Spectrum public safety plan meets resistance at hearing

The FCC is expected to set service rules on the spectrum to be auctioned within weeks.

Representatives of two wireless carriers told the committee they oppose open access rules in the auction. Dick Lynch, executive vice president and chief technical officer at Verizon Wireless Inc., suggested open access and net neutrality rules called for by several groups would limit the appeal of the spectrum and drive down the cost the U.S. government receives in the auction.

The auction is expected to raise at least $10 billion, with many observers suggesting much more money will be bid.

"The auction must make the spectrum available in ways that will promote, not cripple, broadband deployment," Lynch said. [Open access and other] requirements are unwarranted, would deter innovation, and would not benefit consumers."

Senator Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, also questioned the Frontline plan, saying the proposal doesn't address how local police and fire departments will pay for handsets and other equipment used to access the network. The best way to raise money for public safety equipment is to maximize the value of the spectrum at auction, he said.

"There's no reason this [spectrum] shouldn't go into the private sector and be profitable, too," he said.

Several Democratic senators and Wanda McCarley, president of Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International Inc., were more receptive of the Frontline plan. The proposal includes many ideas that many emergency response officials want, McCarley said.

"With this auction we stand at a crossroads," added Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat. "Either we can provide extraordinary benefits to millions of Americans, or we can tilt the broadband policy to improve the already significant position of the powerful few that deliver this service. I think there's a clear path that we have to take -- the airwaves belong to the American people."