President Obama signed into law the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 in late February after the bill passed swiftly through Congress. Most notably the act extends a payroll tax reduction and unemployment insurance, but it also contains an important provision for state and local public safety – the allocation of the D-Block for the purposes of building out an interoperable public safety telecommunications network. The legislation provides for:

• Allocation: Public safety will be given a dedicated section of the 700-megaherz spectrum known as the “D-Block.”
• Funding: Incentive auctions of other portions of spectrum will provide up to $7 billion for the planning and construction of the interoperable network.
• Governance: A First Responder Network Authority will be created to oversee the development of the network over the next several years. This group will be housed under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce.

The allocation of the D-Block with funding for the network build out ensures that America’s public safety officers will have the infrastructure they need to operate in today’s advanced technological climate. The increased spectrum capacity means that police, fire, and EMS responders will be able to send and receive any and all vital communications, download large quantities of data and information including building blueprints, and coordinate a response effort without the network becoming jammed.

The legislation sets aside $300 million for research and development, for the purposes of developing the next generation of public safety communications. Additionally, states will be permitted to develop systems to meet their unique needs, in accordance with the national system protocols. Now that the appropriate resources have been set aside, attention will turn to the planning and eventual development of this network.