Auction of D Block

Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Henry Waxman (D-CA) very recently released a statement in Roll Call magazine advocating the auction of the D Block as opposed to reallocating it to public safety. The Roll Call article does not expressly state if the “bipartisan staff draft of the Public Safety Broadband Act” continues to permit the use of 700 MHz voice frequencies for broadband (see attached) or if these resources will also be included in the auction process.

In this week’s edition of Mission Critical, competing statements regarding the D Block are offered by Admiral Barnett (advocating the auction) and Douglas Jarrett (opposing the auction). Links to these statements can be found at:

Admiral Barnett http://mccmag.com/onlyonline.cfm?OnlyOnlineID=186

Mr. Jarrett http://www.radioresourcemag.com/onlyonline.cfm?OnlyOnlineID=185

Also attached is the FCC’s original Capacity Study to which Admiral Barnett refers in his comments. Opposing viewpoints from the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, Motorola, Andrew Seybold, and the Public Safety Alliance (“PSA”) are also offered. The PSA represents:

1. The International Association of Chiefs of Police
2. International Association of Fire Chiefs
3. National Sheriff’s Association
4. Major Cities Chief’s Association
5. Major Counties Sheriff’s Association
6. Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association
7. APCO
8. National Emergency Management Association