WASHINGTON-The public-safety advocates of the Consensus Plan told the Federal Communications Commission that statements made by Verizon Wireless are misleading.
“Verizon continues to repeat claims regarding the Consensus Plan that are simply incorrect. Once again it wrongly states that ‘public safety will be forced to spend taxpayers money first, then seek reimbursement from Nextel later.’ Verizon has repeatedly used this ‘scare tactic’ to generate unwarranted fears among some in the public-safety community. The reality is that public-safety licensees will be able to demand that Nextel Communications Inc. pay all costs directly, without any need for upfront expenditures of public funds,” said Vincent Stile, president of the Association of Public-safety Communications Officials; Chief Ernest Mitchell, president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; Chief Joseph Polisar, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police; Chief Harold Hurtt, president of the Major Cities Chief Association; Sheriff Wayne Gay, president of the National Sheriffs’ Association; and Sheriff Margo Frasier, president of the Major County Sheriffs’ Association.
The public-safety group also said the extra spectrum Nextel is willing to relinquish as part of the Consensus Plan in both the 800 MHz and 700 MHz bands will help in their operations.
“The additional capacity, along with spectrum that Nextel has already committed to relinquish under the Consensus Plan, can be used to relieve congestion on public-safety systems and to provide greater interoperability through new and expanded multi-agency trunked radio systems,” reads the letter sent Monday. “The spectrum would be particularly useful for carefully planned systems with limited areas of required coverage, such as campus environments, shopping centers, correctional facilities, and other specific locations that demand localized systems.”
The Consensus Plan would shuffle the 800 MHz band to eliminate the current situation where public safety, private wireless, Nextel, other SMRs and cellular carriers are intermingled. In exchange for giving up spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands and for paying to retune public safety and private wireless, Nextel has asked for 10 megahertz in the 1.9 GHz band. Nextel; the Industrial Telecommunications Association, which represents private-wireless interests; and some public-safety advocacy groups support the Consensus Plan. Other public-safety advocacy groups have expressed concern about the Consensus Plan.
The FCC staff sent a proposal to the commissioners in March, and since then the wireless industry has been lobbying its various points of view. The FCC met in April, May and June without discussing the issue.
Verizon Wireless and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association support a plan that would give Nextel replacement spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band, require Nextel to set up a third-party administrator for the reimbursement and allows Nextel to receive its 2.1 GHz spectrum only as retuning occurs instead of all at once.
