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From the ARRL Spectrum Defense Newsletter http://www.arrl.org/spectrum-defense-matters-newsletter
HR 607 Update
Congress and the FCC have been grappling with the issue of how best to provide the public safety community, and particularly First Responders, with an interoperable
broadband wireless network. One way is to allocate additional spectrum in the 700-MHz band for this purpose, but that would require taking it off the auction block and
foregoing revenue that was to go toward reducing the federal deficit.
Public Safety
In February Rep. Peter King of New York, following some very bad advice, introduced a bill HR 607 that calls for public safety to give up all of its spectrum allocations
between 170 MHz and 512 MHz and for that spectrum to be auctioned instead. Inexplicably, the bill included 420-440 MHz in this category, even though it is not a
public safety band and it is heavily used by amateurs on a secondary basis to military radar. The ARRL and its members responded vigorously to this threat. On May 25,
ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, was invited to testify before the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and drove home the point that the
concept is fundamentally flawed.
Strange Things Can Happen
HR 607 is not the only bill that addresses the interoperable broadband issue. There are other bills under consideration in both the House and Senate, none of which
contain the dubious 420-440 MHz provision. Rep. King reportedly has backed away from this aspect of his own bill, but as anyone who watches Congress knows all too
well strange things can happen within legislation right up to final passage. The ARRL will continue to monitor developments in the committees of jurisdiction in both the
House and Senate and will do everything we can to prevent the very worthwhile idea of improving communications for First Responders from having unintended
and unnecessary negative consequences for Amateur Radio.
