WASHINGTON-The 24 megahertz of spectrum set aside for public safety at 700 MHz is “not nearly enough” for current law enforcement needs, said Derek M. Siegle, FBI unit chief and program manager of the public-safety wireless network and a member of the Federal Law Enforcement Wireless Users Group.
To make matters worse, this spectrum may not be available until broadcasters vacate this spectrum, added Siegle, during a presentation to the Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative. WICI is a task force created by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to encourage the private and public sectors to work together to increase spectrum efficiency.
FCC Chairman William Kennard floated an idea in February where the winners of the 700 MHz spectrum would pay TV broadcasters to leave early either through voluntary agreements or through a secondary auction.
A secondary auction could help the public-safety community gain access to its spectrum since it is assumed that arrangements that would clear the spectrum for commercial operations also would clear the spectrum for public-safety operations.
However, the National Association of Broadcasters has been resisting any moves to require or encourage broadcasters to move before 2007.
A portion-2.6 megahertz-of the 24 megahertz is to be used for interoperability between federal, state and local public-safety organizations. Major disasters, such as the Oklahoma City bombing, have shown that public-safety officials standing 10 feet away from each other often cannot communicate wirelessly because each agency uses a different technology and a different band.
