Sprint, City Battle Over ‘Look’ of Radio Controls

Among all the multi-billion dollar work to reband the 800 MHz band to help prevent interference to public safety 800 MHz radio systems, the city of High Point (NC) had one complaint–the 129 radios that Sprint offered to replace for free didn’t have the same “look and feel” as their current radios. The FCC mandated the rebanding in 2004 in response to several proposals to reduce interference, and Nextel (later purchased by Sprint) offered to fund all costs in exchange for various spectrum. [more]

In the current situation, High Point officials objected to Sprint’s proposed replacement radios–XTL5000 models in place of XTL2500 models–and complained to the rebanding administrator. The city said the control head layout of the proposed model was different, and officers would having trouble operating the new controls. They also said there were some technical differences between the two radio models. But the administrator ruled in Sprint’s favor, and High Point then appealed to the FCC.

The Commission has now affirmed the administrator’s ruling, saying its rules don’t require Sprint to provide replacement radios, “that have the identical control head and microphone configuration as High Point’s existing radios, so long as the replacement radios provide comparable ease of use.” The FCC also warned other 800 MHz system users that “comparable” does not mean “identical.” The commission explained, “Small differences, such as the ‘look and feel’ of equipment as professed in the case here, do not
justify what amounts to “upgrading” to a more expensive alternative at Sprint’s expense.” Download (pdf) the entire FCC ruling here.