Telecom tussle over public safety

The campaign to create a nationwide wireless network for police officers and firefighters hasn't just been about what works best for public safety almost a decade after Sept. 11. In Washington, it’s been about what works for top telecom companies, too.

At the heart of the unfolding debate on Capitol Hill has been a heavily moneyed battle between Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and other top telecom providers and equipment makers. Those industry players agree public safety needs a new network to share information during national emergencies, especially following the logistical perils some faced during Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina. Debate over the network is in full swing, but it’s become a political football between telecom giants trying to secure access to wireless spectrum — a resource critical to their future — and neither Congress nor the White House has managed, so far, to referee a successful outcome.