FCC Offers Further Guidance on 700 MHz Waiver Order

On May 12, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission released an order (Waiver Order) granting conditional waivers to twenty-one public safety entities (Waiver Recipients) for early deployment of public safety broadband networks in the 700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum (PSBB Block). The Waiver Order establishes technical, operational and governance conditions for early deployment and requires each Waiver Recipient to submit to the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau), within a specified time window, a detailed plan for achieving interoperability with other public safety broadband networks (Interoperability Showing). In this Public Notice, the FCC provides further guidance to the Waiver Recipients on the required contents of the Interoperability Showing. After receiving approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to perform the information collections contemplated in the Waiver Order, the Bureau will release a Public Notice announcing the opening of a thirty-day window during which a Waiver Recipient must submit its Interoperability Showing to the Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC).