Philadelphia has accused Nextel and Cingular of potentially inter...
Philadelphia has accused Nextel and Cingular of potentially interfering with police and fire radios that operate in the 800 MHz band. The city released a report by RCC Consulting that found 56 sites where wireless phones may be interfering…
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with emergency communications in the city’s recently installed $54 million digital radio system. The Motorola-built system has experienced a number of communications glitches, a subject of some local press reports. RCC said interference was the most severe near Philadelphia International Airport, along Interstate 95, as well in sections of South Philadelphia and Grays Ferry. One area of controversy has been that RCC, at the city’s urging, has tested for noise floor. Carriers urge testing instead based on performance degradation. “We are working cooperatively with the city,” a spokeswoman for Nextel said Wed.: “We began testing earlier this month. We will continue testing as we have in other markets that have experienced interference… What’s going on in Philadelphia kind of gets to the heart of why we need a comprehensive solution” like the 800 MHz rebanding initiative. City officials have blamed the carriers. Joseph James, the city’s deputy comr. for public property, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Nextel disagrees with conclusions in the RCC report while Cingular officials “want to ignore this and hope the problem goes away.”