Congress Looks to Borrow $2 Billion for Public Safety Net Grants

A draft bill the House Communications Subcommittee will consider June 17 proposes borrowing up to $2 billion from the Treasury to fund the construction of an interoperable public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band.

For years, the Federal Communications Commission has been trying to establish the network but failed to draw a minimum when it auctioned the D Block of spectrum set aside for a public-private public safety network partnership. In its National Broadband Plan, the commission suggested Congress might want to step in to help fund the network rather than count on auctions alone. The National Telecommunications & Information Administration will administer the construction fund grants to public safety organizations and determine who should get them--much as it is doing with broadband stimulus grant money--while the FCC will establish an advisory board and handle a maintenance and operation fund, which will provide up to 50% of the ongoing costs of networks. Grantees will have to put up 20% of the cost of their networks. The networks' construction fund will also get money--up to $5.5 billion--from spectrum auctions of at least 25 MHz of contiguous spectrum and the D Block spectrum.