State, Local Governments Join Call for Allocation of D Block to Public Safety

The most prominent national organizations representing state and local governments sent letters to the House and Senate Commerce Committees calling for allocation of the D Block spectrum to public safety for the development of a national interoperable public safety broadband network.

“The utilization of broadband technology is crucial to the future of public safety and will enhance the ability to save lives by quickly sharing information with first responders, public institutions and private citizens,” the letters state. “Allocating the D block directly to public safety is the only way to ensure a robust, modern and reliable nationwide interoperable network.”

The organizations signing the letters are the National Governors Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Council of State Governments, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors and the International City/County Management Association.

The letters come just days after NGA sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission indicating support of D Block allocation to public safety and less than a week after the National Criminal Justice Association released a similar letter they wrote to the Senate Commerce Committee and the Police Executive Research Forum released a report on this issue. In addition to the Public Safety Consensus Group and several state and local government organizations, a number of telecommunications carriers and commercial entities also support allocation of the D Block to public safety.

Visit www.d-block.net for more information.