FCC offers new proposals to auction public-safety spectrum
The FCC has proposed new rules for auctioning a block of spectrum intended for police and fire departments -- with many of the rules similar to the first failed attempt at selling the spectrum.
The proposal the FCC approved Thursday would again auction the so-called D block of spectrum to a private company, which would be required to build a nationwide voice and broadband network shared by public safety agencies and a commercial service. In an auction of the 700 MHz band of spectrum early this year, the D block failed to get the minimum bid of US$1.3 billion set by the FCC.
The new proposal, which will be available for public comment, would allow the spectrum to be sold in 58 regional pieces or in one nationwide block. The FCC proposed a new minimum bid of $750 million for the entire 10 MHz of spectrum, which would be paired with another 10 MHz controlled by the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST), the nonprofit group of public safety agencies.
But the FCC also asked for comments about whether the minimum price should be lowered. During the 700 MHz auction, which ended in March, the FCC received one $472 million bid for the D block. The winner of the spectrum would also have to spend billions of dollars to build the network.
Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein expressed doubts about the new proposal. An attempt to put together a similar auction to the one that failed is "fraught with difficulty," he said.
The proposed $750 million minimum bid is not based on "solid economic or technical" analysis of the value of the spectrum, or on the cost to bidders for building the network, Adelstein added.
"We are offering for sale a valuable asset, but not one of unlimited value," he said. "And we are expecting major investments to be made by private enterprise to meet the needs of public safety. Despite these hurdles, we have not undertaken to assess whether the costs we are asking the private sector to bear have any relationship to the returns it can expect."
The proposal would set the cost of monthly service for each public safety worker at $48.50, and some public safety agencies may not be able to afford those fees, added Michael Copps, a commission member. "A network that is too expensive for first responders to use is little better than no network at all," Copps said.
But commission Chairman Kevin Martin said the FCC has few other choices than a partnership between public safety agencies and a private network operator if it wants a nationwide public safety network.
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If the FCC wants to make
If the FCC wants to make this a successful auction and within reach of most PS groups it needs to do the following:Comment:Any Commercial entity will need at minimum 20Mhz of the 700Mhz to provide a true 4G level services.
But I am afraid Verizon Wireless would not allow the FCC to approve the following proposal.
Proposal:
If the FCC would allow the winner of the D block to gain shared access to both the D block and existing PS 700Mhz spectrum (allowing commercial access to a full 20Mhz of spectrum), they could cost effectively deploy a 4G network and reduce the per PS members fees from $48+/Mo. to a more realistic $24.95/Mo.
However, the FCC must clearly define who qualifies as a Public Safety member during normal (non emergency) operations of the network. AT most this needs to include only the Police,Fire, EMS and in preparation for an emergency the designated Emergency Preparedness Team members. The Fed Gov. would also be provided special access during the Emergency.
If they do not do this the State/County and Local governments would allow everyone to qualify for the special PS rate during normal operations. The $48.50 would then apply to the remaining Government entities.
In an emergency all qualified entities taking part in the clean up will qualify under the special rate plan.
The plan would be to free up all 20Mhz of spectrum for the exclusive use of the PS community in the event of an emergency. The PSST could monitor and manage this network making sure the Provider follows these rules.
I recognize this is Naive since the major Carriers and the PSST will need to control this in case a new service provider was to step in and offer competitive services to the big boys.
Jim