NCJ Number
171218
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1997) Pages: 21-22,24,26,28-29
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In April 1997, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioners voted to establish a public safety set-aside of 24 MHz to be used for interoperability, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) believes an additional 75 MHz will be required to meet public safety needs in VHF and UHF bands.
Abstract
Adequate radio frequencies for public safety agencies are possible through two current government actions. First, the FCC is seeking to recover 138 MHz of spectrum from the television broadcast service and reallocate it to other uses. Second, the FCC is considering the development of operational, technical, and spectrum requirements to meet Federal, State, and local public safety communications requirements through the year 2010. The IACP and the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee (PSWAC) believe the FCC must expeditiously begin the required regulatory proceedings that will provide law enforcement and other public safety entities the desired spectrum relief. Key findings of a PSWAC report indicate the following: (1) voice services, including dispatch, one-to-many communications, and monitoring are likely to remain the central and most critical communications modes for public safety users; (2) different public safety agencies have varied and unique mission-specific requirements, operating environments, and geographic coverage needs; (3) interoperability among and between different classes of users and different jurisdictions is critical to the effective discharge of public safety duties; (4) the currently allocated public safety spectrum is not sufficient to meet existing voice and data needs; (5) improved spectrum sharing and management are critical to ensuring future spectrum efficiency and availability; (6) data communications needs are becoming as varied as voice needs; (7) wireless video needs are expected to expand in public safety applications; (8) digital technology will be the key technology of the future; and (9) implementation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Crime Information Center-Project 2000 will have a significant impact on public safety radio systems. The PSWAC also concludes voice and data operations require about 25 MHz of new public safety allocations and an additional 70 MHz will be needed by the year 2010, 2.5 MHz of spectrum must be allocated for interoperability in VHF and UHF bands between 138 and 512 MHz, and a management structure must be established to oversee the operation of the interoperability spectrum. PSWAC recommendations to assure public safety spectrum availability through the year 2010 are offered, and FCC proposals to recover 138 MHz from the television broadcast service are discussed.