Subject: [NEXTEL-1] NHP radio system may have to be scrapped

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 May 2003 23:15:41 -0400

Geoff Dornan, Nevada Appeal

Article published May 13, 2003

NHP radio system may have to be scrapped

Geoff Dornan, Appeal Capitol Bureau

The new Nevada Highway Patrol radio system, which has already cost more than $15 million,
will probably have to be scrapped.

NHP Col. Dave Hosmer said Monday the system has been either in planning or under
construction for more than 10 years. It was to be a state-of-the-art system to help
troopers communicate with both their dispatch centers and local authorities statewide.

But he said the manager he put in charge of it has discovered a serious problem: no one
ever filed with the Federal Communications Commission to reserve the necessary radio
frequencies to operate the system.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think to ask, 'Are we legal?'" said Hosmer. "We are
licensed for no frequencies at this time."

What's worse, he said there's almost no chance of getting those licenses since most of
those frequencies are taken, and the FCC wants public agencies off the 150 megahertz radio
band.

"We have not come to a conclusion as to what the fix is," he said. "Best case scenario: we
can probably use it two or three years until we migrate to a new system."

That, he said, means about $14 million in highway fund money and $1 million or more state
general fund cash down the drain.

"The highway patrol failed to manage this project from the beginning," said Hosmer. "It's
buffoonery at its finest."

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee was given a brief report on the problem at its
Monday meeting. They were advised they'll have to deal with the problem before the end of
this session.

Chairman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, said he and other lawmakers have repeatedly raised
concerns about the radio system since it was originally approved in the 1997 session. They
were assured time and time again it was going to work.

"Why does this come out now?" he asked.

Arberry said lawmakers will want a full explanation of what happened.

http://www.nevadaappeal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030513/NEWS/305130125