Several public safety groups voiced support at FCC for request by...
Several public safety groups voiced support at FCC for request by Federal Law Enforcement Wireless Users Group (FLEWUG) that asked Commission to start rulemaking on several issues. FLEWUG asked that FCC: (1) Approve certain flexible licensing mechanisms to provide…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
state and local access to parts of federal interoperability spectrum. (2) Adopt Incident Command System (ICS) protocols for procedures in emergency. (3) Adopt Project 25 public safety interoperability standard in bands below 512 MHz, similar to step agency took at 700 MHz. (4) Adopt public safety receiver performance standards. On issue of public safety receiver standards below 512 MHz, private radio section of Wireless Communications Div. of Telecom Industry Assn. (TIA) told FCC in comments last week that interference also was affected by characteristics of transmitting systems and by “Commission rules defining the type of operation allowed,” such as whether base station use is permitted in given band segment. TIA group cautioned “the Commission against assuming that imposing receiver standards on public safety equipment is the primary solution for interference.” To extent it proposes receiver standards, group recommended FCC turn to standards developed by TIA. Public Safety Wireless Network (PSWN) program, led by Justice and Treasury Depts., backed FLEWUG recommendation that FCC and NTIA draft memorandum of understanding to establish system for licensing nonfederal public safety entities on designated federal interoperability spectrum for use in emergencies. PSWN reiterated position “that co-equal access between and among users at all levels of government will be an essential component of nationwide interoperability. The events of the past year have made this long-standing objective even more pressing.” Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) also supported Commission adoption of Part 25 as requirement for digital communications on designated interoperability channels in public safety bands. Project 25 so far has been voluntary standard that local and state agencies may use, but haven’t been required to do so. “Without a common standard, there will remain the risk that future digital radio systems in the same geographic area and operating on the same frequency band will lack interoperability,” APCO said.