Legislation (HR 5085) introduced by Rep. Elliot Engel (D., N.Y.) yesterday would repeal a provision included in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 that would require the T-band to be reauctioned by the FCC for commercial use.

The bill’s cosponsors are Reps. Lee M. Zeldin (R., N.Y.) and Peter T. King (R., N.Y.).

Congress required the FCC to reallocate and auction public safety spectrum in the T-band by 2021 and relocate incumbents by 2023. Proceeds from the auction can be used to cover the relocation costs of public safety licensees. The T-band encompasses TV channels 14-20 (470-512 megahertz). Public safety agencies use the spectrum in 11 major markets.

In 2013, a report by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) that estimated the cost of relocating public safety T-band operations to other spectrum would be more than $5.9 billion and cited the lack of alternative spectrum (TR Daily, March 15, 2013).

NPSTC today welcomed introduction of the legislation, which would repeal section 6103 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.

“Public safety organizations use the T-Band spectrum to support both day-to-day operations and regional interoperability,” NPSTC said. “Because of the mission critical nature of the communications required, local public safety organizations have spent many years and millions of dollars in federal, state, and local taxpayer funds to plan and build out T-Band networks that are battle-tested and designed for the operational needs of each area.”- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily

Washington D.C.—Congress Members Eliot Engel (D-NY16), Lee Zeldin (R-NY1), and Peter King (R-NY2) yesterday introduced the “Don’t Break up the T-Band Act,” legislation that would repeal a provision of a 2012 law to allow law-enforcement, fire officials, and EMS to continue using the T-Band spectrum to operate their radios for day-to-day life saving operations.

Currently, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is required to reallocate and auction the T-Band spectrum by 2021, which would endanger public safety communications in major metropolitan areas across the United States. The T-Band is a portion of spectrum used in 11 heavily populated metropolitan areas, covering over 90 million Americans, to support critical public safety communications (i.e. police and fire radios) and provide regional interoperability among first responders. Public safety agencies have spent numerous years and hundreds of millions of dollars of federal, state and local funds to plan and build out these T-Band networks. The result is battle-tested public safety networks that provide resilient coverage, reliability and regional interoperability. This spectrum is essential to public safety and for many public safety entities there is nowhere else to move, so Reps. Engel, Zeldin, and King have introduced the “Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act” to preserve the T-Band spectrum before it is reallocated for good.

“With regards to the T-Band spectrum, we have a classic case of ‘if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,’” said Congressman Eliot Engel (D. NY-16). “First Responders charged with the protection of life and property – such as police, fire fighters and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers – rely on T-Band as a vital component of their communications systems. It is a reliable and resilient network that functions in subway tunnels, underground concrete parking lots, and even deep inside large buildings where other systems routinely fail.  Our bill is designed to allow first responders to continue using the T-Band spectrum to communicate effectively when saving lives and keeping us safe.”

“Our first responders bravely and selflessly put their lives on the line each and every day to protect our communities, and our first priority must be ensuring they have the resources they need to safely and effectively do their jobs,” said Congressman Lee Zeldin (R. NY-1). “From hurricanes to fires, in the most dire situations, the T-Band spectrum provides critical communication between first responders. Even when cell phones, internet, and electricity cease to function, T-band is the last line of defense, and selling off this spectrum would be a disservice to our nation’s first responders and the millions of Americans they serve.”

“This legislation allows our first responders to take advantage of emerging telecommunication technologies while still retaining their radio communications. In addition, it will remove the requirement to re-work emergency communications infrastructure which would be an overwhelming financial burden to our local governments,” said Congressman Peter King (R.NY-2).

“The safety of our city depends on our use of the T-Band, and taking it away would be unconscionable. The City has invested millions of dollars in ensuring our first responders can communicate in all types of emergencies, and this resource is key to our ability to keep our communities safe. I want to thank the congressional leaders who are working to protect public safety through HR 5085,” said NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. Continue reading →

The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) represents the 3,086 Sheriffs of the United States and has more than 20,000 members. The NSA advocates for policies that will the improve the quality of service to its constituents.  NSA supports the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (H.R. 5085) introduced by Representatives Elliot Engel, Lee Zeldin, and Peter King.

Many of the Shefiffs we represent will be impacted by the auctioning of the T-Band. Mission critical voice operations and interoperability wth other law enforcement, fire service, EMS, and emergency management services are critical elements of public safety.  The NSA is united with other public safety organization behind the desire to see H.R. 5085 succeed and we will continue to fight for public safety’s access to the best available technology to keep the public safe

One section of Public Law 112-96 (enacted on 2/22/12), namely section 6103 would require public safety users to vacate the T Band Spectrum (470 – 512 MHz) by 2023. H 5085 would repeal this provision and we strongly support the repeal.

Our organization operates the Greater Boston Police Emergency Radio Network (BAPERN). Since its inception in the mid 70’s BAPERN has grown from the its original 41 members to some 170+ police agencies today.  This network provides inter-operable communications between all agency members local, state, county, federal as well as the police departments of several major educational and medical institutions.  In addition to the interoperable communications provided by the network, all agencies also use their own T Band frequencies(s) to provide daily critical voice communications in serving a collective population of over three million residents in Eastern Massachusetts.

T Band has been the life blood of public safety communications not only of police, but also by many Fire and EMS providers in the same geographic footprint. It has become one of if not the most robust system in the country providing inter-operable communication during major incidents such as the terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon in 2013.  It is inconceivable that public safety could move from T Band to another spectrum as nowhere is there sufficient spectrum to accommodate public safety needs, to say nothing of the minimum half billion dollars plus cost for Metro Boston alone, if space were available.

More and more we see the need for a strong inter-operable network to respond to the growing threats, both foreign and domestic that have become all too common. If the Margery Stoneham Douglas High School shooting were to happen here, the BAPERN T Band would be the primary communications tool utilized for command and control of the incident.  Obviously hoping that this is not the case, if it were how would we answer law enforcements ineffective response due to the lack of our superbly functioning T Band system. Speaking for BAPERN and all member agencies, we strongly support the repeal of S. 6103 and urge immediate passage of H 5085.

Chief Joseph Griffin (Ret)                         Chief James Hicks

Director of Operations                              Chairman

Members of the National Public Safety Communications Council (NPSTC) support the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (H.R. 5085). NPSTC’s members thank Representatives Eliot Engel, Lee Zeldin, and Peter King for introducing this legislation. If enacted as drafted, the Act would repeal section 6103 in Title VI of P.L. 112-96, which currently mandates that the Federal Communications Commission begin an auction of the public safety spectrum in the T-Band (470-512 MHz) by February 21, 2021, and clear public safety operations from that band within 2 years of auction close.

Section 6103 of Public Law 112-96 is of grave concern to the public safety community, which deploys the T-Band spectrum to support law enforcement, the fire services, and emergency medical services (EMS).

The T-Band spectrum is available for public safety use within a 50-mile radius of the following metropolitan centers:  Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and San Francisco.  Previously, NPSTC conducted comprehensive studies and issued reports that characterize the public safety T-Band spectrum use in these areas and address the significant negative impact of requiring public safety to relocate out of the T-Band.

Public safety organizations use the T-Band spectrum to support both day-to-day operations and regional interoperability. Because of the mission critical nature of the communications required, local public safety organizations have spent many years and millions of dollars in federal, state, and local taxpayer funds to plan and build out T-Band networks that are battle-tested and designed for the operational needs of each area.

Accordingly, NPSTC members believe repealing Section 6103 of P.L. 112-96 is essential and strongly support the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (H.R. 5085) as introduced by Representatives Eliot Engel, Lee Zeldin, and Peter King.