Public Safety

NTIA’s Office of Public Safety Communications (OPSC) oversees the implementation of NTIA’s responsibilities under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. It also supports the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) with support functions for its efforts to deploy, operate, and maintain the nationwide public safety broadband network.

NTIA has statutory and delegated responsibilities related to the FirstNet Authority. Under the enabling statute, the NTIA Assistant Secretary must approve all fees collected by the FirstNet Authority. As part of the 25-year partnership contract with AT&T to deploy and operate the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, the FirstNet Authority receives an annual sustainability fee from AT&T that must be approved by NTIA.

Additionally, the FirstNet Authority has a Board composed of 15 members, of which three are permanent positions held by Executive Branch cabinet officials and 12 are non-permanent members appointed by the Secretary of Commerce for three-year terms. The Secretary also appoints a Board Chair from the group of 12 non-permanent members. NTIA supports the Secretary with the recruitment, vetting, and recommendations for the 12 non-permanent Board seats.

In addition to carrying out its responsibilities under the Act, NTIA is engaged in variety of other activities to support the 9-1-1 community:

NTIA provides best practices to 9-1-1 officials regarding the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1).

Engage with other Federal partners across the Executive Branch on issues related to NG9-1-1 in support of the public safety community.

Starting in 2009 through 2022, NTIA and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded two separate rounds of grants to the States, U.S. territories, and tribes to improve 9-1-1 services with enhanced and next-generation technologies.

OPSC Leadership Directory

Associate Administrator: Mike Dame (Acting)

Contact

Office of Public Safety Communications
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave., N.W., Room 4078
Washington, DC 20230
Phone: (202) 482-5802

NTIA Files Petition to Update Telecommunications Service Priority

July 17, 2019

Today, NTIA filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to update the rules governing Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP) so that it better reflects current technologies and industry practices. NTIA filed the petition and a draft set of updated rules on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

TSP is a program managed by the DHS’s Emergency Communications Division (ECD). It supports Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial entities; critical infrastructure service providers; first responders; 9-1-1 call centers; health care providers; and other organizations that use telecommunications to perform national security and emergency preparedness functions by providing prioritized installation or restoration of eligible telecommunications services. TSP helps ensure that the most critical telecommunications services will be available as quickly as possible.

The rules governing TSP were developed in the late 1980s and have not been updated since the program began. While the purpose of TSP remains fundamentally unchanged, the program has needed to evolve to accommodate new technologies as well as meet the increasing communications needs of the national security and emergency preparedness community.

Topics

Public Safety

NTIA Ex Parte Comments on the Petition to Revise the Rules for Wireless Priority Service

July 17, 2019

WT Docket No. 96-86

NTIA, as the President’s principal adviser on domestic and international telecommunications policy, and on behalf of the Emergency Communications Division (ECD)1 of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), respectfully submits these comments as a supplement to its initial filing in the NTIA Petition to Revise the Rules for Wireless Priority Service proceeding.

Public Safety

Notice of Reopening of Application Window for Recruitment of First Responder Network Authority Board Members

April 18, 2019

On March 19, 2019, NTIA published a notice seeking expressions of interest in an appointment to the Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The notice established a deadline of April 18, 2019 for the transmittal of expressions of interest. This notice reopens the period for submission of expressions of interest until April 26, 2019.

Topics

Public Safety

FirstNet

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