§1423 Public safety Interoperability Board

Summary

Creates an advisory board inside the Commission called the Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability. The Chairman of the Commission must appoint 14 voting members within 30 days after February 22, 2012: 4 wireless provider reps (2 national, 1 regional, 1 rural), 3 equipment makers, 4 public safety reps (including at least 1 manager and 1 employee), and 3 state or local government reps chosen to reflect different regions and population sizes. All members must have the needed technical and public safety experience. The Assistant Secretary appoints one non-voting member. Members serve for the life of the board unless the Chairman removes them for cause. The board picks a Chair and Vice Chair, and a majority is a quorum. Within 90 days after February 22, 2012, the board, working with NTIA, NIST, and DHS’s Office of Emergency Communications, must create recommended minimum technical requirements for a nationwide public safety broadband network based on commercial LTE standards and send them to the Commission. The Commission must approve and send the recommendations to the First Responder Network Authority within 30 days of receiving them. Commission actions under this step are not reviewable as a final agency action. Board members may be paid travel and per diem at federal employee rates. Chapter 10 of title 5 does not apply to the board. The board ends 15 days after the Commission sends its recommendations to the First Responder Network Authority.