There has been “a collective effort by several commercial non-public safety entities” to take the spectrum “and reallocate it for commercial use,” he said. That's what led to the PSSA's creation, he said.

FirstNet is the only alternative public safety has for a national, interoperable network, Johnson said. Some companies make money convincing public agencies they should build their own systems, “but it’s not in the best interest of public safety,” he said. “There is no downside to full operability nationwide,” he said: “It brings down the costs of devices. It brings down the barriers of entry.” All the states and territories opted in to FirstNet, he noted. Swenson and Johnson stressed they are public safety advocates and hold no financial interests in AT&T.