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PUBLIC SAFETY CONSENSUS GROUP AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS OUTLINE EFFORT TO BUILD NATIONAL WIRELESS BROADBAND NETWORK
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCC)
Major County Sheriffs’ Association (MCSA)
Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association (Metro Chiefs)
National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)
National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA)
April 8, 2010, Washington, DC - The Public Safety Consensus Group met last week with representatives of several of the major national associations representing state and local government to discuss the effort to build a national interoperable broadband public safety network. Many of these organizations have expressed their support for allocation of the D Block spectrum to public safety.
"When life, property, infrastructure, and natural resources are at risk, it’s critical that counties and all public safety agencies have maximum communications flexibility to respond effectively to emergencies and disasters," said Larry E. Naake, executive director, the National Association of Counties (NACo). "On behalf of the nation's 3,068 counties, NACo is proud to join forces with the Public Safety Consensus Group and reaffirm our strong support for sufficient wireless spectrum to be dedicated to public safety uses and on a sufficient scale to allow for national interoperable response. This includes adjacent D Block spectrum currently available."
"National Criminal Justice Association members join with other public safety and state and local government organizations in urging that the D Block spectrum be allocated to public safety agencies, with a mechanism for short- and long-term funding to ensure access in urban and rural communities nationwide," National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) Executive Director Cabell Cropper said in a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee.
View the full letter from NCJA to the Senate Commerce Committee.
"Major city police chiefs are telling us that the FCC's plans for auctioning the D Block will stymie plans for dozens of new wireless technologies in policing, such as live video at crime and disaster scenes," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). "Many police chiefs are already using these technologies, so they understand how wireless devices can facilitate communications to prevent and respond to crime, natural disasters, and terrorism. Congress needs to pay attention to these public safety leaders who say they will absolutely need more radio spectrum to communicate effectively and do their jobs in the coming years."
PERF recently released a report on this issue.
In addition to the Public Safety Consensus Group and several state and local government organizations, a number of telecommunications carriers and commercial entities also support allocation of the D Block to public safety.
Following their review of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan, the Public Safety Consensus Group reiterated their support for allocation of the D block to public safety and for adequate funding to support the deployment and operation of a nationwide public safety wireless broadband network and committed to work with the Administration, Congress and the FCC on these issues.
Visit www.d-block.net for more information. About APCO International
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO International serves the professional needs of its 15,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain and supply the communications systems used by police, fire and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.apcointl.org.
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