Public Safety Shouldn’t Expect 800 MHz Rebanding Waivers
BALTIMORE -- Public safety licensees shouldn’t expect waivers from the FCC if they blow 2008 deadlines on striking a deal with Sprint Nextel and reconfiguring 800 MHz radios, FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief Derek Poarch warned Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. Parties to rebanding, including Sprint Nextel and public safety licensees, must work more efficiently to finish the job in 2008, as stipulated, he said.
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“We expect a significant number of systems to have completed the rebanding process by early 2008,” Poarch said at the opening session of APCO’s annual conference. “But despite this progress a great deal of work lies ahead. We have less than 11 months until the June 2008 deadline established by the commission. The date is important, as it is unlikely that we will simply extend the deadline for anyone who asks for an extension.”
The FCC will hold Sprint to its commitments to pay for rebanding, Poarch said. The FCC understands that some systems are especially complex and difficult to reband, he said. “I'm counting on public safety to continue to do its part and more,” he said. “You must continue to cooperate with regional planning efforts… and begin updating your systems as soon as possible, including early replacement and retuning of radios.”
Poarch conceded that the FCC has been playing catch- up. “When I came to the commission in April, the rebanding process was behind schedule. There were a lot of reasons for this and everybody involved in the process bears some responsibility,” he said. “Both the commission and the bureau have been working hard with the public safety community and other 800 MHz stakeholders to get rebanding back on track. I'm pleased to report to you that we have made appreciable progress.”
Poarch cited a May 17 order clarifying the standard for fixing rebanding costs Sprint Nextel must pay, and release since April of about 20 orders resolving disputes between Sprint and licensees. “We are now resolving cases much more efficiently,” he said. “The bureau is committed to resolving border issues with Canada and Mexico so that we can proceed with the rebanding in all the border states in the very near future.”
The conference dates to three years after the landmark FCC 800 MHz rebanding order on Aug. 6, 2004. At a large Sprint booth employees were forwarding questions to carrier officials specializing in rebanding topics. Aides to the 800 MHz Transition Administrator were out in force; they have set up meetings to update participants.
Public safety systems are making progress but much work remains, said APCO president Wanda McCarley. In an interview, she said that despite Poarch’s warning some systems will have to ask for more time. “The 800 MHz process has kind of gotten bogged down in its own credibility gap,” she said. “Everybody is kind of unsure about what the other person is doing. Are the vendors going to be able to deliver equipment? Is public safety going to be able to deploy fast enough? Is Nextel going to be able to clear up channels fast enough? I think now is the time to wade off into that water and everybody to get moving.”
Public safety fears delays that aren’t licensees’ fault, McCarley said. “Once you get into this process, you've got resources committed, you've got people committed, you've got some interim measures in place. It’s a concern how fast you can get it through it once you start,” she said. “As long as we're doing things as fast as we can do them and as efficiently as we can do them, I think we're going to be fine.”
The APCO meeting began before the FCC released a 700 MHz order the commission approved last week. Sources said the order may be released by late Thursday, as the APCO meeting ends. Onlookers applauded Poarch’s mention of the order, which he said offers a “permanent solution” to public-safety narrow-band interference issues in border areas. “The public safety community and the citizens of his country expect and deserve nothing less than an advanced communications system with a nationwide level of interoperability,” Poarch said of the 700 MHz order. “Having such a system will inevitably save lives.”
Poarch stressed that public safety has much at stake in a successful digital TV transition in February 2009. “It is important that the American public knows about this transition so that they can take steps appropriate to ensure that their TVs will continue to work after the day,” he said. “We take for granted the value of the television to provide us access to the latest news, 24 hours a day. Equally critical is the ability to receive televised emergency alert warnings. To preserve access to this important information, it is essential that the American public convert to digital television within the next 18 months.”