WASHINGTON, D.C. – September 27, 2011 – Three major New York City Committees are holding a hearing today to consider a resolution encouraging Congress and the President to sign into law S.911; The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act of 2011, announced the APCO International and the Public Safety Alliance (PSA). The Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services, jointly with the Committee on Public Safety and the Committee on Technology will convene at 10:00 a.m. in the 16th Floor Committee Room at 250 Broadway in New York City.

The Committees will hear testimony on Resolution No. 870-A, which supports D Block allocation to Public safety for the creation and funding of a nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband network. APCO International’s Director of Government Relations, Yucel Ors, will testify at the hearing as Project Manager for the Public Safety Alliance.

“More than 10 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and six years after Hurricane Katrina, first responders nationwide still do not have a reliable communications network,” said Ors. “It is absolutely critical that Congress stays focused on passing legislation that allocates the D Block to public safety. We applaud New York City for making this a priority and working to give first responders this critical tool to help them protect all Americans during future emergencies, from day-to-day incidents and natural disasters to terrorist attacks.”

S.911 is just one of seven bills that have been introduced in Congress since January 2011, which allocate the D block to public safety (the other bills are HR607, HR2482, S.28, HR2976, S.1549 and S.1040). All seven bills address public safety’s top priorities – allocating the D Block to public safety, providing $7-12 billion in funding to build out the broadband network, establishing the necessary governance to manage the build out, maintenance and operations of the network with sufficient state and local government and public safety representation, and offsetting the deficit by auctioning other spectrum bands. To read more about the creation of a Public Safety Broadband Network, visit www.apcointl.org and www.psafirst.org.

About PSA
The Public Safety Alliance is a partnership with the nation’s leading public safety associations, which includes the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Major County Sheriffs’ Association, the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, the National Emergency Management Association and the National Association of State EMS Officials. The partnership is operated as a program of APCO International.

About APCO International
APCO International is the world’s largest organization of public safety communications professionals. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide—and the welfare of the general public as a whole— by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.