Pai and Wheeler Again Urge Congress to Prioritize NG-911 Funding

Former FCC Chairmen Ajit Pai and Tom Wheeler on Sunday repeated their call that lawmakers consider repurposing “appropriated but unspent COVID-19-era funding” and future spectrum auction revenue as alternative ways of paying for next-generation 911 technology upgrades. “A one-time infusion of Federal funding is desperately needed to accelerate nationwide NG9-1-1 implementation,” the two wrote in a Seattle Times opinion piece. “Without it, lives will be lost, especially in lower-income and rural communities that may lag in the NG9-1-1 transition.” Congress “must make NG9-1-1 a top priority and pass legislation that empowers all levels of government to make ubiquitous NG9-1-1 a reality,” the ex-FCC chairs said. Pai and Wheeler were among nine ex-FCC chairs who wrote congressional leaders in February in favor of using either future spectrum proceeds or COVID-19 funding to pay for NG-911 (see 2402210073). Leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees have repeatedly proposed using spectrum revenue to fund as much as $15 billion in NG-911 upgrades, including a $2 billion allocation in the stalled Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207) (see 2406180067). The Public Safety Next Generation 911 Coalition complained in April that S-4207’s $2 billion NG-911 appropriation is insufficient (see 2404300052).