Hill Hears More Calls for Spectrum Auction/Emergency Net Bill

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) took to the Congressional Record to pitch congressional action on a spectrum auction/interoperable broadband network bill while elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security and former chair of the 9/11 Commission echoed that call.

In a statement submitted for the Record to honor first responders as part of the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Sen Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said the best way they could do that would be to make sure they have the communications tools to be "successful, to be safe and to do their job in a way that does not expose them to needless dangers." Rockefeller's bill would give 10 mHz of spectrum to first responders for an interoperable network paid for via proceeds from the auction of broadcast and other spectrum. "Shouldn't a firefighter be able to wirelessly download a floor plan of a burning building before running into it? Shouldn't a police officer be able to receive an immediate digital snapshot of a dangerous criminal? And shouldn't an emergency medical technician be able to receive life-saving medical information on a patient following an accident?," Chairman Rockefeller asked rhetorically.