February 21, 2012– A national communications network dedicated to public safety took a giant step forward today as President Obama signed a bill that transfers 10 megahertz of broadband spectrum – or D Block – to be used solely by first responders in emergencies.

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks exposed problems with radios and emphasized the critical need to improve interoperable communications. So the IAFF worked with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle to pass the legislation while also preserving components of the bill that will help affiliates throughout the transition.

“Once again, we are proud that even in this highly charged partisan environment that our union continues to work with our friends in both parties to score victories for professional fire fighters,” says General President Harold Schaitberger.

Vice President Joseph R. Biden says passage of the bill fulfilled an important pledge to fire fighters. “After 9/11, we pledged that our cops, fire fighters and EMTs would have the technology they need to stay safe and do their jobs. Part of that promise included deploying a nationwide, interoperable broadband network for our first responders," he says. "Today we made good on that overdue promise. First responders put their lives on the line to protect us every day, and the least we can do is ensure that they have the dedicated bandwidth they need to communicate with each other. It’s going to save lives and help keep our neighborhoods safe.”

“After more than a decade, we have taken steps that will help to finally build the nationwide interoperable broadband public safety network to ensure our nation’s brave fire fighters have the resources they need. I appreciate the IAFF’s input and partnership as we worked together to negotiate a fair and workable solution to this important issue,” says Representative Greg Walden (R-OR), chair of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of House Energy and Commerce.

It has been a major goal of the IAFF and all public safety organizations to ensure the safety of fire fighters and law enforcement by improving communications systems through preservation of existing voice communications capabilities and acquiring the D Block broadband spectrum.

The highly valued D-Block is expected to pave the way for transmission of data. Fire fighters will be able to download floor plans of buildings and other valuable information while on the fire ground.

Unfortunately, broadband spectrum has proved unreliable for voice communications, and the IAFF focused much of its lobbying efforts on preserving access to existing narrow band spectrum used for voice.
During the negotiations, attempts were made to push public safety off the 700 MHz narrow band frequencies, which are used for voice communications by more than 800 public safety entities. Forcing them to migrate to the newly allocated D Block would have jeopardized current communications capabilities and been prohibitively expensive.

“We made sure that remained in place going forward for public safety,” Schaitberger says.

Feds to Pay for Transition for Jurisdictions on T-Band

The legislation also calls for a limited number of jurisdictions using the T Band frequencies to transition to other spectrums within 11 years. As part of the final package, the legislation provides that “Congress shall appropriate such sums that are necessary” to pay for the transition so that no jurisdictions are forced to use local revenues.

While at the beginning of the debate to establish a dedicated spectrum most of the fire service and law enforcement community joined an alliance to promote the establishment of a Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) to manage the system, the IAFF opted to focus instead on assuring that adequate resources were devoted to building a workable broadband network, as well as protecting current communications capabilities. The final legislation both preserves such capabilities and provides $7 billion to build the nationwide broadband network. By declining to endorse any specific legislation early in the process, the IAFF was able to engage in a bipartisan lobbying effort and enjoyed unparalleled access on both sides of the aisle throughout the process and, especially, in the crucial final days.

“We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Vice President Biden, who began this crusade during his days in the Senate as chair of the Congressional Fire Service Caucus. This would never have occurred without his leadership," says Schaitberger. "Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) was a constant champion for public safety. And, Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) from the House Energy and Commerce Committee and subcommittee Chair Greg Walden (R-OR) truly listened to the concerns of our union and included many of our suggestions in the final proposal. We appreciate all of their good work. Our bipartisanship really paid off in this victory for fire fighter safety.”

The process for managing all aspects of the process will be vested with a 15-member board within the National Transportation and Information Agency (NTIA) within the Department of Commerce. To ensure that the needs of public safety are adequately addressed, there will be three seats dedicated for public safety providers and three seats for local government entities. The IAFF will continue to work with the administration, Congress, NTIA, the FCC and other stakeholders to ensure that interests of frontline fire fighters are protected and the process for building out the D Block spectrum to meet current and future communication needs proceeds according to schedule.

The D-Block legislation was part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Jobs Creation Act, H.R 3630. President Schaitberger was personally invited by Vice President Biden, the administration's lead on public safety communications, to witness the bill signing at the White House.