Rockefeller: FCC was ‘not happy’ with his public safety communications plan

Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) met with local public safety officials in Parkersburg, W.Va. on Saturday, describing the momentum behind his bill to create a nationwide communications network for first responders.

He described how his proposal did not mesh with a plan last year by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), which wanted to auction off a valuable chunk of airwaves to fund the network, rather than directly allocate these airwaves to public safety as Rockefeller prefers.

{mosads}Even though it did not initially endorse the plan, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will have to sort out some of the regulations, he said. 

“Basically I think the FCC, they were not happy about this at first, will have to write the rules of the road,” he said, according to a report in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. 

It’s unclear how long it will take for the FCC to write the rules for the network, Rockefeller said. “I want to start off as a pessimist so I can get happy,” he said. “There is a process here and they will talk with people all over the country.”

It was no secret it Washington that Rockefeller had a gripe with the FCC about its original proposal, which it had touted as cheaper. When the FCC moved on a public safety item in January, Rockefeller upstaged it by introducing his bill the same day. The FCC scaled back advocacy for its plan after Rockefeller made his wishes clear.

Still, the FCC can’t move forward on some of the major issues involved with reallocating the D Block of spectrum to public safety until Congress passes legislation such as Rockefellers that would direct it to do so.

Rockefeller also said he still has some “responsibilities” to shape the plan: “To make sure rural and underserved areas are taken into account properly and the rules are laid out clearly and the views of the people of West Virginia and other states are taken into account as the rules are written.”

The network will get federal funding, according to Rockefeller’s proposal. He said he expects that to mean $10 to 13 billion dollars.

Rockefeller said the need for this network hits home in Parkersburg in particular.

“Parkersburg especially understands the need to have discussions like this one having just been through a tornado touchdown and resulting damage in September,” Rockefeller said.

The White House has endorsed the strategy in Rockefeller’s bill.