FCC adopts plan to establish Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau

Amateur Radio will not be a part of the FCC's new Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. This after the agency votes unanimously to establish a new division designed to provide a more efficient, effective, and responsive organizational structure to address public safety, homeland security, national security, emergency management and preparedness, disaster management, and related issues. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has more:

The FCC's March 17th vote to create a new Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau was long expected. And some has speculated that Amateur Radio might be moved to the new bureau based on its high profile disaster communications performance in responses in New York and Washington
following the 911 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina last year.

According to the ARRL Letter, it now appears that the Amateur Radio Service will remain within the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau for the forseeable future. The newsletter reports a quote from Anthony Dale who is the Acting Director of the FCC's Office of Managing Director. Dale says that communications by taxi cabs, Amateur Radio, chemical plants, all that type of thing are not public safety-specific functions. He says that plans are to keep them where they are.

As to the structure of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. it will have three divisions. They are Policy, Public Communications Outreach & Operations, and Communications Systems Analysis. It will also have a front office consisting of senior leadership and a management staff.

An official document spelling out just which functions and services will end up where has not yet been made public, and even Dale did not appear to be entirely clear on specifics. He and others did however stress that some new bureau's functions may overlap those of others within the agency.

The FCC said the changes are subject to Congressional notification before they become effective. The new bureau would be the seventh within the FCC.

Bruce Tennant, K6PZW
Amateur Radio Newsline

The ARRL Letter says that creation of the new bureau was a topic of some discussion during a meeting earlier this month of the League's Executive Committee. With the complete details of the reorganization still uncertain, however, the League adopted a wait-and-see attitude for now.

Sources: Amateur Radion Newsline, CGC, ARRL

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