Open Infrastructure for a Nationwide Emergency Services Network

Abstract

The article suggests and supports a public policy in which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should seize a unique opportunity to resolve some of the nation’s critical communications problems in times of crises with the allocation of a portion of the spectrum at 700 MHz for the deployment of a nationwide interoperable emergency broadband wireless network built by a public-private partnership. It then presents a convincing theoretical model that advocates that an open and/or neutral, as opposed to a closed, network will add greater efficiency, greater choice, while advancing public safety along with the deployment of new and valuable technologies, applications and services.