November 10, 2016– A draft further notice of proposed rulemaking in the FCC’s 4.9 gigahertz band proceeding was circulated to FCC Commissioners yesterday, according to the agency’s weekly list of circulated items.

The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau had been working on the item for quite a while and have received a number of filings, including a national plan submitted by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (TRDaily, Oct. 24, 2013), a white paper filed by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (TRDaily, Sept. 28, 2015), and other input.

In 2012, FCC Commissioners, saying they were disappointed that the public safety community hadn’t used the 4.9 GHz band more intensively, adopted an item seeking views on proposals to spur higher utilization of the spectrum, including by opening the band up to wireless carriers on a secondary basis and critical infrastructure industry (CII) entities such as utilities on a primary basis (TRDaily, June 13, 2012). – Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily