NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: April 23, 2010 Robert Kenny 202-418-2668 Email: robert.kenny@fcc.gov FCC OUTLINES ECONOMICALLY VIABLE WAY TO BUILD A PUBLIC SAFETY BROADBAND NETWORK ACROSS AMERICA Newly Released FCC Study Shows Way to Build Accessible and Affordable Public Safety Broadband Network, Saving Billions of Dollars Washington, D.C. -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today released a comprehensive white paper study that builds on the National Broadband Plan recommendations to create an economically viable, technically sound, and robust interoperable public safety wireless broadband network across America. "It is vitally important that we move forward with our plan to solve the public safety communications crisis that was exposed on 9/11 and during hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Jamie Barnett, Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. "This study reaffirms that our Plan offers the nation a common sense and practical path forward to building a nationwide interoperable public safety network for America's first responders. The time is now for us to move forward to ensure that we take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leverage commercial technology, resources, and build out a network that reaches rural America. The FCC looks forward to working with public safety, our federal, state, local and tribal partners, and the communications industry to accomplish this priority." Entitled A Broadband Network Cost Model: The Basis for Public Funding Essential to bringing Nationwide Interoperable Communications to America’s First Responders, the study offers a detailed analysis of how the FCC's plan for creation and funding of the network would meet public safety’s needs for accessibility, reliability, and affordability, while creating substantial savings for the nation in capital and operating expenditures over a 10-year period. The plan would also ensure true interoperability for public safety across the nation, stretching beyond large cities and metropolitan areas and into rural America. The FCC study examines the merits of the Plan's comprehensive strategy to create a nationwide interoperable public safety wireless broadband network for first responders and other public safety agencies that accounts for sufficient capacity on a day-to-day and emergency basis; ensures interoperability; and dedicates funding to the nationwide deployment of a resilient, redundant and robust network. A major highlight of the study’s analysis shows that the FCC's recommendation to capitalize on commercial network build-out at the same time the public safety network is created would cost approximately $6.5 billion over 10 years, significantly less than the projected $15.7 billion in capital costs associated with building a stand-alone public safety network – $9.2 billion in savings. In addition, the FCC's analysis indicates that to upgrade and operate a stand-alone public safety network would be substantially more expensive than a network constructed under the FCC’s recommended incentive-based approach. Separate from capital costs, the study projects $6 to $10 billion in network costs for upgrades and operations within the first 10 years of the network’s existence, while those same expenditures for a stand-alone public safety network over the same 10- year period is projected to be as much as $25 to $30 billion – a minimum savings of $15 to $20 billion. Some primary reasons the costs increase exponentially for a stand-alone public safety network are: (1) public safety would not be able to easily leverage commercial resources and technologies associated with the build out of the network, (2) public safety could not capitalize on existing commercial cell sites and towers, and (3) public safety could not gain access to equipment, including portable radios, at commercially competitive prices. Conversely, the FCC's plan for an incentive-based partnership to build the public safety wireless broadband network would establish a public grant funding program to pay for capital and operating expenses and would build in incentives to enable public safety to leverage commercial technologies and resources. To view the full white paper study, please visit the FCC's home page at www.fcc.gov. -FCC- For more news and information about the Federal Communications Commission please visit: www.fcc.gov