4.9 GHz Public Safety Spectrum Explained | PSBTA

What is the 4.9 GHz Band?

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the U.S. government agency responsible for managing America’s radio spectrum for the public good. In 2000 “The Commission allocated fifty megahertz of spectrum in the 4940-4990 MHz band (4.9 GHz band) for fixed and mobile services (except aeronautical mobile service) and designated this band for use in support of public safety,” said the FCC website. (Docket 00-32) “Non-traditional public safety entities, such as utilities and commercial entities, and the Federal Government may enter into sharing arrangements with eligible traditional public safety entities to use the 4.9 GHz band in support of their missions regarding homeland security and protection of life and property.”

“Actually, before the 2000s, the 4.9 GHz band was federal government spectrum,” said Stephen Devine. He is Chief Technology Officer with APCO International, the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals. “It was turned over to public safety during a time when WiMAX (802.16) technologies were prevalent in the commercial market, which is a form of Wi-Fi that can cover larger distances. The introduction of LTE technologies largely replaced WiMAX and network providers turned to 4G/LTE to carry the kind of traffic that WiMAX carried, because 4G/LTE was available on smartphones.

How Public Safety Agencies Have Used the 4.9 GHz Band Since its Introduction

Despite today’s popularity of 4G/LTE technologies for commercial wireless broadband communications, public safety agencies began using the 4.9 GHz band prior to 4G to supplement their communications requirements with access points and temporary/fixed services.  An example of this would be using 4.9 GHz links to send audio from a remote receive site to a dispatch center on a Project 25 Land Mobile Radio system

“These days, the 4.9 GHz band is primarily utilized for point-to-point and point-to-multi-point solutions, often connecting fixed sites using microwave,” Devine said. “In the past, people have also used 4.9 GHz to transmit dashcam video stored in a patrol car’s hard drive to a wireless access point in the jurisdiction.  This would allow periodic downloads of large amounts of data sent back to the station from the access point. You couldn’t do that while in motion (as part of a mobility network), as you can with 4G/LTE and 5G today but access points using 4.9 GHz would be strategically placed into locations to facilitate data download.  Today’s public safety’s data management approach is very different, utilizing 4G/5G networks and cloud technologies for data retention”

Why the 4.9 GHz Band Got Into a Regulatory Debate

We have mentioned that the 4.9 GHz band has been the subject of some spirited regulatory debate. The reason: Although the FCC turned the 4.9 GHz band over to public safety some 20 years ago, the manner in which the band was licensed didn’t have the expected results or drive innovation in the band sufficiently in its support of public safety.

“The FCC assigned licenses for the 4.9 GHz band to public safety on a geographic basis (Citywide, Countywide, Statewide, etc.), hoping this unique licensing model would foster commercial technologies to drive public safety broadband innovation and drive public safety’s enhanced use of the band,” said Devine. “There was also no actual documentation tracking which agencies were using which part of the band for which purposes. This “public safety commons” licensing model assumed use of the 4.9 GHz band would be implemented by agencies in cooperation with each other, throughout their communities. That did not happen.  As a result, the licensing model for 4.9 GHz didn’t instill confidence in public safety for its use of the band, and that lack of confidence prevented the establishment and sustainment of a robust device ecosystem that would have been cost-effective for public safety to deploy and use.

The FCC Chooses FirstNet to Maximize the 4.9 Band for Public Safety

The 4.9 GHz debate, along with the underutilization and that the band has been designated a 5G band (nr 79) with widespread 5G deployments globally, eventually raised so many questions that the FCC reviewed the situation and decided to act. On November 7, 2024, in a unanimous 4-0 decision that won the support of both Democrat and Republican commissioners, the FCC decided to allocate unused portions of the 4.9 GHz band to the First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet Authority). Existing licensed (aka incumbent) 4.9 GHz users were given the right to stay on the band and be protected. The FCC would select a National Band Manager who’s focus would be to oversee operations and coordinate use of the 4.9 GHz band, promote the bands expanded use, empower the development of cost effective, high performing 5G equipment for the band and promote non-public safety use of the band to drive economies of scale.  Finally, the Band Manager would be charged with ensuring the band’s incumbent users were protected.  

“Besides 5G, this band can be used for advanced public safety operations like drone control, advanced video capture during crises and fast deployment of Incident Command. The limits on this band’s possibilities are really based on public safety technology, which keeps changing and evolving within the FirstNet model.”

The FirstNet Authority operates the FirstNet national wireless broadband network. Unlike all other cellular networks in the United States, FirstNet is exclusively reserved for use by first responders (with the support of AT&T, who won a competitive bidding process to support FirstNet). The FirstNet Authority is currently spending about $8 billion to add national 5G capabilities to FirstNet, using funds raised by user fees. Some of the areas where 4.9 GHz currently is underutilized will be used in this project to further improve police, fire, and EMS communications across America. 

FirstNet supports spectrum efficiency and innovation. The FCC is actively working to allow FirstNet access to unassigned parts of the 4.9 GHz band. This additional spectrum, with its useful characteristics for 5G networks, will further enhance FirstNet’s capacity and allow for more robust broadband applications like high-definition video feeds and augmented reality in crises. 

The FCC’s decision has been strongly endorsed by U.S. first responder associations like the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). “The FOP campaigned hard to beat back the efforts of for-profit companies and organizations…using the false banner of ‘local control’ to encroach upon public safety’s 4.9 GHz spectrum for their own commercial purposes,” said FOP National President Patrick Yoes. “Today is a victory for public safety over private profit.”

“Today’s action is a major win for public safety,” agreed Mel Maier, APCO International’s CEO and Executive Director. “This move was essential for the federal FirstNet Authority to be able to provide groundbreaking capabilities to local public safety agencies,” added Josh Waldo, President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

The Future of 4.9 GHz Under FirstNet

Now that the 4.9 GHz band has been tied to FirstNet, its public safety future is assured.
“Besides 5G, this band can be used for advanced public safety operations like drone control, advanced video capture during crises and fast deployment of Incident Command, ” Steve Devine said. “The limits on this band’s possibilities are really based on public safety technology, which keeps changing and evolving within the FirstNet model. At the same time, having the FirstNet Authority take responsibility for implementation of the 4.9 GHz band ensures that it will continue to be used for public safety, rather than being exploited for profit. Kudos to the FCC for acknowledging this fact and taking steps to make the 4.9 GHz band available to FirstNet.”