The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has awarded the license for 10MHz
of valuable wireless spectrum to a public safety organization, in anticipation
of the spectrum being used to build out a nationwide emergency communications
network.

The FCC on Monday awarded the license for the spectrum in the 700MHz band to
the Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corp. (PSST), a nonprofit organization with
representatives from several public safety groups, including the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Fire Chiefs,
and the National Sheriffs' Association. The 10MHz awarded to PSST will be combined
with an adjacent 10MHz of spectrum that will be auctioned in early 2008, with
the winning bidder required to create a nationwide wireless network for both
public safety agencies and commercial use.

The FCC award to PSST was expected. PSST was the only applicant for the nationwide
license.

PSST will negotiate a network-sharing agreement with the winning bidder on
the adjacent 10MHz of spectrum and it will administer usage fees for the nationwide
network. The organization will also review requests for early build-outs, and
it will manage public safety access to the commercial portion of the spectrum
during emergencies, according to the FCC.

PSST members are grateful to the FCC for "recognizing the significant
amount of work and progress achieved by the PSST to fulfill the FCC’s guidelines
for creating a nationwide network for public safety,” said Harlin McEwen,
PSST's chairman, in a statement. “Holding the spectrum license is a responsibility
the PSST takes very seriously as we embark upon building an unprecedented interoperable
communications system for public safety.”

The PSST spectrum is part of a chunk of spectrum being abandoned by U.S. television
stations after the U.S. Congress in late 2005 required them to move to all-digital
broadcasts by early 2009. The FCC will auction 62MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz
band starting on Jan. 24.

Several lawmakers and groups pushed for part of the spectrum to be used for
an emergency communications network. During the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on
the U.S. and in more recent disasters, emergency response agencies found they
couldn't talk to each other because they were using a variety of equipment on
different spectrum bands.

The auction of 700MHz band of spectrum is expected to raise more than US$10
billion. Several companies are eyeing the spectrum to use for long-range wireless
broadband networks. The spectrum is particularly valuable because signals can
travel three to four times farther than wireless signals on higher spectrum
bands.

IDG News Service

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