Monday
Regulation Is Key Subject On First Day
FCC officials clarify latest Report & Order
FCC Commissioner talks of new spectrum
Life Member award made posthumously
Indianapolis selected to host 2003 conference
by Gary Allen, Editor
The conference is off and running! Attendees lined up to register in the ground floor of the Albuquerque Convention Center, while companies streamed into two exhibit halls to prepare their booths for tomorrow's opening at 10:30 a.m.
There was lot of news today even though the seminars won't begin until tomorrow.
FCC Regulatory Panel Explains New Report & Order
At 8:30 a.m. over 100 attendees packed a double conference room to hear the latest information from the FCC. In a panel discussion moderated by APCO's general counsel Bob Gurss, the panel explained some details in the Report and Order approved just last Thursday. But since the R&O wasn't released (it was announced only in a press release), they could not discuss the actual wording or other details because of legal issues. That left some audience members frustrated, yet feeling that some information is better than none. John Clark confirmed that the final document should be available within two weeks.
The FCC's announcement means that--finally--public safety may apply for the new frequency assignments mandated by Congress within 30 days of publication of the R&O. The road has been a long one, starting with informal complaints many years ago, to the formation of the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee (PSWAC) almost three years ago, to the PSWAC final report, and lastly Congressional action on the PSWAC recommendations.
The panel was intended as a general regulatory exploration. However, given the timeliness of the FCC's action, interest peaked in the R&O. Prodded by questions from Gurss, the panel discussed the 24 MHz plan, wireless 911, 2 GHz microwave and many other topics. During the last 45 minutes of the panel, APCO members lined up at microphones to ask questions of the panel.
Left to right: Jim Downes, U.S. Treasury Department; Karen Gulick, legal counsel for FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani; Ari Fitzgerald, legal counsel for FCC Commission William Kennard; John Clark, FCC deputy director, Public Safety and Wireless Bureau
FCC Action
The FCC's action was in two parts: a formal Report & Order and a 3rd Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The former sets out regulations for assigning and administering the 24 MHz of spectrum, while the latter solicited input on how to use a certain amount of spectrum that was not specifically allocated by the R&O.
Briefly, the R&O assigned 12.6 MHz to public safety"general use," with the frequency assignments scattered around the assigned spectrum of TV channels 63, 64, 68 and 69. The bands would be either 6.25 KHz for narrow band operations and 50 KHz for wide-band.
Another 2.6 MHz was assigned for interoperability, and a National Coordination Committee will be formed to establish procedures and standards for using the spectrum.
Lastly, 8.8 MHz of spectrum was reserved for other uses, to be determined later after the FCC considers the input from the 3rd NPRM. The panel said the FCC has made no proposals or suggestions on how this spectrum should be used or assigned, but will wait for user input before deciding.
There has been considerable debate about how these frequencies will be coordinated--regional planning committees or state-level groups. However, they did say that the final R&O will take into account previous user comments and suggestions.
Clark discussed the impact of digital TV (DTV) on the new frequency blocks. He said that perhaps 10 to 15 cities will be completely blocked from using the UHF-TV frequencies because of existing assignments.
Gulick said that the FCC had proposed, in a maritime-related proceeding, to allow public safety use of marine radio channels (150-160 MHz), but only within inland areas under non-interference situations. That proposal is winding its way through the FCC bureaucracy.
On the topic of wireless 911, Clark said that a group called the Ad Hoc Alliance for Public Access has filed a petition asking that wireless 911 calls be received and routed by the carriers receiving the strongest signal from a subscriber, regardless of which company the subscriber is registered. Clark said that petition is being reviewed.
As for the newly-released 220 MHz channels (10 of them), Clark said the FCC has received 30 to 40 applications--not an overwhelming number.
FCC Commissioner Gives Assurance
The keynote speaker for the kick-off luncheon was Gloria Tristani, a New Mexico native and rookie FCC commissioner. She reeled off stories of communications failures, and pointed to the new 24 MHz of spectrum and it interoperability set-aside as a promise to improve public safety field operations.
To the relief of most at APCO, Tristani supports maintaining the regional planning process for the new 24 MHz frequencies. "Let me be clear," Tristani said. "Personally I'm a bit skeptical, although I have agreed with my colleagues to go ahead and seek comment on this notion. But I have a lot of questions that need to be answered before I would think it's a good idea to depart from the regional planning process." At the end of Tristani's speech, APCO president Joe McNeill thanked her for taking such a stand and presented her with a plaque of appreciation.
APCO Business Meeting
The tedious business of the association gave way to an emotional ceremony, when in-coming president Jack Keating announced those who had been nominated as Life Members. Keating was obviously measuring his words, and then his voice trembled. He read the names, and then said that one of them--Paul Salter--had died the previous night.
Salter knew he had been nominated, Keating said. "All I can said is, Paul, you made it."
Keating sat down briefly, but had to leave the stage for several minutes because he was apparently overcome. It was a sad yet genuine moment.
Also at the lightly attended first business meeting of APCO, the association's officers handed out several awards to chapters and individuals for their exemplary work during the past year. The North Carolina chapter was honored for boosting its members the most of any state--by 62 persons. Montana has the biggest percentage gain--two percent. And North Dakota was honored for having the highest percentage of its state population as members--one member for every 5,130 residents.
Art McDole (Northern California) was honored as the AFC Advisor of the Year, for his work on coordinating frequency requests. He then remained on stage to hand out "Art McDole Awards" for long-term technical contributions to John Powell (Northern California) and Bob Schlieman (NY).
The Minnesota Chapter was honored for its recruitment efforts and Mickey Young of that state was given an award for her Member-Get-A-Member campaign work.
Five persons were honored for their Project 25 work: Dr. Richard Comroe (Motorola), Sam Gargaro, Gary Gray (So. Calif.), Glenn Mayne (FL) and Don Speights (NTIA).
New APCO executive director Chris Bevevino then gave his report. He mentioned the certification program for dispatchers and supervisors coming by November, that the AFC had a record year, that the APCO Institute is in the black financially, and that plans for a new headquarters building are nearly complete.
McNeill said the association's net income was $68,000 for the first three months of the fiscal year, compared to a loss of $342,000 last year for the same period. APCO's assets are $3.36 million and liabilities are $1.79 million. The association's net worth is $1.87 million. The association projects a surplus of $400,000 for the entire fiscal year.
The Institute reported income of $149,804 for three quarters, and the AFC posted net income of $497,647--and all time high based on a contract with Florida for $439,425.
McNeill said that Jim Hilliard had recently taken the reins of the APCO Institute, and that the former Air Force officer was making progress in returning it to profitability.
Incoming president Jack Keating then presented his goals and objectives for the coming year, and emphasized that he developed them with Bevevino.
- continue APCO Insider publication
- update association's strategic plan
- continue participation in forums and other groups
- strengthen the APCO Institute
- launch the Technical Assistance Program
- offer accreditation program in conjunction with CALEA
- develop certification program for dispatchers and supervisors
- create membership database, improve membership campaign
- establish communications and marketing department
- outsource internal functions where economical
- sell the headquarters building, move to new quarters
- create association pension program
Keating said APCO is negotiating with an aeronautical university in Daytona Beach for property on which they hope to building a new headquarters building.
Through a series of unstated events, Glen Nash (Calif.) is running unopposed for second vice president. Even so, Nash asked for time to speak. He set out his goals for the year, including his responsibility to be liaison to the APCO Institute, which he said "suffered from a lack of management."
Keating then took the podium again and name the Life Members: Joe McNeill, Norm Coltri, Vincent Stile, Dr. Henry Richter, Paul Salter and Joe Blair.
copyright 1998, 911 Dispatch Services Inc.