The FCC published a 166-page report and order that establishes a coordinated nationwide approach to managing the 4.9 GHz (4940-4990 MHz) band. The new rules introduce a nationwide Band Manager, which will be selected based on its expertise and connections to the public safety community and will coordinate all operations in the band to ensure that any non-public safety use remains fully secondary to, and preemptible by, public safety operations. This nationwide framework will optimize public safety use and enable the integration of the latest commercially available technologies, such as 5G. The FCC is seeking comment on details of implementing this model.
The new rules allow for the collection of granular data on public safety operations in the 4.9 GHz band in order to improve interference mitigation efforts and bolster public safety confidence in the band.
