IAFC MEMBER ALERT
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: IAFC
Government Relations Department
International Association of Fire
Chiefs
703/273-0911
www.iafc.org
IAFC Board of Directors Urges Member Support of New Broadband Spectrum Proposal
Fairfax, VA, November 6, 2006... At its October 26 meeting, the IAFC Board of Directors approved a resolution calling for the allocation of 30 MHz of spectrum in the upper 700 MHz band to be held in trust for public safety to create a nationwide public safety wireless network. The text of the resolution can be found on the IAFC website (go to Government Relations, then Issues Information and Resources: Communications). The proposed 30 MHz is in addition to and is adjacent to the 24 MHz of spectrum that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has already allocated to public safety and that Congress has directed incumbent television operators to vacate by February 2009.
On October 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 30 MHz block from the planned auction of 700 MHz 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 Cyren Call proposal is available at www.cyrencall.com.
If your department is considering broadband applications that would benefit data services such as text messaging, photos, diagrams, video to support hazmat, EMS, command post, interoperability and other services not currently available in existing public safety land mobile systems, then you should file your comments with the FCC by November 29, the closing date of the comment period. Written comments may be sent directly to Chairman Kevin J. Martin at the FCC: 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. Refer to Docket No. RM-11348 in the Matter of Reallocation of 30 MHz Spectrum (747-762/777-792 MHz) From Commercial Use. Comments may also be filed electronically at http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi and follow the submission instructions. The proceeding number is: RM-11348.
The Cyren Call proposal seeks to reallocate to public safety half of the 60 MHz block in the 700 MHz band that Congress ordered the FCC to auction. The IAFC expects that there will be major congressional action on this issue next year and will keep its members up to date on legislative developments.
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