US Rep Waxman still favors public-private D-block

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A block of airwaves designated for public safety use would benefit from a public-private partnership, a key U.S. lawmaker said on Thursday as T-Mobile said a chunk of the spectrum should be auctioned off to companies.

The so-called D-block airwaves were leftover from a massive spectrum auction last year that yielded more than $19 billion for the U.S. government from sales to carriers including Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc (T.N).

The airwaves are seen as important to improving the response of police and firefighters in emergencies, after difficulties experienced in the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

The lack of interest from bidders was attributed by some industry experts to uncertainty over how to value a network shared between commercial and public safety use.

"I continue to believe that some form of a public-private partnership would likely offer the clearest path to constructing a nationwide, interoperable broadband network," Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told a hearing.

T-Mobile is a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGn.DE). Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L).

In September 2008 the Federal Communications Commission adopted a proposal to seek public comment on revised auction terms that would retain a public-private partnership framework, absent other funding sources.

But former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin stepped down in January and interim Chairman Michael Copps did not take up the issue. Julius Genachowski, the current chairman, has not acted on it either.

The FCC has no obligation to re-auction the spectrum and it could be auctioned for commercial use only, or dedicated to public use.

Some wireless carriers like T-Mobile are seeking more spectrum, as demands on their networks from mobile phone usage increases.

In a letter to committee members, T-Mobile said Congress should strongly consider legislation to allow the FCC to auction a portion of the D-block spectrum for commercial use and funnel the proceeds to construction and maintenance of a public safety broadband network.

Proceeds from the auction could raise between $2 billion and $9 billion, T-Mobile estimated.

But Stacey Black, an AT&T assistant vice president, told lawmakers that AT&T supports simply reallocating that block of spectrum to public safety groups. (Reporting by John Poirier; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)