Public safety agencies in 10 of the 100 largest U.S. cities won’t...
Public safety agencies in 10 of the 100 largest U.S. cities won’t have enough licensed radio spectrum for emergency communications under the FCC’s 800 MHz rebanding plan, said Concepts to Operations in a study submitted to the FCC. Those…
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.
cities are Boston, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Miami, as well as San Juan, P.R.; Santa Ana, Cal.; Anaheim; Anchorage; Hialeah, Fla.; and Greensboro, N.C. The study said in 24 of the 100 largest U.S. cities, public safety won’t get an extra 2.5 MHz in the 800 MHz band specified in the plan because Nextel and SouthernLINC aren’t vacating enough spectrum. In 10 of 100 cities most affected, public safety won’t get “required comparable facilities” -- or one-for-one exchange -- and actually could lose spectrum. For example, the study said, first responders and privately held non-cellular licensees in Boston face a spectrum shortage of 199 channels. Those in Mass., R.I. and N.H. cities near Boston face a spectrum shortage of 35-50%. Miami faces a shortage of 106 channels, and adjoining cities face a shortage of 38%. San Juan and nearby cities are 83-87 channels short. “The rebanding plan puts public safety at risk in high target areas,” Concepts to Operations’ Stanley Cohn said: “The entire plan is based upon a flawed assumption that Nextel and SouthernLINC owned sufficient 800 MHz spectrum to move first responders and other licensees into and provide them with ‘comparable facilities.’ Not so. There are issues of ownership duplication, which creates a spectrum shortage.” Under the FCC rebanding plan, public safety and non-cellular licensees will move to the 400 lowest channels in the 800 MHz band, while cellular-like licensees will move to 320 higher-frequency channels. As part of rebanding, Nextel will get 1.9 GHz spectrum and exclusive use of the upper 120 channels in the 800 MHz band.