FCC Refuses Waiver

The FCC does give public safety agencies some benefits when allocating spectrum, but you still have to prove your case. A recent FCC waiver denial outlines why Morgan County (Tenn.) did not receive permission to use a VHF paging channel to create a repeated radio channel for their EMS operations. The FCC said the county failed to provide support for its claim that no other VHF frequencies were available, did not include a request for the second needed frequency, and failed to demonstrate “any unique or unusual factual circumstances that would warrant grant of a waiver.” The Commission did say the county could re-file the request. Download (pdf) the FCC’s decision and reasoning here.