Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Call waiting: Cell phone interference disrupts some police, fire radios

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 05 Apr 2004 19:09:43 -0400

Call waiting: Cell phone interference disrupts some police, fire radios

JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer
Monday, April 5, 2004

URL:
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/04/05/national1530EDT0646.DTL

(04-05) 12:30 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

The proliferation of cell phones is having potentially dangerous
consequences for firefighters and police officers, who in some places
can't use their radios to call for help because of interference from
cell signals.

The Boston suburb of Cambridge, Mass., is one of those areas. Last fall,
an officer responding to a fight at an apartment had to walk to the
other side of the high-rise to call for backup. Another time, an officer
responding to a burglar alarm couldn't call for help as he approached
the building.

In both incidents, the delays didn't cause any major problems for
officers. But the potential is there, said Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald
Reardon, who oversees the city's entire public safety radio system.

"If equipment needs to be repaired or upgraded, we have no problem doing
that," he said. "This is beyond our control. It's a worry."

Ernest Mitchell, president of the International Association of Fire
Chiefs, was more pessimistic.
"Thankfully, no one has died," said Mitchell, who is fire chief in
Pasadena, Calif. "But it's only a matter of time."
Radios used by police, firefighters and other first responders broadcast
on the same 800 megahertz broadcast spectrum as cell phones. So, for
example, if a radio dispatch is made at 850 MHz near a cell tower
broadcasting at 851 MHz, the radio signal can get drowned out.

It's unclear how many municipalities are affected, but the problem is
serious enough that police and firefighters have been urging the
government to come up with a fix. Federal regulators are expected to do
that in the next few weeks.

Still, a battle is raging within the cell phone industry over what the
government should do. The issue isn't just about what works best. Money
-- billions of dollars -- also is a consideration.

On one side of the cell phone debate is Nextel Communications, whose
frequencies are interspersed among those belonging to public safety. Its
phones cause the most interference.

Nextel was assigned the frequencies by the Federal Communications
Commission prior to the cell phone boom, when it was thought the 800 MHz
spectrum could handle public safety and cell phone needs.

On the other side is the rest of the wireless industry -- including the
trade group that counts Nextel as a member -- as well as some
municipalities and electric utilities that broadcast over the 800 MHz
band, and the government watchdog groups National Taxpayers Union and
Citizens Against Government Waste.

The Nextel-backed plan would divide the 800 MHz band, giving one section
to public safety agencies and another to cell companies. That idea is
backed by various national law enforcement groups, as well as Mitchell's
fire chiefs association.
Opponents want to leave the spectrum alone, but require each company
that causes interference to eliminate it at its own cost within 60 days
after a public safety agency reports a problem.

The Nextel plan would be extremely lucrative for the company, while the
competing proposal could cost it a significant amount.
The FCC staff has studied the problem and recommended the commissioners
vote for the Nextel plan, according to an FCC official who spoke on
condition of anonymity.

FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy recently said she likes that idea.
"There's just too much potential for public safety issues if we don't
reband," she said.

Nextel has offered to pay $850 million to retune public safety radios
once the spectrum is reallocated. In return, the company would get
additional spectrum worth about $3 billion, according to the brokerage
firm Legg Mason Wood Walker.
Nextel spokeswoman Leigh Horner said reallocation is the only solution
that would permanently fix the problem, and her company is being fairly
compensated for giving up some spectrum.

"It's an issue about public safety," Horner said.

But Travis Larson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications and
Internet Association, the wireless industry's trade group, said
reallocation would take years while the alternative would fix any
problems as they pop up.

"This plan aims to eliminate public safety radio interference
immediately -- within 60 days of it being reported -- while the
Nextel-backed plan takes over 31/2 years to do the same job," Larson
said. "Interference is a serious problem and our police officers and
firefighters deserve a serious and immediate solution."

On the Net:

Cell phone industry plan: www.fix800mhznow.com

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