Motorola Solutions wants more airwaves for public safety workers

Motorola Solutions Inc. Chief Executive Officer Greg Brown said the U.S. government should make more airwaves available to the public safety agencies that are among his company's customers.

“It's got widespread support” and “public safety shouldn't have to stand in line” because lives are at risk without more capability for emergency workers, Brown said in an interview in Washington yesterday.

Congress hasn't acted on a proposal to allocate a swath of spectrum known as the D Block to public safety workers amid competing calls to auction those airwaves. The 9/11 Commission recommended setting aside more spectrum for emergency workers plagued by communications shortfalls while responding to the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

“It is time to act now,” with the 10th anniversary of the attacks pending, Brown said.

“Getting more spectrum in the hands of our public safety customers is our highest priority,” Brown said. He said it is “uneconomical” to auction the D Block because public safety agencies would need to spend money to reduce interference from the new uses.

AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and President Barack Obama have called for allocating the D Block to public safety workers. President Barack Obama supports

Others including the Federal Communications Commission and Sprint Nextel Corp. say the airwaves should be auctioned to foster competition for consumer service and help raise money, including funds to help build a nationwide public safety network.

Government sales were 63 percent of the $1.9 billion in revenue that Schaumburg-based Motorola Solutions reported in the first quarter, the company said in a filing.