PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 07-4593 November 9, 2007 PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU AND WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU ANNOUNCE THE FOUR AT-LARGE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY BROADBAND LICENSEE’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS PS Docket No. 06-229 On July 31, 2007, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order revising the rules governing the upper 700 MHz band.1 In the Second Report and Order, the Commission re-designated ten megahertz of public safety 700 MHz spectrum (763-768/793-798 MHz) for the purpose of establishing a nationwide, interoperable broadband public safety communications network. The Commission also created a single nationwide license for this spectrum – the Public Safety Broadband License. Further, the Commission stated that it would assign this license to a single entity – the Public Safety Broadband Licensee.2 To ensure broad representation and to provide a balance of the various public safety interests, the Commission required that the Public Safety Broadband Licensee be governed by a voting board that is broadly representative of the public safety community.3 The Public Safety Broadband Licensee board of directors is made up of fifteen members, four of which are at-large members to be appointed jointly by the Chiefs of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.4 By this Public Notice, and as specified in both the Second Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau jointly announce the selection of the following four organizations as at-large members to the Public Safety Broadband Licensee’s board of directors: the American Hospital Association (AHA), the 1 Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band; Development of Operational, Technical and Spectrum Requirements for Meeting Federal, State and Local Public Safety Communications Requirements Through the Year 2010, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 96-86, Second Report and Order, 22 FCC Rcd 15289 (2007) (Second Report and Order). 2 Id. at 15419 ¶ 366. 3 Id. at 15421 ¶ 373. 4 Id. at 15422-23 ¶ 374; Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band; Development of Operational, Technical and Spectrum Requirements for Meeting Federal, State and Local Public Safety Communications Requirements Through the Year 2010, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 96-86, Order on Reconsideration, FCC 07-171 at ¶ 5 (rel. Sept. 24, 2007) (Order on Reconsideration). 2 National Fraternal Order of Police (NFOP), the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA), and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA).5 The AHA was founded in 1898 and is a national organization which represents the needs of its membership, consisting of close to 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care, and 37,000 individual members, on matters of national health policy development.6 The FOP is an organization of sworn law enforcement officers with more than 324,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges, and it held its first meeting in 1915.7 The NASNA is a professional organization representing the thirty-five states that currently have a central 911 planning or administrative function.8 The NEMA is composed of state directors of emergency management, and is dedicated to enhancing public safety by improving the nation’s ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from all emergencies, disasters, and threats to our nation’s security.9 Based on the range of additional expertise these four organizations possess, appointing these four organizations will further broaden representation of the public safety community in the Public Safety Broadband Licensee board of directors and, in turn, serve the public interest.10 These four at-large members will join the eleven member organizations previously announced by the Commission.11 These eleven organizations are: · American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) · Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) · Forestry Conservation Communications Association (FCCA) · International City/County Management Association (ICMA) · International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) · International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) · International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA) · National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials (NASEMSO) · National Emergency Number Association (NENA) · National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) · National Governors Association (NGA) 5 Each of these four organizations will select one of its constituents to be a voting board member and each will have one vote. If at sometime in the future any one of these four organizations cannot participate on the voting board for any reason, the organization will be replaced by another selected by PSHSB and WTB. See Second Report and Order at 15422-23 ¶ 374. 6 See http://www.aha.org/aha/about. 7 See http://www.fop.net. 8 See http://www.nasna911.org/about.htm. 9 See http://www.nemaweb.org. 10 One of the Commission’s goals in this proceeding was to ensure that the 700 MHz Public Safety Broadband Licensee is as broadly representative of the public safety community as possible so that it can focus on the needs of all public safety entities that stand to benefit from the broadband network. See Second Report and Order at 15421- 23 ¶¶ 373-374; Order on Reconsideration at ¶ 4. 11 See Second Report and Order at 15422-23 ¶ 374; Order on Reconsideration at ¶¶ 4-5. 3 Accordingly, the appointment of at-large members AHA, NFOP, NASNA, and NEMA completes the full fifteen-member Public Safety Broadband Licensee board of directors. Questions regarding this Public Notice may be directed to Jeffrey S. Cohen, Senior Legal Counsel, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, (202) 418-0799, or Paul Murray, Legal Advisor, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418-0688. By the Chiefs, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. -FCC-