WASHINGTON, D.C., (July 10, 2024) – The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI), submitted a new ex parte filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that responds to a June 20, 2024, ex parte filing submitted by AT&T in which the company finally disclosed its full support for  a proposal by the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) to transfer – directly or indirectly –  the 4.9 GHz spectrum band to the FirstNet Authority (FNA). The CERCI filing points out the fatal legal and policy flaws in the PSSA proposal and explains how the transfer would in fact be a significant windfall for AT&T, despite its claims to the contrary.

In the filing, CERCI highlights several significant legal and policy issues with the PSSA proposal, which suggests assigning the 4.9 GHz spectrum band to FNA either directly through a nationwide license or indirectly via a forced sharing agreement. This allocation would effectively integrate the 4.9 GHz band into the so-called “FirstNet Network” which AT&T owns, operates, and uses to serve its FirstNet customers.

The key points of CERCI’s opposition include:

1. Constitutional and Statutory Concerns: CERCI reemphasizes legal arguments previously submitted in two legal memoranda and one letter outlining numerous constitutional and statutory problems with PSSA’s proposal. These issues include the FCC’s lack of authority to assign spectrum to a federal entity like FNA and the problematic structure of PSSA’s proposed Band Manager arrangement.
2. Public Safety vs. Commercial Gain: Contrary to AT&T’s assertion that the 4.9 GHz band allocation should not be a commercial issue, CERCI argues that it is the PSSA proposal serves AT&T’s commercial interests exclusively. CERCI also argues that AT&T’s commercial network failures directly impact FirstNet’s services, demonstrating that FirstNet operates as a mere extension of AT&T’s network, not as a standalone public safety network.
3. Broad Public Safety Opposition: While AT&T argues that numerous public safety associations support the proposal, CERCI emphasizes that many other law enforcement organizations, as well as state and local government entities, oppose it.
4. Unjust Windfall for AT&T: CERCI contends that the proposal would result in an unjust financial windfall for AT&T, as it would gain significant commercial spectrum capacity without additional compensation to FNA, contrary to the original terms of its contract for the 700 MHz Band 14 spectrum.
5. FCC’s Legal Constraints: CERCI argues that the FCC cannot accommodate PSSA’s proposal without violating the Communications Act. Only Congress can make such statutory changes.

CERCI ‘s filing concludes: “AT&T has done nothing to solve the statutory, constitutional, and policy problems with PSSA’s proposal to hand over the 4.9 GHz band to FNA. Instead, AT&T breaks its silence only to shy away from committing to any particular approach, noting vaguely and repeatedly that a ‘variety of approaches,’ or a ‘variety of pathways,’ or a ‘variety of means’ perhaps could work. But PSSA and AT&T have not identified any constitutional and legal means to achieve their desired policy ends, likely because such means do not in fact exist. The Commission should therefore decline to grant FNA access to the 4.9 GHz band.”

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.