McCain measure would create public safety network

As he ramps up his 2008 presidential campaign and courts backing from public safety groups, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., plans to introduce legislation next week that would create a nationwide communications network for police officers, firefighters and other emergency first responders.

The move coincides with Senate floor debate on a bill to implement the recommendations of the commission that investigated the 2001 terrorist attacks. McCain argued his measure would address other deficiencies the panel identified. His bill would carve out a swath of radio spectrum that is scheduled for auction next January, and license it to a "public safety broadband trust" to provide advanced wireless services for first responders to communicate during crises.

"It is now time to think big and bold and solve the interoperability crisis once and for all," McCain said in a statement announcing his plan. Public safety groups back his approach. But it has caused alarm among wireless service providers and equipment manufacturers, in part because the idea is similar to a proposal by McLean, Va-based Cyren Call Communications - a plan they say would cripple the upcoming auction and delay the transition to digital television.

Under the firm's plan, the FCC would award 30 megahertz of spectrum outside the auction process, or roughly half the amount scheduled for auction, to administer the network. The winner, presumably Cyren Call, would lease spectrum to commercial operators to provide to public safety agencies and to offer consumer wireless services.

At a hearing this month, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, was noncommittal, although he expressed support for better first-responder communications. Commerce ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who helped write the law governing spectrum auctions, was opposed.

Companies such as Cisco Systems and Verizon Wireless want the full range of spectrum available for auction and argue current law already sets aside 24 megahertz of spectrum for public safety.

As part of the 2005 deficit reduction law, the January auction proceeds -- estimated at up to $12.5 billion -- are to be used first to pay down the deficit and then to subsidize the purchase of converter boxes to ease the DTV transition. Remaining funds are to be used for other items such as $1 billion for emergency communications grants to public safety agencies. Removing half of that spectrum from auction could jeopardize funding for such priorities and hinder the digital transition, critics argue.

"The DTV spectrum promises to boost critical communications capabilities for public safety and for consumers. America's first responders have waited long enough," said Wireless Broadband Coalition Executive Director David Taylor.

But public safety groups argue the wireless industry has been stonewalling their efforts for years. "We still don't have the spectrum we need," said Charles Werner, spokesman for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. "It's really frustrating."

Taylor called Cyren Call's plan an "earmark" that would violate budget rules. The draft bill would cap the price of the spectrum license at $5 billion -- well below market value, critics say -- to be financed through government-backed loan guarantees. Once the firm begins leasing spectrum to commercial operators, it would repay the government. A Cyren Call spokesman said that would ensure the plan is budget-neutral.

"Our proposal is not Cyren Call's," said a McCain aide, who emphasized that the bill reflects the senator's own approach.