Wireless Growth Hinders Rescuers
The FCC is currently trying to decide if it needs to reorganize the radio spectrum to fix the problem of wireless phone signals interfering with emergency radio frequencies used by police and firefighters.
Nationwide, emergency departments are reporting stories of officers unable to call for backup, dispatchers unable to relay descriptions of suspects, and firefighters unable to request ambulances because of radio “dead spots.”
The problem began about 30 years ago when the FCC assigned channels in the 800 MHz band to public safety agencies and then assigned channels in the same band to wireless companies in the 1980s.
The FCC’s solution would be to reshuffle channels in the 800 MHz band, putting emergency agencies at one end of the band and wireless phone firms at the other end.
However, many experts in the communications industry say a reorganization of the spectrum is unnecessary and would be too expensive and take too long. At the same time, Nextel Communications, which has many band frequencies next to those of emergency departments, has teamed up with the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, among others, to propose a reorganization of the spectrum, in addition to offering to pay $850 million for the reshuffling costs if its plan is adopted by the FCC.
In the meantime, police officers in Anne Arundel County, Md., have taken to carrying cell phones to use when their radios fail.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Washington Post (08/18/03) P. A1; Davenport, Christian.
