Statement of Chairman Julius Genachowski Re: Service Rules for the 698-746, 747-762 and 777-792 MHz Bands, WT Docket No. 06- 150, Implementing a Nationwide, Broadband, Interoperable Public Safety Network in the 700 MHz Band, PS Docket No. 06-229, Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission’s Rules, WP Docket No. 07-100, Third Report and Order and Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. It has been almost ten years since the horrific acts of September 11, 2001. Almost seven years since members of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission urged action to ensure that first responders have the ability to communicate with each other over interoperable networks. But nationwide interoperability for our first responders has remained elusive. As we noted in the National Broadband Plan, we now have a real opportunity to ensure nationwide interoperability -- using spectrum cleared by the digital television transition and state of the art mobile broadband technologies. An interoperable mobile broadband public safety network would not only allow first responders to communicate effectively with each other. It would provide first responders with real-time information on emergency incidents through photographs, video and other data. First responders would be able to send critical information back to hospitals, including on-site scans and diagnostic information, improving success rates by taking advantage of every second. And all these communications would be interoperable. They could be shared by first responders across agencies and jurisdictions, a critical communications element not possible today. In addition to interoperability, a mobile broadband public safety network will also advance our Next Generation 911 goals. It will allow emergency responders to receive pictures, video or information that is sent via text to NG911 systems. There are many challenges to making this vision a reality, including the funding and deployment of nationwide mobile broadband public safety network. One vital piece of the puzzle is a nationwide framework for interoperability. Without it, we won’t achieve our goals. That’s why we created the Emergency Response Interoperability Center (ERIC), which is charged with the development of a technical and operational framework that will support and foster nationwide operability and interoperability in wireless broadband communications for America’s first responders. It’s also why today we adopt a common air interface for a mobile broadband public safety network. While selecting a common technology platform is the exception and not the rule at the FCC, in order to ensure nationwide interoperability for public safety communications there’s widespread agreement that a common air interface is desirable and necessary to enable nationwide interoperability I thank the public safety community for working with us as we developed this proposal and for providing us with input in response to the Notice we are adopting today. And I look forward to continuing to work with the public safety community and our federal partners to create a framework that will enable the deployment of a nationwide interoperable broadband network for first responders. I thank the staff for their tireless work on this and other critical public safety issues, and I’m looking forward to real progress. That’s why I’m pleased to announce today that we are moving forward with the ERIC Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC). The ERIC PSAC will be charged with providing recommendations to assist the Commission in the development of a technical framework and requirements for interoperability. The ERIC PSAC will be a key part of our effort to ensure that the public safety wireless broadband network is interoperable on a nationwide basis. I am particularly pleased to announce that this important advisory Committee will be chaired by Chief Jeff Johnson, Past President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association and Deputy Chief Eddie Reyes of the City of Alexandria Police Department. These are two highly respected members of the public safety community, and I’m grateful that they have agreed to take on these roles. Thank you to Chief Johnson, Deputy Chief Reyes, and all of the members of the Committee for volunteering their time for this critical advisory role.