New company makes bid for public-safety network
Firm plans to outline a proposal to build a nationwide wireless public-safety network that also would have commercial applications.
A new company spearheaded by former Democratic FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and Freedom Technologies President Janice Obuchowski on Monday unveiled a fresh plan for bolstering public-safety communications.
The company, Frontline Wireless, plans to submit comments to the FCC later in the day. It will outline a proposal to build a nationwide wireless public-safety network that also would have commercial applications such as voice and high-speed Internet services.
Freedom Technologies is a telecom consulting firm founded by Obuchowski, who ran the National Telecommunications and Information Administration under President George H.W. Bush. Hundt is a senior adviser with McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm. He serves on the board of Intel and some high-technology startups.
"It's a free build-out," Hundt explained at a press briefing. "They'll have to pay to use it. There's no other way for them to get a network." Obuchowski emphasized that an FCC-run public-safety governing body would oversee the arrangement and could referee any contract disputes.
Under the approach, localities would have autonomy over their spectrum and could pre-empt commercial services on Frontline's system during emergencies. Public-safety entities could opt to pay lower fees to Frontline if commercial carriers use their airwaves during non-emergencies.
Frontline would harness spectrum that analog television broadcasters will return to the government as they transition to digital. The company would need to secure up to 13 megahertz at an upcoming auction to move forward with the plan.
Under existing law, the government must reserve for public-safety purposes 24 MHz of spectrum to be returned by broadcasters, with the remainder auctioned to commercial entities. Critics complain that 24 MHz is not enough to promote communications across jurisdictions, particularly during times of national crisis.
The proposal is a competitor to a plan from Cyren Call Communications, which is seeking the rights to an additional 30 MHz that would be used for private and public-safety purposes. Cyren Call would construct the network and lease excess capacity to commercial users.
The Cyren proposal may require legislation, whereas Frontline's plan, according to its backers, would not. Another difference is that Frontline wants the FCC to require any entity winning the 13 MHz at auction to use the frequencies in the manner it contemplates. That would ensure that the public-safety network is built even if Frontline is outbid, though Hundt and Obuchowski said Monday they are confident of winning.
While Frontline is not disclosing the bulk of its partners and corporate backers, it did reveal that its CEO is Haynes Griffin, the founder of Vanguard Cellular and past chairman of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. Silicon Valley investor Ram Shriram, managing partner of Sherpalo Ventures, also is on board.