FCC: Sprint Nextel must replace Tazewell, Ill radios

[scannerfreak]

FCC: Sprint Nextel must replace Tazewell, Ill radios

FCC commissioners recently ruled that Sprint Nextel must pay an additional $500,000 in 800 MHz rebanding costs to replace 262 mobile radios for Tazewell County, Ill., to ensure that the county maintains its ability to access all NPSPAC channels, including those for which it is not licensed to use.

Tazewell County contended that the FCC’s rebanding order requires Sprint Nextel to replace the county’s mobile radios operating on its EDACs system, because the radios could not be reprogrammed to maintain the ability to access all NPSPAC channels—a capability the county’s radios currently have. Sprint Nextel claimed that it only should have to pay for reprogramming the radios to access the five NPSPAC mutual-aid channels, because Tazewell County is not licensed to use other NPSPAC frequencies.

A Transition Administrator (TA) mediator issued a recommendation in favor of Sprint Nextel, but the FCC ruled differently. Even though Tazewell County is not licensed to operate on non-mutual-aid NPSPAC channels, the county’s current radios have the ability to use those channels currently. To meet the FCC’s “comparable facilities” standard, Sprint Nextel must pay—an additional $500,000, in this case—to ensure that the county maintain this ability when rebanding is complete, according to the order.

“The characteristics of the [comparable] system are ‘defined functionally from the end user’s point of view,’ and include … ‘all mobile units,’” the FCC order states. “Thus, applying this standard to the county’s system, Sprint’s obligation to provide comparable facilities requires it to provide mobile radios that are technically and operationally comparable to the licensee’s existing radios.”

The FCC’s ruling in the Tazewell County case has been much anticipated, as the same issue has been disputed in several rebanding negotiations. Alan Tilles, who represented Tazewell County in the case, said he knows of at least five rebanding cases in which the issue was in dispute, with the dispute being the only significant roadblock to final rebanding agreements in three of the cases.

“We are extremely pleased that the commission agreed with Tazewell’s position that the licensee must have the same capability before and after rebanding—regardless whether they’re presently using that capability,” Tilles said.

 

[n4voxgill]

if their edacs radio will not handle rebanding is this an indication that scanners may have a problem.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Not necessarily. 851 MHz is quite far from 866 MHz for a commercial monoband radio.

Tazewell's problem isn't with their trunked system. It's about being able to tune other channels within the rebanded NPSPAC segment if they ever choose to do so. Apparently their radios can cover 866-870 (and probably several MHz lower), but not all of 851-854.

 

[n4voxgill]

i have seen older radios that would do the 850 to 860 but not the 866 to 869. I do not remember seeing the later versions that would do 866 would all do 851. Also it states that the old edacs would do conventional for the national channels, but would not trunk track 866. I am surprised that a LCN radio is having this provlem. i still will not be surprised if more problems come up in the future with radios and scanners.

 

[DaveIN]

So that would be this system?

http://radioreference.com/modules.php?name=RR&sid=2261

 

[902]

i have seen older radios that would do the 850 to 860 but not the 866 to 869. I do not remember seeing the later versions that would do 866 would all do 851. Also it states that the old edacs would do conventional for the national channels, but would not trunk track 866. I am surprised that a LCN radio is having this provlem. i still will not be surprised if more problems come up in the future with radios and scanners.

I was under the impression that the non-NPSPAC radios (like Syntor-X with the control head PROMs) had more to do with the lack of type acceptance and the inability to drop from 5 kHz down to 4 kHz on a per-channel basis when they were originally marketed. (Then, there's that Motorola thing where the NPSPAC band is an extra feature worth extra money.) That generation of equipment had some really arcane operating parameters. Remember the radio would stop transmitting if the transmit lamp in the control head burnt out?

I have trouble with Maxtracs that worked fine on NPSPAC, but don't have the channel layer to do 12.5 kHz channelspacing in the new NPSPAC band. While my agency does not have 800 MHz infrastructure, we do have mobiles and portables and radios tied to matrices that use others' systems. Ours will handle ICALL and the ITACs, but will not be able to do frequencies like 851.5500 MHz (but can do the 12.5 kHz adjacents). The XTS2500, XTS5000 and EFJ radios we have are fully compatible.

 

[DaveNF2G]

While my agency does not have 800 MHz infrastructure, we do have mobiles and portables and radios tied to matrices that use others' systems. Ours will handle ICALL and the ITACs, but will not be able to do frequencies like 851.5500 MHz (but can do the 12.5 kHz adjacents).

I hope your agency is in negotiations for rebanding, or will be when your Wave starts up. It's pretty clear from the Tazewell case that operational and potential mutual aid capability come under the rebanding order.

 

[ohiodesperado]

I think what is happening here is that the FCC is saying even though the current equipment is not currently being used in that band, since it's capable, regardless of the fact its' not currently, Sprint is removing that operability, and taking away a possible feature of the current system.

It's sort of like having a 100 foot tower and your antenna's being at 75 feet. You have the extra verticle height if you want to use it, but Sprint is trying to come along and cut off the extra 25 feet, keeping you from it being an option.
I see this as being fair and reasonable, It's not like the town had a VHF system that they would need to do a forklift upgrade on to get there (or a 25 foot mast pipe and would need to build a tower from the ground up).