[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4626 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4626

   To rechannelize spectrum in the 700 megahertz band to promote the 
     deployment of commercial broadband technologies to facilitate 
            interoperable communications for public safety.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 17, 2005

 Mr. Ferguson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To rechannelize spectrum in the 700 megahertz band to promote the 
     deployment of commercial broadband technologies to facilitate 
            interoperable communications for public safety.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Re-Channelization of Public Safety 
Spectrum Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The inability of first responders to communicate 
        efficiently or effectively in the aftermath of the Gulf 
        hurricanes, let alone with the latest and most state-of-the-art 
        communications technologies, underscores the need for decisive 
        action to ensure that problems of interoperability are resolved 
        as quickly as possible. However, interoperability should not 
        only be between existing public safety communications systems.
            (2) Interoperability must also be between those 
        communications systems and the new broadband wireless data 
        technologies that are currently being deployed across the 
        country by commercial operators and transforming the way 
        Americans communicate, a transformation that could also benefit 
        our first responders.
            (3) Integration of the data capabilities with traditional 
        public safety voice communications could be greatly 
        facilitated, in the short term, specifically by rechannelizing 
        or reorganizing the ``public safety spectrum'' in the upper 700 
        megahertz band to allow for the deployment of commercially 
        available broadband technologies.

SEC. 3. RECHANNELIZATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY SPECTRUM REQUIRED.

    Not later than 45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Federal Communications Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to 
rechannelize the public safety spectrum located in the upper 700 
megahertz band to accommodate commercially available broadband 
applications. Such rulemaking shall be completed within 180 days.
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