The FCC spokesman said that the agency already has Congressional authority to auction off the D block.

ERIC will help develop technical aspects for the new network, including interoperability, and will work with a new granting authority to distribute funds for building it. A key element of the network is that it will complement commercial networks and resources, the spokesman said.

The National Broadband Plan calls for creating ERIC under the umbrella of the Public Safety and Homeland Bureau immediately. The plan also suggested the new network rely upon LTE technology for the network standard.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld . Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com .

in Computerworld's Networking and Internet Knowledge Center.