WASHINGTON, D.C., (June 21, 2024) – The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI), responded today to a filing by AT&T in support of a proposal by the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) to eliminate local control of the 4.9 GHz spectrum band and transfer it to the FirstNet Authority (FNA), which has an exclusive contract with the carrier. CERCI Chair Chief Kenneth Corey, NYPD Ret., issued the following statement:

“AT&T has finally emerged from the shadows and confirmed what we know to be true – that it wants the 4.9 GHz band transferred to the FirstNet Authority (FNA) for its own use. This is a massive and illegal spectrum grab that would take valuable mid-band spectrum away from local public safety users. Not surprisingly, while trying to argue that the FNA needs the band to offer 5G to public safety users, AT&T fails to mention it already allows its FirstNet customers to access all of AT&T’s 5G spectrum. The legal and policy theory it offers for assigning the spectrum to FNA strains basic logic and the law – it’s a poorly crafted nesting doll of bad licensing and legal theories designed solely to benefit AT&T. It also makes clear that existing public safety users will be cut off under its proposal.

“Many of these current public safety users are on the record explaining how harmful this approach would be: the New York City MTA called their proposal potentially ‘devastating’ to public safety efforts, and CalTrans said it would ‘create extensive and irreparable problems for the public-safety community.’ AT&T does not need this spectrum, but public safety agencies do. This filing confirms what CERCI has said all along – the PSSA proposal is a means to an end for AT&T, despite what the harm to public safety users might be.”

To learn more about CERCI, please visit responsecoalition.com.

CONTACT: Jo Maney (jmaney@bgrpr.com)

ABOUT THE COALITION FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) is committed to maintaining local control of vital 4.9 GHz public-safety spectrum and working with the FCC to promote innovative usage of the band including non-interfering critical infrastructure uses. The founding members of the CERCI are Competitive Carriers Association, Edison Electric Institute (EEI), Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Sheriffs Association, T-Mobile, Verizon, and UScellular. Additional members include the California State Sheriffs’ Association, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies.