Through various acts of Congress, the public safety community is poised to develop a national, wireless, emergency communications capacity with unencumbered spectrum, a mechanism for planning, and funding. With the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act, Congress established an important milestone toward improving emergency communications by providing a date certain for the release of spectrum for new radio channels. Previously used for analog television broadcasting, 24 MHz of wireless capacity at 700 MHZ will become available to public safety in 2009. By requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish an Office of Emergency Communications, Congress has legislated the creation of a forum to reach agreement on an interoperable communications plan. Congress has not passed legislation, however, regarding how the soon-to-be-released spectrum should be used. There are currently three major initiatives to develop plans that could incorporate spectrum at 700 MHz in solutions for public safety communications to improve interoperability and resiliency. One initiative is Congress's mandate to DHS to bring together a diverse body of experts and develop a National Emergency Communications Plan that would rely, at least in part, on shared networks. Second, an initiative by the Administration to improve spectrum efficiency gives responsibility to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide policy recommendations that include spectrum uses for homeland security and public safety. An Advisory Committee created by the NTIA is studying public safety tests of networks at 700 MHz. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has jurisdiction over spectrum used by state and local public safety agencies, is pursuing its own initiative. It is seeking comment on a plan to use spectrum at 700 MHz assigned to public safety for a shared network that would operate under its regulatory supervision. The FCC's proposal includes many elements favored by a majority of public safety participants, but—by taking over the management of public safety radio channels at 700 MHz—it would apparently minimize the role of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in planning for interoperable communications. Some of the unresolved policy choices brought into focus by the FCC proposal are: Direction of national planning for emergency communications. Control of network operations. Joint management by agencies. Regulatory vs. legislative authority. Spectrum management. Congressional jurisdiction. Funding sources and distribution. The schedule set for rulemaking means that the FCC could move forward in the creation of an interoperable network as early as spring 2007. Congress may change the terms of the debate by setting its own timetable, objectives, and parameters for creating a national authority to manage a public safety network at 700 MHz. Options for Congress that have been suggested by public safety experts include requiring the Department of Homeland Security to expedite its own plans, requiring greater participation of the FCC in the DHS planning process, curtailing the right of the FCC to regulate network development for public safety, and turning over management of spectrum used for public safety to the NTIA. There are also other efforts and proposals, some of which are summarized in this report, that Congress may consider. Radio frequency spectrum is used for all forms of wireless communications. Spectrum licenses are allocated within bands of designated frequencies, divided into bandwidths, or channels. Licenses are assigned, as is the case for state and local public safety agencies, or auctioned to commercial entities. As new wireless tools are developed to help emergency responders, the demand for spectrum increases. Finding appropriate spectrum to carry these vital transmissions as well as finding ways to use spectrum more efficiently are among the policy decisions to be addressed as part of the national effort to develop a robust, interoperable, emergency communications capability. Pricing spectrum access for all users, or auctioning all spectrum and creating property rights, are market-driven methods for allocating spectrum that could maximize economically efficient use. In the case of public safety, however, demand may be inelastic and substitution difficult with the result that the cost to the public is increased without any compensating gains. The need for spectrum capacity among first responders and other emergency workers is variable. When radio communications are routine, public safety's demand for spectrum is modest. In times of crisis, demand for spectrum exceeds availability. Identifying spectrum that public safety can share—with commercial users for example—is also considered a possible means to use valuable spectrum more efficiently. Although, cumulatively, radio frequencies designated for non-federal public safety total over 90 MHz, the characteristics of these frequencies are dissimilar, requiring different technological solutions. Although the fragmentation of spectrum assignments for public safety has some advantages for voice communications, it is a significant barrier to achieving needed broadband capacity for the future. It is one of the technical problems that plague public safety communications, such as out-of-date equipment, proprietary solutions, network congestion, and interference among systems. Providing new spectrum at 700 MHz for broadband communications capabilities, including interoperable connectivity, is viewed by many as the optimal solution for overcoming problems caused by incompatible radio frequencies and technologies, as well as for enhancing communications capacity for public safety. Because 700 MHz is viewed as highly desirable for consumer-oriented applications, some believe that a means should be found for public safety and commercial users to share radio frequencies in this band. As noted above, the FCC has proposed the building of a network, accessible nationwide, that would require standardized interfaces. This model, which mirrors the organization of commercial wireless service in the United States, represents a significant departure from existing public safety radio operations. Like most public safety support services, radio communications have historically been built primarily for local operations, often with proprietary solutions that limit interoperability. With post-9/11 emphasis on improving interoperability, three technology-based solutions for nationwide interoperability have dominated policy making. These are: radios—pursued primarily through standard setting; gateways—supported through guidance from DHS and federal grants; and networks—recognized as a potential solution but not developed. One solution for achieving interoperability is to build it into the radios carried by first responders and other emergency workers, requiring standardized models that work on multiple systems. Radio standardization is part of a suite of standards being developed through an effort known as Project 25 (or P25). Project 25 is the accepted standard for radio interoperability. The radio-based solution to interoperability conforms to recommendations made in 1996 by the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee (PSWAC) regarding the improvement of public safety communications over wireless networks. P25 radios can be costly, from $600 to $1,000 for general purpose radios, and $3,000 for radios that meet standards for federal use. A second technology choice, also developed partly in response to recommendations made by PSWAC, are gateways—also known as bridges, or as cross-talk or cross-patch systems, among other terms. The gateway is a "black box" that can accept wireless transmissions on one frequency standard and resend them on other frequency standards. As a result, they are inefficient users of spectrum, since a single message is using two or more frequency assignments. Gateways can provide interfaces for modern systems but not for older, obsolete radios. Although gateways typically use Internet Protocol (IP) to connect to information technology systems, some components are proprietary and have limited interoperability with rival gateway solutions. Early gateway solutions were tested through the AGILE Program, created by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Project 25 members are working to complete a standard for public safety gateways, the Inter-Sub-System Interface (ISSI), that would enable full interoperability for future gateway solutions. Gateways have become the centerpiece of current efforts by DHS to achieve situational interoperability. Over the long term, DHS expects gateway solutions to evolve into a "standards-based shared system." Gateways range in price from $500,000 for basic capability into millions of dollars for a large, customized system. A third technology choice, considered but not adopted at the federal level, is a network solution. A network solution requires agreement from multiple jurisdictions to deploy compatible equipment and interfaces that can provide links anywhere in the network. A national network might be comprised of regional agreements grouping states that are working to develop networks that are available to local and tribal emergency workers. The technology exists to achieve interoperability through a network, what are lacking are a mechanism to achieve agreement and the leadership to set the mechanism in motion and guide it to resolution. The 9/11 Commission broached the subject of creating a network in its recommendation that high-risk urban areas "should establish signal corps units to ensure communications connectivity." Congress embraced the 9/11 Commission recommendation and instructed DHS to explore solutions modeled on the Army Signal Corps, using a national architecture, and compatible with commercial technologies. The DHS has been focused on the installation of gateways and developing interoperability "from the bottom up," and has not announced plans to use spectrum at 700 MHz to develop an interoperable network capability that could, over time, be extended through interfaces to existing systems. Reportedly, Jay Cohen, DHS Undersecretary for Science and Technology, has advocated the concept of a digital backbone to achieve interoperability. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has voiced support for an interoperable network at 700MHz if Congress decides to free up additional spectrum for that purpose; these are recent statements, however, and not part of a formal policy. Absent federal action for a network solution that would encompass state, local, and tribal public safety users, the private sector has responded, through comments filed with the FCC, with proposals to use 700 MHz spectrum to create the needed network for public safety. Some of the proposals would share network capacity with commercial users, offsetting the cost of building the network by charging fees for access. Although the cost for such a network is undetermined, the estimated cost for the federal Integrated Wireless Network was originally reported to be $10 billion. Some industry estimates have given a $1 billion to $2 billion range for the build-out of a commercial broadband network reaching the top 150 markets.