Public Safety Organizations Sign Joint Letter Opposing NextNav Petition to the FCC

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The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) signed a joint letter to the FCC outlining their concerns that NextNav’s proposed PNT solutions could negatively affect existing incumbent operations essential to the preservation of life and safety.

The letter references the evidence from recent reports and studies, such as the engineering review submitted into the record by Pericle that highlights potential risks of NextNav’s proposal to critical life safety systems noting that these systems are prevalent throughout our country, especially in Americans’ homes and businesses. The letter states that the rule changes requested in the NextNav petition could have significant negative consequences for public safety.

The letter, dated November 13, 2025,  calls out key examples of devices that could be affected if NextNav’s proposals were allowed to proceed:

  • Man down systems/solutions. These devices and solutions help provide public safety agencies with the location of first responders and other pertinent life-safety data while on the scene of an incident. They are especially critical for public safety personnel, because they provide critical tracking data for first responders in unfamiliar settings.
  • Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) systems. SCBA systems provide respiratory protection for first responders in hazardous environments, including fire and areas with toxic gas. These devices may incorporate connectivity features over the Lower 900 MHz band to monitor firefighter status, air supply levels, and environmental conditions. This enables remote monitoring of air cylinder pressures, automatic alerts if a wearer is in distress or immobile, and integration with incident management software for real-time safety oversight.
  • IoT wildfire sensing and wind profile radars. Connected cameras and sensors equipped with AI use the Lower 900 MHz band to detect environmental conditions conducive to wildfires and create wind predictions for wildfire mitigation. These systems provide early warning and situational awareness to inform public safety decision-making and resource deployment.
  • Preemption of traffic signals. These devices help emergency vehicles override typical traffic signal operations. They ensure that emergency vehicles have the right-of-way and can reach the incident scene in a quick and timely manner.
  • Automatic utility gas/electric shut off capabilities. When first responders encounter a scene where live electricity or a gas leak is present, often their first call is to utility companies. Remote shut-off systems operate on the Lower 900 MHz Band. If gas and electric companies cannot operate their remote shut off systems, first responders’ lives and safety could be at risk.
  • Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: These detectors can be found in the homes of most American citizens. These devices alert people to unsafe levels of smoke or carbon monoxide present in residences or businesses, so that people can evacuate safely. These detectors are often connected directly to alarm companies to allow first responders to arrive on the scene more quickly.

Read the full letter.

Latest News on NextNav Petition to the FCC Focus of SIA Webinar, May 11th

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The lower 900 MHz band (902-928 MHz) is used by millions of Part 15 low-power, radio frequency security and life safety devices such as consumer electronics and appliances, wireless alarm systems, smart home equipment, electronic access control devices and others essential for protecting homes, small businesses and critical infrastructure. A monopolistic proposal from a single company before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeks to reallocate portions of this band of spectrum for an exclusive license and remove an FCC rule that has protected Part 15 devices from harmful interference and preserved this ecosystem for decades. The Security Industry Association (SIA) and numerous other public safety organizations are opposing this proposal and are fighting it on Capitol Hill.

Join this webinar presented by SIA to learn about the proposal, get an update on where our advocacy efforts stand and discuss the impacts on the security industry devices that communicate in the spectrum.

Panelists will share:

  • An overview of the petition and where it stands today
  • A look at our technical analysis of how this will impact devices in the band
  • A snapshot of SIA’s advocacy on the issue
  • What you can do to help protect this band for security products and services

Speakers:

Jake Parker, senior director of government relations, SIA

Lauren Bresette, senior manager of government relations, SIA

Date: May 11, 2026, 1:00 PM/ET

REGISTER 

 

Security Industry Unites on Capitol Hill for Fourth Annual Hill Walk

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More than 70 professionals from across the electronic security and monitoring industry convened in Washington, D.C., on March 5 for the fourth annual Hill Walk, a coordinated advocacy effort designed to amplify the industry’s voice with federal policymakers.

This year’s Hill Walk was jointly organized by the Security Industry Association (SIA), the Electronic Security Association (ESA) and The Monitoring Association (TMA), marking the second consecutive year the three leading industry organizations formally co-sponsored the event.

Participants conducted a full day of meetings across Capitol Hill, visiting a total of 55 legislative offices spanning both chambers of Congress and both political parties. The delegation included representatives from monitoring centers, security integrators, manufacturers, and other industry stakeholders, underscoring the breadth of the security ecosystem and its shared policy priorities.

Enter TMA's 2026 Awards with a deadline of April 3, 2026.

Unified Voice on Critical Industry Issues

A central topic of discussion during the meetings was a petition before the Federal Communications Commission submitted by NextNav. Hill Walk participants encouraged lawmakers to urge the FCC to dismiss the petition, citing concerns about its potential impact on spectrum resources and the reliability of services that support alarm monitoring and emergency communications.

In addition to the spectrum issue, representatives from The Monitoring Association highlighted several policy priorities of the industry’s public safety partners, reinforcing the close relationship between professional monitoring services and first responders. These conversations emphasized the importance of protecting communications infrastructure and maintaining reliable pathways for emergency signaling that communities depend on every day.

Broad Engagement Across Capitol Hill

The Hill Walk’s meetings included offices in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, providing an opportunity for industry leaders to educate lawmakers and staff about the role of the security sector in protecting homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.

Advocates also shared insights about the industry’s economic impact, technological innovation and longstanding partnerships with law enforcement and emergency response agencies.

Strength in Collaboration

Leaders from the three sponsoring associations emphasized that the event’s success reflects the growing collaboration across the security industry.

“The security industry is strongest when we speak with one voice,†said Alan Gillmore, IV, president of TMA. “By bringing together SIA, ESA and TMA, we demonstrated the power of collaboration and ensured that policymakers heard directly from the professionals who design, install and operate the technologies that help keep people safe every day.â€

Building Momentum for Future Advocacy

The Hill Walk continues to grow in both participation and impact. The event highlighted the security industry’s shared commitment to proactive advocacy and constructive dialogue with policymakers and to advancing technology and communications policies that support public safety and innovation.

Security Hill Day – Policy Priorities Papers

Hertel, Martini, and Prendergast honored with top TMA Awards at 75th Anniversary Annual Meeting

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TMA President Steve Butkovich honored the outstanding contributions of three individuals last week in at the 2025 TMA 75th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Palm Springs, CA.

Enter TMA's 2026 Awards with a deadline of April 3, 2026.On Mon., Oct. 6th, at the General Membership Meeting, Butkovich presented the 2025 Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award to AICC legal counsel John Prendergast, managing partner, Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens & Prendergast, LLP, in recognition of his unwavering advocacy efforts on behalf of AICC and TMA members. The Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award, established in 1991 to honor its namesake, a dedicated leader and past president, recognizes exceptional long-term TMA leadership and support.

Prendergast expressed his gratitude for the recognition, stating, “I am deeply honored to win the Stan Lott award, especially given the outstanding people that have won it before me; and I have been privileged to have worked with all of the dedicated and professional TMA members and staff, past and present, that have made representing the alarm industry so rewarding.â€

Enter TMA's 2026 Awards with a deadline of April 3, 2026.Also presented at the General Business Meeting, former APCO President Stephen Martini, ENP. CPE, director, Metro Nashville Dept. of Emergency Communications, received the 2025 Public Sector Award. This special honor, established in 2015, is presented by TMA to a public safety professional whose contributions have supported the monitoring industry’s mission to protect and save life and property. Martini has been a longtime champion for TMA’s ASAP Service.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this recognition. The work TMA is doing with the ASAP Program is saving time, saving lives, and reducing workloads on emergency communications professionals,” said Martini. “This commitment to the public we serve and the professionals we depend on to carry out this no-fail mission is critical to the success of public safety response for the next decade.â€

Enter TMA's 2026 Awards with a deadline of April 3, 2026.On Wed., Oct. 8th, at the closing Gala Dinner, Butkovich presented the 2025 Mel Mahler Award to Morgan Hertel, Rapid Response Monitoring Services Inc. The Mel Mahler Award is presented at the discretion of the TMA president in recognition of outstanding contributions within his/her tenure. Hertel has served as a volunteer leader for decades, contributing his knowledge, experience, and expertise to the TMA community.

“Thank you. I am truly honored to receive this recognition. I have always believed that active participation in our industry associations is not just beneficial, but essential for our collective success,” shared Hertel. “The Monitoring Association is, without a doubt, the most important organization in our industry. This achievement is not mine alone. It is built upon the foundation laid by those who came before me, and it is shared with the dedicated leaders who will follow. It is through this collaborative spirit that we are able to achieve such meaningful results.”

New Research Shows Flawed Spectrum Proposal Would Cause Public Safety Risks, Communications Disruption

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A new research report, filed by the Security Industry Association (SIA) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), details the risks of a proposal under consideration by the FCC that would restructure portions of the Lower 900 MHz band, which is used by billions of unlicensed, low-power devices.

NextNav has petitioned the FCC to reconfigure the frequencies between 902-928 MHz (the Lower 900 MHz Band) and grant the company a nationwide license for 15 megahertz of spectrum so it can establish a 5G terrestrial-based position, navigation and timing network—radically altering the spectrum. The new research conducted by engineering consulting firm Pericle Communications Company, commissioned by SIA and with additional support from the Alarm Industry Communications Committee, the Electronic Security Association (ESA) and The Monitoring Association (TMA), shows that the proposal would severely limit the range and compromise the effectiveness of devices operating in this spectrum, including:

  • Panic buttons, motion sensors, carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms
  • Personal medical alert devices and emergency call buttons
  • Wireless microphones, headsets and license-free two-way radios
  • Wireless security cameras and doorbell cameras
  • Outdoor public safety and security devices, including traffic control and tolling devices, vehicle status and alerting devices and gunshot detection devices

Lower 900 MHz band is heavily used by “Part 15” security and life safety systems, smart home technology, consumer and business electronics and more devices that would face harmful interference from NextNav’s high-power usage in the band.

In addition to these public safety and security uses, other critical systems that could be disrupted include equipment that first responders use during emergencies, municipal infrastructure, railroad operations and safety, highway infrastructure, retail and supply chain operations and agriculture solutions.

“Our research modeling and simulations show that NextNav’s proposed system would render an enormous number of public safety and mission-critical devices—along with countless other devices that rely upon the Lower 900 MHz Band—inoperable,” said Michael McGinley, senior systems engineer at Pericle. “This amount of interference would simply be unacceptable due to the severe disruption it would have on the user experience and radio performance. The interference would be a direct result of the incompatibilities between NextNav’s high-power cellular network and the low-power, radio frequency devices currently operating in the band.”

“NextNav’s proposal would be detrimental to the operation of devices that are critical for our life safety and security, first responders and the public,” said SIA CEO Don Erickson. “This proposal would have devastating effects in many U.S. households, and make everyday life less safe, less convenient and more costly.”

“Since the proposal to the FCC was filed more than 16 months ago, the Commission has been flooded with concerns from affected companies and trade groups about the potential consequences,” said TMA President Steve Butkovich.

“The Pericle study confirms the negative impact to consumers and to public safety that would result if the petition were to be granted,” said ESA Executive Director and CEO Merlin Guilbeau.

As other concerned parties have noted, there are a variety of GPS alternatives that do not require severely disrupting existing spectrum users. While a backup GPS system is needed, these other solutions would cause much less disruption, and implementing NextNav’s proposal would present tradeoffs that are not worth the harmful impact on our nation’s safety and security and major inconveniences the proposal would cause.

The full research report can be found here. More information and resources related to the Lower 900 MHz band can be found here.

FTC Delays Enforcement of its Negative Option Rule

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In March of 2023 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested comments from industry on their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to change how the agency enforces the 1973 Negative Option Rule. This rule has allowed the agency to combat unfair or deceptive practices related to subscriptions, memberships and other recurring-payment programs. As online retail has become ubiquitous in recent decades, the agency is reviewing all automatic renewal programs continuity offers in which customers are continually billed for products or services unless they expressly signal their wish to exit their agreement for said products or services.

The new rule would require companies to provide specific express disclosures, obtain the consumer’s unambiguous affirmative consent to the negative option rule separately from the rest of the transaction as well as offering one-click cancellation mechanisms. All the proposed changes would be applicable to all forms of negative option marketing in all media (i.e. telephone, internet, traditional print media, and in-person transactions).

The Federal Trade Commission’s decision to expand their role in monitoring renewal continuity agreements by new rulemaking will require companies offering subscription services to revisit their legal agreements. The new rulemaking will broaden to apply to: automatic renewals, continuity plans, free-to-pay conversions and pre-notification negative option plans. The FTC will be increasing disclosure requirements, imposing specific consent requirements, mandating acceptable cancellation options and limiting the ability of a company to attempt to “save” a deal.

Significant Rulemaking Ramifications:

Clear Disclosures: The FTC will not be altering what companies need to disclose rather how companies disclose information. If an advertisement is made both visibly and audibly a disclosure for a continual subscription and negative options must be detailed visibly and audibly. A hidden hyperlink to the disclosure will not be acceptable.

Consent: The new rulemaking would be expanding the expressed informed consent to “unambiguous affirmative consent”. The negative option offer must be separately and clearly defined in the transaction. A check box or simple click may be used to signal a consumer’s unambiguous affirmative consent.

Simple Cancellation: Companies must provide an easy cancellation method of the negative option method and the FTC offers a “click-to-cancel” option.

Annual Reminders for Non-Physical Goods: Companies offering non-physical goods must offer at least annual reminders of the service and terms along with a means to cancel. The definition of “annual” is under review at FTC and has not been fully determined.

Penalties:

A key change to the FTC’s enforcement are new financial penalties for companies in violation of the new rulemaking.

Any violation of the FTC’s negative option rule will come at a penalty of $50,120.

 Additional Information & Dates:

In October of 2024 the FTC published its final Negative Option Rule, which applies to any negative option program, including those using online, telephone, print, or in-person mediums. The ruling will apply to all business to business and business to customer transactions. The final Rule requires businesses to obtain a consumer’s “express informed consent” to the negative option feature before charging the consumer.

Companies must be in compliance with obtaining informed consent and providing a simple cancellation mechanism by May 14th.

 The FTC provided an extended compliance deadline for the remaining provisions of the ruling for July 14th.

Alarm monitoring companies should use this additional time to ensure full compliance with the rule’s requirements, which include clear disclosures, obtaining express consent, and providing straightforward cancellation methods for all negative option features, including auto-renewing subscriptions and sales.  The rule is currently facing legal challenges before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and a decision there could impact the rule’s future enforcement.

COURT OVERTURNS FTC’S BAN ON NON-COMPETE CLAUSES. SEPT. 4 DEADLINE FOR NOTIFYING EMPLOYEES IS CANCELLED

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On August 20, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas overturned the FTC’s recently-adopted ban on the use of non-compete restrictions in employee contracts.  The rule was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, which would have required employers to proactively notify their employees as of that date that most existing non-compete clauses would not be enforced, and no new non-compete arrangements could be imposed. The Court set aside the Non-Compete Rule in all respects, finding it to be arbitrary and capricious, and beyond the authority of the FTC (especially since the ban applied to all non-compete clauses with no attempt to identify only those restrictions that were harmful to competition and did not serve a legitimate need). Consequently, the Court made it clear that “the Rule shall not be enforced or otherwise take effect on its effective date of September 4, 2024 or thereafter.”  The FTC may appeal this decision to the US Court of Appeals, so employers will need to stay abreast of any further rulings in this matter.  But it is clear that employers do not have to send their employees a non-compete notice on September 4 (unless a higher court issues a stay of the District Court’s decision, which is unlikely since postponing the Sept. 4 deadline simply maintains the status quo).

Please consult with employment counsel if you have any questions.

TMA/AICC Meet with Congressional Committee on Privacy Act

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AICC attorney John Prendergast, Managing Partner, Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens & Prendergast, LLP, and lobbyist Bill Signer, Carmen Group, Inc., met this morning with House Energy and Commerce Democratic staff to discuss the American Privacy Rights Act. Several issues were raised  – two which are specific to the alarm industry and three which are generic to the bill and will impact any company subject to the Act.

Read update.

Next steps:

  • A memo containing recommendations for modifications and the needed legislative language will be drafted.
  • Outreach to the majority staff has been made.
  • Outreach to the Senate Commerce staff will also be made.

Member Call-for-Action – FCC Ruling

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Call for Action

The Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), a committee of The Monitoring Association (TMA), is requesting your help in this survey to protect your company’s interest in Internet communications in a proceeding now before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC is once again considering, after several attempts, rules of the road for broadband Internet access service (BIAS) providers which are fair to industries that use the Internet, as the monitoring industry does.

These BIAS carriers are the companies with whom you contract for Internet service, and which allow the transmission of information and access to third party websites like YouTube. Importantly, quality of Internet service directly impacts the quality and speed of video transmission, which is an integral and growing aspect of alarm monitoring.

Please answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge. If you do not know an answer, simply indicate so. If this has occurred more than once, describe the one you feel impacted your company the most. Your company’s identity and specific responses will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to third parties, including government agencies, without your permission.

Your time and attention are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Ben Dickens (bhd@bloostonlaw.com, 202-828-5510) or Sal Taillefer (sta@bloostonlaw.com, 202-828-5562).

AICC BIAS Survey

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WA and VA ECCs Go Live with TMA’s ASAP Service

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TMA welcomes its 121st and 122nd ECCs to its ASAP-to-PSAP service – the Snohomish County WA 911 (Sno911) in Washington and the New River Valley Emergency Communications Regional Authority (NRV 911 Authority) in Virginia.

Snohomish County WA  #121

The Snohomish County WA 911 (Sno911) is the 121st ECC in the United States and the 5th agency in the state of Washington to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP).  The Snohomish County ECC went live January 31st, 2023, with: Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring, Security Central, Guardian Protection, Securitas, United Central Control, National Monitoring Center, Johnson Controls (Tyco), Affiliated Monitoring, Protection One, Brinks, Stanley Security, Vivint and ADT.

Andie Burton, Director of Operations, Snohomish County said, “The installation of the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol program into our system will streamline and increase efficiency of processing various alarm calls for service.  Use of the program will also free up call takers to answer other incoming 9-1-1 calls.  In a large Emergency Communications Center environment, preserving these precious resources will help provide better service to our community.”

New River Valley (Montgomery County) VA  #122

The New River Valley Emergency Communications Regional Authority (NRV 911 Authority) is the 122nd ECC in the United States and the 22nd agency in the state of Virginia to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP).  The NRV 911 Authority went live February 27, 2023 with: Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Stanley Security, Securitas, Protection One, United Central Controls, National Monitoring Center, Guardian Protection, Affiliated Monitoring, Brinks Home Security, Vivint, Security Central, CPI Security, Johnson Controls (Tyco) and ADT.

Learn more about ASAP-to-PSAP service HERE.