Isn't this wonderful ... 

For a while there, there just didn't seem to be a lot of wireless regulatory news to report. Things have changed.  Last week the President signed into law the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012."  This is big news for the public safety industry as it culminates an impressive effort on their part to repurpose 10 MHz of 700 MHz commercial spectrum, known as the D-Block, for their use in constructing a national public safety interoperable broadband network.   The Act also provides over $7 billion to fund the deployment and operation of the network.  Of course, there had to be a price tag, a spectrum quid pro quo, strings attached if 10 MHz of spectrum and $7 billion are to be handed to public safety.  MORE   

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EWA Responds to ATS Waiver Request 

On February 22, EWA filed comments in response to American Time & Signal Company's (ATS) waiver request to permit the licensing of 20-40 watt base stations on certain 450-470 MHz channels that manage clock systems on educational and industrial campuses as mobile only systems under an MO6 (private carrier) authorization held by ATS.  Each installation would use the coordinates of the system controller to define service areas with its radius determined by the controller's power level.  MORE   

President Signs Spectrum Reform Legislation 

The President's signature means H.R. 3630 is now law with multiple future spectrum use implications for a number of industries. First, it reallocates the 700 MHz D Block from commercial use to public safety to be combined with the existing public safety 700 MHz broadband spectrum. This 20 MHz of spectrum will be managed by the First Responder Network Authority (FRNA), a to-be-established independent authority within NTIA with a Board comprised of governmental and business representatives. A total of $7 billion will be dedicated to fund deployment and operation of the nationwide public safety broadband network. Under the law, the FRNA must seek private sector proposals to build, operate and maintain the network.  MORE 

EWA Cited Often in State of Maine Spectrum Quest 

The State of Maine, the Association of American Railroads (AAR), and a number of short-line railroads that operate in or near Maine have filed reply comments that variously reference EWA's Comments. MORE  

More Bad News for LightSquared  

An FCC statement announced that, in response to NTIA's letter concluding that there was no practical way to mitigate potential interference from LightSquared's terrestrial operations to federal use of GPS, the FCC announced that it will not lift its prohibition against LightSquared commencing commercial operation.  MORE 

An Abundance of Caution 

We understand that a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is on circulation at the FCC that would seek comment on Sprint Nextel's Petition for Declaratory Ruling asking the FCC to confirm the permissibility of deploying CDMA technologies in the 800 MHz ESMR band.  MORE  

Spectrum Efficiency Workshop Announced 

The FCC will hold a Public Workshop on "Spectrum Efficiency and Receiver Performance" to be held on March 12-13, citing that "New approaches to spectrum management focusing on spectrum efficiency and receiver performance may enable more assured deployment of new services and reduce the necessity for the involvement of regulators."  Public Notice  

Maintaining Records 

Curran Communications, Inc., licensee of AM Station WPAM in Pottsville, Pennsylvania received a Notice of Violation for a string of violations which included failure to have all the records of its Emergency Alert System logs; performance measurements available at the time of inspection; and to maintain a station log which accurately reflects the station's operations.

Conditional Waivers Granted on Narrowband Deadline 

The PSHSB granted a conditional waiver of the January 1, 2013, narrowbanding deadline to a group of public safety entities in the St. Louis, Missouri area. The agencies plan to consolidate into a multi-county interoperable 800 MHz system and requested an additional year to complete the project. Upon deployment of the new system, they promised to relinquish the channels that were subject to narrowbanding.  MORE 

Delta Airlines Requests Narrowbanding Waiver 

In response to a narrowbanding waiver request filed by Delta Airlines, the WTB filed a Public Notice requesting comment.  Delta has completed narrowbanding some facilities and requested a one year extension to complete the process at an additional 120 airports. EWA intends to file comments supporting Delta's request. 

Visit EWA at the EDMSSA Spring Meeting  

EWA staff will see you at the upcoming EDMSSA annual meeting in Dover, Delaware from August 11-13, 2012.   Ask about the new Dealer Incentive Program, a way to bring in new members and commissions for your company.  Learn more about this event.