According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), first responder communications are at serious risk with the pending, 2021 sale of the T-Band part of the radio spectrum.
In 11 large metropolitan areas, police, firefighters and other first responders rely heavily on that spectrum, and in three of the four metropolitan areas studied by GAO, those cities didn’t even have an alternative. Such analysis was backed by a separate study from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Despite this, the government is required by law to auction off the public safety T-Band as of 2021. Within two years of any sale, associated organizations must then move their communications to another spectrum, regardless of whether they realistically can. For the three metropolitan areas examined — Boston, Los Angeles, and New York — the GAO noted that separate studies by a public safety organization found these areas may not even have sufficient alternative spectrum options. The study also found that relocation options for public safety users are limited to nonexistent. Further, the FCC has calculated that such efforts would cost $5 billion to $6 billion, given the amount of new infrastructure that would have to be built.
The harm this could render to safety organizations has yet to be addressed. The FCC had previously told Congress that auction scenarios were likely to fail. The GAO recommends establishing legislation that would allow public safety organizations to continue the use of the T-Band.