Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC’s PENDING DECISION FAILS EMERGENCY 1ST RESPONDERS AND PUBLIC, WARNS 9/11 FIREFIGHTERS, SENIOR AND MINORITY GROUPS

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 16:24:19 -0400

June 24, 2004 News Event …

FCC’s PENDING DECISION FAILS EMERGENCY 1ST RESPONDERS AND
PUBLIC, WARNS 9/11 FIREFIGHTERS, SENIOR AND MINORITY GROUPS

New “First Response Coalition” Outlines Plans that Puts Police,
Firefighter Needs First;

Nextel Spectrum Swap Scheme Doesn’t Solve Interoperability Problems, and
Poorly Financed,

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 245, 2004 -- Urging the Federal Communications
Commission
(FCC) to “put the needs of America’s public safety personnel first and
address the critical issue of interoperability” among differing police
and fire communications systems, a group of 9/11 firefighters, along
with senior and minority groups warned today that “Nextel’s ill-advised
(spectrum swap) plan places first responders at risk and could threaten
the security of all Americans if the communications services used by
public safety are not operating at the highest standards.” The
firefighters and other groups are releasing a white paper entitled
“Safety Over Spectrum: A Plan for First Responder Communications,” that
outlines an alternate approach for the FCC that puts the primary public
policy emphasis not on a commercial agenda, but, instead, on smoothing
the way for police and firefighters struggling to address post-September
11th demands to improve and coordinate emergency communications.

In addition to individual firefighters, the First Response Coalition
consists of such groups as the Gray Panthers and Black Chamber of
Commerce – organizations consisting of members who are particularly
concerned about first responders having the best possible communications
capabilities.  The Coalition’s white paper states: “Today, and (as was)
unfortunately evident on September 11th, the communications systems of
public safety departments are not interoperable. It is difficult, if not
impossible, for different departments from different (or sometimes the
same) jurisdictions to communicate because their systems and equipment
cannot interact. Resolution of this crisis must be swift, or the danger
to our first responders and all Americans will continue to skyrocket …
As urgent and complicated as this problem is, the situation is
exacerbated by the actions of Nextel Communications. Guised as an effort
to help public safety departments eliminate interference problems in
their communications systems, Nextel is waging a multi-million dollar
campaign which is diverting attention and possible resources away from
the real issue of communications interoperability.”

Gene Stilp, firefighter, EMT and vice president of the Dauphin-Middle
Paxton Fire Company #1,
Dauphin, Pa., noted: “ I can tell you from the perspective of rural
volunteer fire departments we must solve the interoperability problems
to protect public safety. Since 9-11, I have been involved emergency
response and have witnessed first hand the problems faced by public
safety.”

Will Thomas, director, Corporate Accountability Project, Gray Panthers,
added: “Older
Americans have a lot at stake in making sure that emergency
communications get steadily better rather than being disrupted and
thrown into uncertainty for a time so that one company can be bailed out
by the federal government in a dubious spectrum grab. I would not want
to have to explain to an older person or the family of that person why
emergency help didn’t get someplace on time to save the life of a
beloved grandmother or grandfather just because Washington was more
interested in cutting some corners for corporations.”

Additional firefighter statements are available upon request.

There are 20,000 cities and counties in the United States, and thousands
of other local jurisdictions.  In 2003, there were over 2.5 million
public safety first responders in the United States, with no uniform
standards in existence to govern their communications.

KEY WHITE PAPER POINTS
The No. 1 issue when it comes to first-responder communications is
licking the interopability problem, according to the white paper. The
document notes: “The First Response Coalition believes interoperability
issues, which have become even more important after the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks, must be addressed in any public safety
communications plan. It is hard to see how Nextel’s proposal will
dramatically help public safety agencies achieve interoperability.
Nextel’s plan does not provide for large-scale replacement of public
safety radios. This step is critical to create interoperable
communications systems, as the current units operate in widely divergent
manners. Without replacing radios, Nextel’s plan is merely a shifting of
spectrum assignments, without allocating additional spectrum or
resources for interoperability needs. If local governments and public
safety departments are going to spend millions of dollars upgrading
their communications systems to deal with Nextel’s interference, it
would be prudent to include interoperability considerations, rather than
taking separate courses of actions on the two problems.”

Other key points made in the white paper include the following:

Spectrum auction funds could be earmarked for improved interoperability.
President George
W. Bush promised $3.5 billion to first responders in the wake of the
September 11th terrorist attacks, including money for interoperable
communications. However, approval of the promised federal funds has
lagged. State and local governments, already pressed by budget
shortfalls, have had to delay communications systems upgrades or fund
them from limited taxpayer funds. Funds from auctioning the frequencies
at 1.9 GHz, which Nextel wants for free, could be used by the federal
government to make good on its promise to help first responders across
the nation to upgrade their communications systems.

More funds need to be made available for interoperability than the
paltry $700 million proposed by Nextel. Given that a 1998 estimate
placed the cost at $18.3 billion to replace public safety communications
equipment and network infrastructure nationwide, it is clear that Nextel
has not allocated sufficient funds for the transition. There is a great
deal of uncertainty regarding the exact cost of the transition; the
divergent nature of the thousands of public safety departments involved
make it difficult to craft any reliable estimate.

Nextel’s “solution” would lock in old technology that may not get the
job done tomorrow.
Another drawback to Nextel’s plan is that it upgrades or provides
communications equipment that may be obsolete as newer, more
interoperable systems and standards are developed.  Advanced
communications, including broadband networks and satellite global
positioning systems (GPS), can greatly improve the ability of public
safety departments to respond to emergencies. By focusing on a
short-term solution, Nextel could force police, fire, and EMS
departments to utilize current technology that may solve the
interference problem today, but be useless tomorrow.

The First Response Plan outlined by the Coalition calls for:
Holding Nextel responsible for all instances of interference it causes
and ensuring the company works with local public safety departments to
resolve the problems.  ??Auctioning spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band and
earmarking the proceeds for upgrading first responder communications
systems.

Developing an accelerated regional deployment schedule to ensure that
public safety communications systems are upgraded by 2006.

Providing low-interest loans and guarantees to assist underserved and
economicallydisadvantaged communities in obtaining the newest
communications technologies.  ??Establishing advisory panels to
recommend solutions that adequate address the disparate needs of
America’s diverse communities.

ABOUT THE GROUPS

Gray Panthers is a national organization of intergenerational activists
dedicated to social change.  We are age and youth in action. For almost
thirty years, Gray Panthers have worked to make America a better place
to live for the young, the old, and everyone-in-between.  The Black
Chamber of Commerce was incorporated in Washington, DC in March 1993.
This business association represents 95,000 Black owned businesses and
provides an advocacy that reaches all 1 million Black owned businesses.

CONTACT: Stephanie Kendall, (703) 276-3254 or
[email-masked].  EDITOR’S NOTE: The coalition's white paper,
a related news release are available on the Web on June 24, 2004 at
http://thehastingsgroup.com/firstresponders.html. A streaming audio
replay of a related news event will be available on June 24th after 5
p.m. EDT.

http://thehastingsgroup.com/062404_1st_responder_news_release.PDF

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