FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai told first responders at...

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai told first responders at an APCO conference Thursday that since FirstNet funding is tied to broadcasters’ willingness to sell their licenses in the TV incentive auction, getting the rules right for the auction should also be critical to them. “In order to have a successful incentive auction that raises the funds FirstNet needs, both broadcasters and wireless carriers must participate,” Pai said in prepared remarks (http://fcc.us/1lnTUpg). “It may take only two to tango, but this is more like Cirque du Soleil. To get broadcasters to the table, we need to turn the abstract concept of an incentive into the concrete reality of cash. That means letting broadcasters in the United States know -- sooner rather than later -- just how much they could receive for participating in the incentive auction. That also means letting the auction process, not government fiat, determine the prices paid to broadcasters for their spectrum.” The IP transition also has big implications for public safety and the development of a next-generation 911 network, Pai said. “Few people realize just how tied the legacy 911 system is to copper wires, landline phones and 1970s technology,” he said. “In short, the legacy architecture of the system means that all too many 911 calls are delayed, dropped, or lost altogether. I am hopeful that NG911’s IP-based architecture will change all that.” Pai spoke at APCO’s Emerging Technology Forum in Orlando.