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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5081 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5081

 To enhance public safety by making more spectrum available to public 
  safety agencies, to facilitate the development of a wireless public 
 safety broadband network, to provide standards for the spectrum needs 
           of public safety agencies, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 2010

Mr. King of New York (for himself, Ms. Clarke, Mrs. Miller of Michigan, 
  Mr. Cao, and Mr. Rogers of Alabama) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To enhance public safety by making more spectrum available to public 
  safety agencies, to facilitate the development of a wireless public 
 safety broadband network, to provide standards for the spectrum needs 
           of public safety agencies, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband for First Responders Act 
of 2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The communications capabilities of first responders and 
        other public safety agencies directly affect the public safety 
        of the people of the United States and our national security.
            (2) As events such as the terrorist attacks of September 
        11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina revealed, the inability of 
        local, State, tribal, and Federal first responders to 
        communicate effectively during an emergency impairs operations 
        and the ability to mitigate terrorist acts and natural 
        disasters.
            (3) Many public safety communications systems rely on 
        commercially available systems that lack broadband capabilities 
        or otherwise fail to provide the level of service necessary to 
        meet the mission-critical needs of public safety agencies.
            (4) A wireless public safety broadband network is needed to 
        guarantee priority access for public safety use and first 
        responder interoperability across the United States.
            (5) Allocating the paired electromagnetic spectrum bands of 
        758-763 megahertz and 788-793 megahertz, referred to as the D 
        Block, to public safety agencies is the only assured way of 
        meeting public safety's needs for sufficient spectrum and would 
        help reduce the complexity and future operating cost of public 
        safety communications systems.
            (6) Because the communications needs of public safety 
        agencies may differ by geographic region (including whether 
        they require a dedicated communications system or can rely on a 
        system shared with commercial users), each region requires 
        flexibility to develop a model that meets its needs without 
        sacrificing the interoperability of the system as a whole.
            (7) The most timely and cost-effective way to achieve 
        nationwide interoperability in public safety communications 
        will be to leverage commercial infrastructure without 
        compromising the mission-critical needs of public safety 
        agencies.
            (8) The use by public safety agencies of standardized 
        technologies commonly employed in the commercial 
        telecommunications sector will provide significant benefits, 
        including improved capabilities, greater economies of scale, 
        and more rapid adoption of technological innovations.
            (9) When it is in the interest of public safety, the 
        Federal Communications Commission should encourage any public 
        safety licensee or spectrum lessee to consider using existing 
        or planned commercial infrastructure.

SEC. 3. ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY LICENSES.

    (a) Spectrum Allocation.--Section 337(a) of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``24'' and inserting 
        ``34''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``36'' and inserting 
        ``26''.
    (b) Assignment.--Section 337(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 337(b)) is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Assignment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of the Broadband for First Responders Act of 2010, 
        the Commission shall allocate the paired electromagnetic 
        spectrum bands of 758-763 megahertz and 788-793 megahertz for 
        public safety broadband communications and shall assign such 
        paired bands to public safety.
            ``(2) Establishment of rules.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall establish 
                rules to permit a public safety broadband licensee to 
                authorize providers of public safety services to 
                construct and operate a wireless public safety 
                broadband network in the spectrum licensed to the 
                public safety broadband licensee if the public safety 
                broadband licensee determines that such authorization 
                would expedite the deployment of public safety 
                broadband communications.
                    ``(B) Network requirements.--The Commission shall 
                require that any such wireless public safety broadband 
                network shall--
                            ``(i) be fully interoperable and remain 
                        interoperable with, and in conformance with the 
                        same broadband technology standards as, all 
                        other public safety broadband systems deployed 
                        or authorized;
                            ``(ii) provide for roaming by local, State, 
                        tribal, and Federal Government and other 
                        authorized users of the spectrum licensed to 
                        the public safety broadband licensee;
                            ``(iii) provide priority access to public 
                        safety agencies;
                            ``(iv) be built to survive most large-scale 
                        disasters; and
                            ``(v) ensure that networks of such systems 
                        have the appropriate level of cyber security.
                    ``(C) Deadline.--The Commission shall establish 
                rules under this paragraph not later than 180 days 
                after the date of enactment of the Broadband for First 
                Responders Act of 2010.''.
    (c) Network-Sharing Agreements.--Section 337 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 
337) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
    ``(f) Rulemaking Required.--The Commission shall establish 
regulations to--
            ``(1) authorize the shared use of the public safety 
        broadband spectrum and network infrastructure by entities that 
        are not defined as public safety services in subsection (g)(1), 
        subject to requirements that public safety services retain 
        priority access to the spectrum, pursuant to procedures adopted 
        by the Commission; and
            ``(2) allow use of the public safety broadband spectrum by 
        emergency response providers, as defined in section 2 of the 
        Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101).''.
    (d) Definition.--Section 337(g) of such Act (as so redesignated) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
        (2) and (3), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
            ``(1) Public safety broadband spectrum.--The term `public 
        safety broadband spectrum' means the electromagnetic spectrum 
        between 758 megahertz and 768 megahertz, inclusive, and 788 
        megahertz and 798 megahertz, inclusive and any additional 
        electromagnetic frequencies allocated for public safety use 
        that the Commission shall designate for public safety broadband 
        use.''.

SEC. 4. STANDARDS.

    (a) Interoperability Requirements.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
Commission, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the 
Attorney General, and local, State, tribal, and Federal public safety 
agencies, shall develop a public safety agency statement of 
requirements that enables nationwide interoperability and roaming 
across any communications system using public safety broadband 
spectrum, as defined in section 337(g) of the Communications Act of 
1934.
    (b) Specifications.--Such requirements shall establish an 
appropriate standard, or set of standards, to ensure nationwide 
interoperability and roaming, taking into consideration--
            (1) the extent to which particular technologies and user 
        equipment are, or are likely to be, available in the commercial 
        marketplace;
            (2) the availability of necessary technologies and 
        equipment on reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing terms;
            (3) the ability to evolve with technological developments 
        in the commercial marketplace;
            (4) the ability to accommodate prioritization for public 
        safety transmissions;
            (5) the ability to accommodate appropriate security 
        measures for public safety transmissions; and
            (6) any other considerations the Federal Communications 
        Commission deems appropriate.
                                 <all>
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