Title 47, Telegraphs, Telephones, and RadiotelegraphsRelease 119-110

§1443 Public Safety Wireless Communications Research and Development

Title 47 › CHAPTER 13 — PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM AUCTIONS › SUBCHAPTER III — PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITMENTS › § 1443

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The NIST Director must use money from the Public Safety Trust Fund and work with the FCC, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Institute of Justice to pay for research and help make standards, technologies, and apps that improve wireless communications for police, fire, and other public safety users. Working with the First Responder Network Authority and the public safety advisory committee, NIST must record technical needs; speed work to connect current narrowband systems to the nationwide public safety broadband network; make and run a research plan for needs beyond today’s broadband; move faster on mission‑critical voice (including device‑to‑device “talkaround”), prioritization, authentication, and standard APIs; develop gear to help shift narrowband to broadband; and form working groups of government and industry to do this work.

Full Legal Text

Title 47, §1443

Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)NIST directed research and development program

From amounts made available from the Public Safety Trust Fund, the Director of NIST, in consultation with the Commission, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the National Institute of Justice of the Department of Justice, as appropriate, shall conduct research and assist with the development of standards, technologies, and applications to advance wireless public safety communications.

(b)Required activities

In carrying out the requirement under subsection (a), the Director of NIST, in consultation with the First Responder Network Authority and the public safety advisory committee established under section 1425(a) of this title, shall—

(1)document public safety wireless communications technical requirements;

(2)accelerate the development of the capability for communications between currently deployed public safety narrowband systems and the nationwide public safety broadband network;

(3)establish a research plan, and direct research, that addresses the wireless communications needs of public safety entities beyond what can be provided by the current generation of broadband technology;

(4)accelerate the development of mission critical voice, including device-to-device “talkaround” capability over broadband networks, public safety prioritization, authentication capabilities, and standard application programing interfaces for the nationwide public safety broadband network, if necessary and practical;

(5)accelerate the development of communications technology and equipment that can facilitate the eventual migration of public safety narrowband communications to the nationwide public safety broadband network; and

(6)convene working groups of relevant government and commercial parties to achieve the requirements in paragraphs (1) through (5).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

47 U.S.C. § 1443

Title 47, Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110