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Last week, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) issued a press release thanking the FCC Commissioners for their positive vote on the PSSA’s December 30, 2022 stay request. The Commission is currently made up of four Commissioners: Two Democrat Commissioners, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, and two Republican Commissioners, Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington. Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioners Starks and Simington voted for the stay while Commissioner Carr maintained his original no vote but did indicate he was receptive to working with public safety on how to best use this spectrum.

Last year’s five-member FCC Commission voted three to two in favor of reallocating the 4.9-GHz spectrum, taking it from the public-safety community and awarding it to each state. That ruling would have permitted each state to execute a master lease with an organization that would then determine how the spectrum would be used in that state. There was some wording in the order that might have protected existing public-safety 4.9-GHz users, but it was unclear whether this would actually shelter them…