FCC Cautioned On D-Block Spectrum Auction

House Homeland Security Emergency Communications Subcommittee Chairwoman Laura Richardson (D-CA) said that the Federal Communications Commission should not go forward with selling commercial firms access to communications spectrum needed by public safety organizations until key technical and legal issues are resolved.

She questioned whether the FCC has thoroughly worked out details of its plan to auction off the D-block spectrum to commercial wireless providers. "The plan contends that public safety would be able to leverage commercial innovation, economies of scale, and additional spectrum via priority access and roaming agreements on commercial networks," Rep Richardson said. "These are promising attributes, but the subcommittee needs more assurances that these features will provide adequate resources and capacity for public safety to meet its mission-critical needs."