FCC commissioners announced approval of much-anticipated rules governing the 4.9 GHz band that grants a nationwide overlay license to a yet-to-be-selected band manager, which will be prohibited from operating on the band but will be “authorized to enter into a sharing agreement” with the FirstNet Authority.

“We find that our topline goals of preserving and expanding use to a variety of primary public-safety operations would be best served by assigning a nationwide overlay license to the Band Manager,” the FCC’s 4.9 GHz report and order states.

“Rather than directly operating in the band, the Band Manager, once selected, will be authorized to enter into a sharing agreement with FirstNet to enable use of unassigned portions of the 4.9 GHz band as part of FirstNet’s NPSBN in a manner that protects incumbent operations.”

In terms of incumbent users of the 4.9 GHz, the band manager must make a filing with the FCC certifying that the sharing agreement with the FirstNet Authority “will not cause harmful interference to incumbent licensees,” according to the FCC order.

“If such interference occurs, the Band Manager must require FirstNet to immediately cease operations,” the FCC order states. “We will also require the Band Manager to certify that FirstNet has placed stations in operation within twelve months from the execution date of the sharing agreement.”

Of course, no sharing agreement can be reached between the band manager and the FirstNet Authority until a nationwide band manager is identified by a selection committee. There has been some disagreement about the makeup of the selection committee—notably, how many members should represent 4.9 GHz incumbents and/or public-safety broadband users—and commissioners opted not to decide the matter.

“Instead, we delegate broad authority to the Bureaus to establish the procedures by which a selection committee will be chosen, identify representatives to sit on the selection committee, determine the requisite number of selection committee members, identify the applicable selection criteria, and establish the appropriate procedures and appropriate oversight for the selection process as part of choosing the Band Manager,” the FCC order states.

The FCC’s 4.9 GHz order does not include a timeline for selecting a band manager. However, the FCC order provides greater direction about the responsibilities of the band manager, once selected.

“The Band Manager’s primary responsibilities will now include: (1) frequency coordination and interference protection for the operations of existing incumbent public safety licensees; (2) managing a spectrum sharing agreement with FirstNet; (3) incentivizing the use of the latest commercially available technologies; (4) facilitating non-public safety access through leasing; and (5) submitting an annual report to the Commission,” according to the FCC order.

FCC commissioners voted for the item on circulation, and none of them opted to publish a statement on the matter at the time of this article being posted. The FCC website does not indicate the details of the vote, but there have been multiple reports in recent weeks that the item passed 4-0, with Commissioner Anna Gomez recusing herself from the matter.

The FirstNet Authority provided the following statement about the order to IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “The FCC’s decision is an important milestone in the evolution of the 4.9 GHz band for public-safety communications and first responders nationwide,” according to a statement from a FirstNet Authority spokesperson. “The FirstNet Authority is reviewing the Order to understand how it may impact the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) and its users.

“As we have said, if the FirstNet Authority is able to access and use spectrum in the 4.9 GHz band for the NPSBN, we will maximize the spectrum to bring further innovation and communication capabilities to our nation’s first responders, while protecting incumbent public-safety operations in the band.”

APCO CEO and Executive Director Mel Maier thanked the FCC commissioners who voted on the order, as well as members of the FCC staff who work on the item

“Today’s action is a major win for public safety,” Maier said in a prepared statement. “Public safety agencies will at long last have the assurance of interference-free operations and the availability of advanced communications technologies to carry out their lifesaving missions.

“Furthermore, APCO is confident that FirstNet will build upon its record of success serving the public safety community with a state-of-the-art wireless broadband network now augmented by access to the 4.9 GHz band. This will undoubtedly result in significant benefits to public safety agencies and the communities they serve throughout the country.”

Jeff Johnson, executive director of the Western Fire Chief Association and author of many Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) filings advocating FirstNet Authority oversight of 4.9 GHz, echoed this sentiment and expressed thanks to the FCC commissioners who voted on the item.

“When the FCC and Congress choose to protect public safety, that’s a brave and appreciated position, and they have made the right series of decisions here that default toward public safety, not other interests,” Johnson said during an interview with IWCE’s Urgent Communications. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the leadership of the Chairwoman [Jessica Rosenworcel] and the commissioners.

“This is one of those moments where I wish your average taxpayer could see federal officials—commissioners at the FCC—stand and do the right thing for public safety, in spite of other interests, many of which were far more financially equipped than us. It’s people just doing the right thing on behalf of this country and public safety. It’s admirable, what they did.”

Many considered the FCC’s indirect-licensing approach via the band manager to be more likely to withstand legal scrutiny than directly granting a license to the FirstNet Authority. But the Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) repeatedly has challenged the legality of even an indirect license to the FirstNet Authority—a position reiterated today by CERCI Chairman Chief Kenneth Corey.

“FirstNet needs more oversight, not more spectrum,” Corey said in prepared statement. “Unfortunately, in approving this order, the FCC chose corporate profits over public safety. This decision will be challenged and will be litigated. The FCC has made the wrong decision and, in the process, has undermined public-safety efforts nationwide.”

CERCI has led critics of PSSA proposals that would grant the FirstNet Authority effective control of operations of the 50 MHz swath of 4.9 GHz airwaves. CERCI has advocated for rules in the band that would grant greater local control of the public-safety frequencies and complained that the PSSA proposals would result in a spectrum “windfall” for AT&T, the FirstNet Authority contractor responsible for building and maintaining the NPSBN.

“The FCC’s decision to allow the 4.9 GHz spectrum band to be accessed by the FirstNet Authority will negatively impact state and local users of the band,” Corey said in a prepared statement. “CERCI maintains that this decision is unlawful, unnecessary, and an affront to public-safety communications professionals across the country.

“It sets the stage for the FirstNet Authority, which entered into an exclusive agreement with AT&T in 2017 to use FirstNet’s spectrum for commercial purposes, to establish a similar arrangement in the 4.9 GHz band. Just as AT&T profits from commercial use of Band 14 via FirstNet, it will do the same with the 4.9 GHz band. Regrettably, the FCC felt it was more important to gift AT&T with $14 billion in free spectrum for commercial use than to heed the concerns of those on the front lines of public safety communications.”

AT&T carrier rivals Verizon and T-Mobile are members of CERCI, which also is supported by multiple public-safety and critical-infrastructure organizations.

Whether AT&T ultimately secures the right to operate on 4.9 GHz spectrum is not entirely clear at the moment, although CERCI and many other observers have asserted that it is highly likely—or even a certainty.

Today’s FCC order does not provide any guidance about how the FirstNet Authority would select an operator for the 4.9 GHz spectrum. The FirstNet Authority conducted a competitive procurement for access to its 700 MHz Band 14 airwaves in 2016—something PSSA representatives have said publicly that they believe would happen at 4.9 GHz, although the position has not been stated within an FCC filing from the organization.

Scott Agnew, president of AT&T’s FirstNet unit, expressed support for the FCC’s 4.9 GHz order.

“We applaud the FCC for acknowledging the overwhelming public safety support for a nationwide deployment of their 4.9 GHz spectrum,” Agnew said in prepared statement. “The FCC’s order will protect incumbents and increase usage of this spectrum, boosting public safety’s access to the life-saving capabilities of 5G and helping them serve their communities. Preserving this spectrum for public safety has been and should always be a priority—and the FCC’s action today does just that.”