FCC: Public Safety over Broadband Wireless Will Cost $16B

While the FCC pushes for Net-Neutrality (sometimes being described as "all traffic treated equally") it seems that they found at least one application that does require special treatment - public safety.

In his speech yesterday, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski was addressing the strategy for public safety broadband use, as part of the future of broadband strategic plan (transcript).

The plan includes "Provides for reserve capacity and needed redundancy and reliability through roaming and priority access on commercial broadband networks."

To do that, FCC recommends that "The Plan will recommend that Congress consider significant public funding -- $12-16 billion over 10 years -- for the creation of an approximately $6 billion federal grant program to help support network construction and additional funding for the operation and evolution of the broadband network." since "The private sector simply is not going to build a nationwide, state-of-the-art, interoperable broadband network for public safety on its own dime."

Public safety should be a good exception to the Net-Neutrality guidelines. When your Toyota accelerates without control, you want the fastest response to your distress signal, not waiting for the kid in the next building completing his 5GB video download.

Maybe the private sector will build such a network, give (and get paid) for the prioritized access by the government - if it will be allowed to offer the same service to other users ?