Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wires crossed in 911 bungle

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2003 11:56:20 -0500

Wires crossed in 911 bungle

By SUSAN EVANS, TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT NORTHERN CAMBRIA BUREAU January 05, 2003

EBENSBURG – Cambria County’s 911 director says he has temporary radio dispatch permits to
replace those revoked by a federal agency.
But federal records do not show that a temporary permit has even been requested, let alone
granted.
Michael Hoover, the county’s emergency services director since 2001, told The
Tribune-Democrat on Friday that he would have a temporary license by the end of the day.
But by late Friday, Federal Communications Commission records showed no request from
Cambria County and no temporary license.
This leaves Hoover in hot water with his bosses, the county commissioners. They already
are angered by Hoover’s failure to tell them of the expired licenses.
They have scheduled a meeting with Hoover on Jan. 13.
“We will want some answers, and we will have a very serious discussion,” said President
Commissioner Fred Soisson.
The fact that a license has expired doesn’t automatically shut down an operator. But if
someone is operating without a license, the FCC normally receives a complaint and then
investigates.
Three wireless licenses for the county’s emergency radio communications expired last
summer and were not renewed.
In December, the Federal Communications Commission canceled them altogether.
Hoover didn’t tell the commissioners, who learned of the lapse last week from The
Tribune-Democrat.
The commissioners ordered Hoover to get the licenses reinstated.
But a week after learning of the lapse, officials are still in the dark.
Hoover is on vacation until Thursday, said a receptionist at the county’s 911 center.
The two 911 employees next in command said they couldn’t comment on the status of the
licenses because they had never been briefed on the situation and only knew what they had
read in the newspaper.
The commissioners also did not know if the licenses had been reinstated.
“We issued the order, but we don’t know what’s happened since then. And Mr. Hoover is on
vacation,” said Soisson during a telephone interview from his courthouse office.
Hoover called The Tribune-Democrat on Friday afternoon and said he was getting temporary
licenses for all three expired licenses from the FCC office in Gettysburg.
“My understanding is that the temporary license will be issued today by close of
business,” he said.
As of late Friday, the FCC’s electronic database did not show a reinstatement request, or
even a request for a temporary authorization, had been filed, said spokeswoman Lauren
Kravitz Patrich during a telephone interview from her Washington office.
And the FCC’s Gettysburg office, which would grant temporary authority in a case like
this, also had not received a request, she said.
“The Gettysburg office says it has not granted any special temporary authority today and
has not received a request, even orally, for one,” she said.
“There is nothing in progress in Gettysburg as of now,” she said.
Just minutes before closing time, an employee at the Gettysburg office confirmed that no
requests had been received for temporary approval for Cambria County.
“We can grant oral approval under certain circumstances, but we’ve had no request,” said
the worker.
A temporary approval is usually used in emergencies, like a tower crash, but it can be
used when a public safety agency has lost its license, Patrich said.
FCC officials have said that, if reinstatement is applied for, they will not shut down the
day-to-day 911 operations.
Other licenses registered to Cambria County – such as for radios for the sheriff’s
department and for maintenance workers – are current.
Similar licenses in Somerset and Bedford counties are current.
Hoover said the FCC did not send renewal reminders for the 911 licenses, so no one was
aware of the deadline.
But FCC officials said the agency’s standard procedure is to send a renewal reminder, and
records show that reminders were sent to Cambria County.
Hoover said he didn’t report the problem right away because he was hoping to keep it quiet
for a few weeks, fearing others would apply for the county’s frequencies.
The three licenses expired July 13, July 14 and Aug. 5, the FCC database shows.
Typically licenses are for five- or 10-year terms and are canceled if not renewed within
90 days after the expiration date, Patrich said.
FCC administers 3.5 million radio licenses covering at least 50 radio services, such as
cellular and microwave.

http://www.tribune-democrat.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6599420&BRD=2332&PAG=461&dept_id=484742&rfi=6

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