4.9 GHz Public Safety Band: 2024 FCC Order and Court Case

The 4.9 GHz public safety band is a 50 megahertz slice of radio spectrum, running from 4940 to 4990 MHz, that the Federal Communications Commission set aside in 2002 for police, fire, and emergency medical agencies to use for broadband communications. In October 2024, the FCC overhauled the rules to create a nationwide “band manager” and let the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) share unused portions of the band. That decision is now being challenged in federal court, and most of the new framework has yet to be built.

What the Band Is and Who Can Use It

The FCC allocated 4940–4990 MHz for fixed and mobile public safety use in 2002, with licensing rules following in 2003.¹ The purpose was to give first responders dedicated airwaves for next-generation applications at a time when most agencies were still running narrowband voice radio.

Under the original rules, only state and local government entities, or organizations providing communications essential to protecting life, health, or property, were eligible for licenses. Licensing was “jurisdictional,” meaning an agency could operate throughout the area it had legal authority over, and licensees were expected to cooperate with one another in using the spectrum.¹

The FCC recognizes both primary and secondary operational uses. Primary uses include wireless LANs and mesh networks for on-scene incident management, Wi-Fi hotspots and Voice over IP, temporary fixed communications links, permanent fixed point-to-point video surveillance, and broadband backhaul connecting to 700 MHz public safety networks. Secondary uses cover permanent fixed narrowband links and backhaul from older VHF, UHF, and 800 MHz public safety bands. Sharing with non-traditional public safety users — utilities, commercial companies, and federal agencies — is allowed if those users support homeland security or life-and-property missions.²

Why the FCC Changed the Rules

Most agencies eligible for the band never used it. By 2018, the FCC counted only 3,174 active licenses among roughly 90,000 eligible agencies.³ A National Academies report attributed the shortfall to a “too small” ecosystem, with equipment tailored to the band running expensive and narrowly designed, out of reach for all but the largest municipal agencies.¹ The Fraternal Order of Police has called the band roughly 90 percent unused.⁴

That gap between available capacity and actual deployment drove more than a decade of rulemaking. A 2020 FCC attempt to let states lease the spectrum was stayed and reconsidered in 2021, and a January 2023 order first introduced the concept of a single nationwide band manager while requiring incumbents to submit detailed deployment data.³

What the 2024 Order Does

On October 18, 2024, the FCC voted 4-0 to adopt its Eighth Report and Order (FCC 24-114), which took effect December 20, 2024.⁵ The order restructured how the band operates around a few core pieces.

A nationwide overlay license covers the entire 50 MHz. Once selected, the band manager holds that single license, which sits on top of existing incumbent licenses and covers unassigned “white space” spectrum. The overlay is considered exempt from spectrum auction requirements because the band is designated for public safety.

The band manager is authorized to enter a sharing agreement with FirstNet, letting the federal public safety broadband authority use unassigned 4.9 GHz spectrum as part of its nationwide network, so long as it does not interfere with incumbents.⁵ The band manager’s other duties include frequency coordination, interference protection, incentivizing modern technologies like 5G, facilitating non-public safety access through leasing, and submitting an annual report to the FCC.

The order retained the freeze on new entrants and reinstated a freeze on incumbents adding or modifying licenses, with limited exceptions for compliance with the new data collection requirements.⁵ Incumbents were required to submit detailed site-by-site licensing data and complete microwave path data to the FCC’s Universal Licensing System by June 9, 2025. Geographic-area licenses under the old “PA” radio service code that were not transitioned to the new site-specific codes (PB and PF) by that deadline faced automatic cancellation.⁶

Why FirstNet’s Access Matters

FirstNet operates the nationwide public safety broadband network under an exclusive partnership with AT&T, which uses excess capacity on FirstNet’s Band 14 spectrum in the 700 MHz range for its commercial mobile network. The 2024 order extends FirstNet’s footprint into 50 additional megahertz of mid-band spectrum.

The financial stakes are large. Verizon has estimated the value of the 50 MHz at roughly $14 billion, and the Fierce Wireless trade publication cited estimates ranging from $3.4 billion for low-power, non-exclusive use to $14.3 billion for high-power, licensed use.⁷ Critics argue that because AT&T can sell commercial service on excess FirstNet capacity, the order amounts to a multibillion-dollar windfall for the carrier without the competitive auction that would normally apply to commercially valuable spectrum.³

Who Supports the Order and Who Is Fighting It

The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) leads the opposition. Its members include T-Mobile, Verizon, U.S. Cellular, the Competitive Carriers Association, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Edison Electric Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the California State Sheriffs’ Association.⁸ CERCI argues that the FCC lacks statutory authority to grant FirstNet access to spectrum outside the 700 MHz band that Congress assigned it under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, and that the band manager structure is an unlawful workaround to bypass the prohibition on directly licensing spectrum to a federal entity.⁹ The coalition also contends that local public safety agencies will lose control over spectrum they rely on during emergencies.

APCO International, which represents public safety communications professionals, supported the 2024 order and in February 2025 filed a petition asking the FCC to update technical rules for the band to support 5G deployments, including changes to base station power limits and out-of-band emissions standards.¹⁰ The National Fraternal Order of Police intervened in court in support of the FCC.

A third camp complicates the picture. The Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA), along with the Public Safety Broadband Technology Association, supports giving FirstNet access to the band but argues the FCC should have provided faster access, and wants the order vacated only in part. CERCI wants the entire framework struck down.⁹

The Court Case

Multiple parties filed petitions for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit within weeks of the order. CERCI filed on November 27, 2024, and PSSA filed on November 26, 2024; the cases were consolidated on December 2, 2024.⁹ Additional petitions followed from the National Sheriffs’ Association, the California State Sheriffs’ Association, and BART, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.¹¹ The consolidated cases carry lead docket number 24-1363. On March 19, 2025, the D.C. Circuit denied a request to stay the rules pending judicial review.³

A panel of Judges Robert Wilkins, Gregory Katsas, and Neomi Rao heard oral argument on November 24, 2025. FCC General Counsel Adam Candeub argued that FirstNet shares spectrum with the band manager licensee rather than holding a license itself, and that the arrangement is not unprecedented. CERCI’s counsel, Jessica Ring Amunson, called it an illegal workaround designed to circumvent restrictions on the FCC directly assigning licenses to federal entities, and argued Congress limited FirstNet to the 700 MHz band. Joshua Turner, representing the Fraternal Order of Police, supported the order and cited the band’s 90 percent underutilization.⁴

Judge Wilkins called the framework a “very weird arrangement” in which the band manager holds the license but cannot actually use the spectrum, and said an arrangement “seeming to work well and being legal ‘are two different things.'” Judge Rao questioned the FCC’s reliance on “general authorities” to bypass statutory restrictions, but also suggested to CERCI that the 2012 Act creating FirstNet might represent a “floor and not a ceiling” for its spectrum access. Judge Katsas said the “workaround” argument carries significant “intuitive force,” and raised the possibility that the case may not be ripe for review, since the FCC has not yet selected a band manager or approved any actual sharing agreement.¹² Law360 described the judges as “unconvinced” that the FCC lacked authority.¹³

Where Implementation Stands Now

While the court case moves forward, implementation of the 2024 order has been slow. The FCC has not yet selected the band manager, formed the selection committee, or finalized the criteria for choosing the entity.¹⁴ No sharing agreement between a band manager and FirstNet exists, and no implementation plan has been developed. A 2025 National Academies report concluded it is “not possible to create scenarios for new uses of the band” because so many foundational steps remain incomplete.¹⁵

The data collection piece has moved. Incumbent licensees faced the June 9, 2025, deadline to submit granular site-by-site data and transition from geographic-area licenses to the new radio service codes, with any unconverted licenses subject to automatic cancellation.⁶ BART filed a separate waiver request seeking permission to operate in the band, which the FCC put out for public comment in February 2026.¹⁶

What Congress Could Still Do

The FCC’s 4.9 GHz decision sits at the intersection of several expiring federal authorities. The FCC’s spectrum auction authority lapsed on March 9, 2023, and FirstNet’s own federal authority is set to expire in 2027.³ A Congressional Research Service report identified several options for Congress: legislatively reverse the FCC’s order, codify the 2024 rules into statute, support alternative uses of the band for unmanned aircraft or critical infrastructure, or reinstate auction authority and direct a sale of the spectrum. None of these options had advanced as of mid-2026.

1
National Academies Press. Planning for 4.9 GHz Spectrum Changes, Chapter 3
2
Federal Communications Commission. 4.9 GHz Public Safety Spectrum
3
EveryCRSReport. CRS In Focus IF12766, 4.9 GHz Public Safety Band
4
Communications Daily. FCC Gets Lots of Questions on 4.9 GHz Order During DC Circuit Argument
5
Federal Register. Improving Public Safety Communications in the 4.9 GHz Band
6
Federal Communications Commission. Public Notice, DA-24-1137A1
7
Fierce Network. FCC Hands Big Win to FirstNet and AT&T in 4.9 GHz Battle
8
Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure. CERCI Home Page
9
Broadband Breakfast. CERCI, PSSA Challenge FCC’s 4.9 GHz Order
10
Federal Communications Commission. Public Notice, DA-25-274A1
11
Federal Communications Commission. Brief for Respondents, Nos. 24-1363 et al.
12
CourtListener. Public Safety Spectrum Alliance v. FCC Oral Argument
13
Law360. Judges Question Limits on FCC Power To Rework 4.9 GHz
14
APCO International. Current Information About 4.9 GHz
15
National Academies Press. Planning for 4.9 GHz Spectrum Changes, Chapter 5
16
Federal Communications Commission. FCC Seeks Comment on San Francisco BART Waiver Request, 4.9 GHz