FirstNet must act quickly to make the public-safety LTE network a reality

[Commentary] It has been more than a bit discouraging to see how slowly the federal government is moving on getting the nationwide 700 MHz broadband public-safety network built.

Back in February, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 reallocated the 700 MHz D Block--758-763 MHz/788-793 MHz--to the new First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), which was created under the umbrella of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. This was a huge step in getting an interoperable nationwide public-safety network set up. But progress has stagnated since then, and the issues have gotten convoluted. Though first responders finally got the nationwide 700 MHz D Block allocation they were longing for, the new law allocating the frequencies has since thrown existing plans for other 700 MHz public-safety LTE networks into utter disarray. An obvious sign of trouble occurred last spring, when jurisdictions that received federal funding to roll out networks were told by NTIA to rein in their plans until FirstNet was officially set up and could provide them with specific directions.