FCC Decides County Rebanding Debate

The FCC has settled an expensive disagreement between Sprint and Tazewell County (Ill.) over rebanding the county’s 800 MHz radio system. The county had about 260 radio technically capable of, but not licensed for, transmiting on all the NPSPAC frequencies. They used, however, only the five NPSPAC mutual aid channels. Sprint proposed rebanding to use only the mutual aid channels, while the county proposed full NPSPAC channel capability. The kicker: under Sprint’s proposal the county’s radios would only have to be reprogrammed. Under the county’s proposal, all the radios would be replaced, a difference in cost of $500,000. The county and Sprint couldn’t reach agreement, the mediator supported Sprint, but the FCC ruled in favor of the county. Download (pdf) the FCC’s order, which more specifically defines “comparable facilities,” here.