FCC Reworks 4.9 GHz, Keeps Public Safety as Primary Use

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The FCC agreed this week to revamp the 4.9 GHz band to create a new leasing model for unused parts of the spectrum. But it will keep the band’s primary purpose for public safety use. In a Seventh Report and Order and Ninth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission established what it calls a “comprehensive and coordinated” approach to managing the 4940-4990 MHz band while retaining its locally controlled, public safety nature. “In doing so, we solidify the band’s status as public safety spectrum, while also allowing secondary, non-public safety use as agreed to by public safety licensees through a new leasing model,” says the agency. Continue Reading