Outreach News - 12/6/2010 - Special Edition - 700 MHz Narrowband Flexibility Submissions

On September 28, 2010, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau released Public Notice DA 10-1877. The Public Notice (attached) stated, “the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau seeks comment on the feasibility of allowing for flexible use of the 700 MHz public safety narrowband spectrum. Specifically, we seek to explore whether allowing public safety the option of using 700 MHz narrowband spectrum for broadband services would be operationally feasible and technically compatible with existing and future public safety narrowband operations. We also seek comment on potential conditions or restrictions on flexible use that might be required to prevent harmful interference to narrowband operations or impairment of narrowband interoperability”.

Comments to PN DA 10-1877 were due on December 3, 2010 and to date, forty-eight entities submissions to the Public Notice have been posted on the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (as of 4PM 12-6-2010). Sprint-Nextel and T-Mobile, supported the flexible use of the 700 MHz narrowband channels. Forty-six of the respondents expressed various levels of opposition relative to “flexible use” of the 700 MHz narrowband channels. The organizations filing in opposition to “flexible use” are:

1. State of Delaware
2. State of Maryland
3. Commonwealth of Virginia
4. State of Oregon
5. State of Colorado
6. State of Idaho SIEC
7. Commonwealth of Kentucky
8. State of New York
9. Arkansas Wireless Information Network
10. California Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee
11. State of Michigan
12. State of Minnesota
13. Utah Communications Agency
14. Virginia Department of Emergency Management/Virginia Information Technologies Agency
15. Region 12 (Idaho)
16. Region 5 (Southern California)
17. Region 13 (Illinois except Chicago metro area)
18. Region 54 (Chicago Metro area)
19. Region 35 (Oregon)
20. Region 6 (Northern California)
21. Region 39 (Tennessee)
22. Region 43 (Washington state)
23. Region 49 (South Central Texas)
24. Region 8 (New York City Metro area)
25. Riverside County (California)
26. City of Phoenix (Arizona)
27. Tennessee Valley Regional Communications System
28. Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon
29. King County (Washington)
30. Denver Regional Transportation District
31. Ocean County, NJ
32. Prince George’s County (Maryland)
33. Portland Regional Radio System Partnership
34. Miami-Dade County (Florida)
35. AASHTO
36. APCO
37. National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (“NPSTC”)
38. Telecommunications Industry Association (“TIA”)
39. Joint Council of Transit Wireless Communications
40. Public Safety Spectrum Trust (“PSST”)
41. Big 7 (National Governor’s Association, etc.)
42. AT&T
43. Harris Corporation
44. Motorola
45. Andrew Seybold
46. Ron Haraseth

To read individual comments, please click on http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment_search/input?z=nif0e and enter Docket number 06-229.