US first responders might not have spectrum for critical communications
First responders and other public safety personnel in the United States are concerned that they won’t have an alternative to the T-Band spectrum for their mission-critical voice communications when an auction of the band takes place in 2021, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Currrently, public safety agencies in 11 cities rely on radio systems that use the T-Band (470 to 512 megahertz) for voice communications. However, public safety agencies in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles may not have an alternative to the T-Band for the radio systems when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) carries about a congressionally mandated auction of the spectrum, the GAO observed.
Read more