Washington, DC - Feb 18, 2010 - The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has rescheduled its public forum to discuss the creation of an emergency response interoperability center for public safety broadband communications for March 2, 2010, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Commission Meeting Room in Washington, DC. This forum had been originally scheduled for February 10, 2010, but was postponed due to severe winter weather.

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Public Safety Communications Research Program, and the FCC will make brief opening remarks. The floor will then be open to the audience for questions and comments. Attendees who would like to speak will be given no more than three minutes to ask questions and/or make comments. To speak at the forum, notify Susan McLean, PSHSB outreach coordinator, at Susan.McLean@fcc.gov by noon ET on Feb. 26, 2010. Due to the limited meeting time, speakers will be given time to speak on a first-come, first-served basis. All information gathered in connection with this forum, whether submitted in person or over the Internet, will be made part of the record in the National Broadband Plan proceeding, GN Docket No. 09-51. Those who registered to attend the Feb. 10 public forum and may have requested to provide public comment must re-register for the March 2 event and again request to speak.

The Bureau is holding this public forum in response to public comments the Commission received as part of the National Broadband Plan proceedings, which identified the need for enhanced coordination and cooperation among public safety entities to achieve broadband interoperability and operability. The forum will examine ways in which this goal could be achieved, including the creation of an emergency response interoperability center to develop common standards and to provide interoperability and operating procedures for the public safety licensee authorized to construct, operate and use the nationwide wireless broadband network.

To attend the forum, pre-register online at www.fcc.gov/pshs/event-registration.html. Audio/video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast online at www.fcc.gov/realaudio.