LegiStorm

Summary:

Congress included provisions in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-96) for planning, building, and managing a new, nationwide, broadband network for public safety communications, by creating the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The act allocated 10 MHz of additional radio frequency spectrum to accommodate the new network and required that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) assign a license to FirstNet, comprising the newly designated frequencies plus 10 MHz previously assigned to states by the FCC for public safety use. In addition, the act designated federal appropriations of over $7 billion for the network and other public safety needs. These funds are provided through new revenue from the auction of licenses to the commercial sector in other spectrum bands. The establishment of FirstNet is an important step toward reaching what has been a national goal since September 11, 2001: the provision of interoperable communications for first responders. The immediate goal for FirstNet is to provide a broadband network nationwide to carry data, although it will provide an option for voice communications as well. The cost of constructing and maintaining a nationwide network is estimated by many experts to be in the tens of billions of dollars over the long term. The law anticipates that most of these costs will be covered by partnerships between FirstNet and the private sector in return for commercial access to FirstNet’s spectrum. In order to maintain control over the quality and nature of communications, many states are likely to continue to invest in and maintain their own Land Mobile Radio (LMR) networks that operate on narrowband frequencies under the jurisdiction of state and local public safety agencies. Information available to the public indicates that FirstNet intends to discourage states from building and operating their own networks within FirstNet, in part by limiting the amount of spectrum available for this purpose. FirstNet has taken the position that state autonomy in network design decisions and management will jeopardize FirstNet’s ability to provide a network that meets its coverage and service goals. P.L. 112-96 was signed into law on February 22, 2012, setting in motion the process of setting up FirstNet as an “independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,” as required by the act; laying out the parameters for partnerships and state, tribal, and federal participation; and meeting requirements either statutory or practical. After extensive consultation with stakeholders and potential partners in preparing proposals for partnering with FirstNet, the initial phases of organization culminated with the deadline for submitting proposals to build and operate the nationwide network, on May 31, 2016. On November 21, 2016, one of the FirstNet bidders eliminated from consideration, Rivada Mercury, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals of Federal Claims over what Rivada says is the illegal and wrongful exclusion of the consortium from the FirstNet procurement process. The lawsuit is expected to delay the contract award until March 1, 2017, at the earliest, although further delays are possible depending on the resolution of the lawsuit. Once the contract is awarded, the contractor will have up to 180 days to deliver detailed deployment plans to each state and territory. Governors will then have 90 days to decide whether to opt-in to FirstNet or to opt-out and build their own Radio Access Network which must be interoperable with FirstNet. As FirstNet becomes operational, the potential level of public safety agency participation should be better understood, providing opportunities to evaluate the success of FirstNet in meeting the goals Congress set for it in 2012. The 115th Congress will likely continue monitoring the development and deployment of FirstNet through periodic hearings in both the House and Senate.