UPDATE More reaction is coming about the FCC’s decision to enable AT&T’s (NYSE: T) FirstNet to use 50 MHz of unassigned spectrum in the 4.9 GHz band. AT&T EVP Federal Regulatory Relations Rhonda Johnson stated, “We applaud the FCC for acknowledging the overwhelming public safety support for a nationwide deployment of their 4.9 GHz spectrum. The FCC’s order will protect incumbents and increase usage of this spectrum, boosting public safety’s access to the life-saving capabilities of 5G and helping them serve their communities. Preserving this spectrum for public safety has been and should always be a priority — and the FCC’s action does just that.”
Patrick Yoes, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, also hailed the FCC decision. “The FOP campaigned hard to beat back the efforts of for-profit companies and organizations like the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) to use the false banner of ‘local control’ to encroach upon public safety’s 4.9 GHz spectrum for their own commercial purposes,” Yoes said. He called the FCC vote “a victory for public safety over private profit.”
CERCI is a coalition formed by T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), UScellular (NYSE: USM), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), the Competitive Carriers Association, Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Edison Electric Institute. The group opposes the decision and plans to litigate the issue, Inside Towers reported.
Yoes added the FOP and its counterparts in the International Association of Fire Fighters and International Association of Chiefs of Police represent “the overwhelming majority of the public safety practitioners” that use public safety networks in the field. “Their very lives depend on the reliability and effectiveness of these communication systems. Non-public safety organizations in the private sector, critical infrastructure operators, and transportation providers sought to encroach upon public safety’s 4.9 GHz spectrum for their own commercial purposes,” said Yoes.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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