It was reported earlier this week by a member of the press that the FCC will be handing FirstNet and AT&T the 50 MHz of spectrum at 4.9 GHz, and while they are at it, they also plan to appoint APCO as the band manager.  Only APCO? What happened to IMSA, FCCA and AASHTO? Of course nothing is over until the fat lady sings, but I am asking myself, “how under any measure can the FCC conclude that this is a reasonable decision and the proper path forward?”  As one colleague shared with me earlier this week, “what a tragedy.”

And we still have public safety entities who are blindly filing letters they have been told to file, most likely by the PSSA, who have little idea what they are asking for and why.  In one instance, the letter to the FCC states, “I am opposed to sharing this spectrum with commercial users and dispersing the management out to the states.” Let that sink in a minute or two. The public safety industry has made limited use of this spectrum, didn’t pay a red cent for the spectrum in the first place, and there is no indication that it has plans to use 4.9 GHz to capacity in the future. That is why the band has been up for grabs.  If this entity doesn’t want to share with “commercial users,” it may come as a big surprise when it finds out it will be sharing with a whole universe of AT&T subscribers on a network that is as commercial as it gets.  Why any public safety entity would prefer that to sharing with critical entities like utilities that have similar public interest responsibilities is a mystery.  And where did the concern about state management even come from?  Today the spectrum is under local public safety management like all public safety spectrum except FirstNet, so this request is advocating taking that privilege away?  Do these guys comprehend what they have been asked to copy and send to the FCC? 

My friend Al Mello is spinning in his grave.