Time to come to grips.
I'm afraid all of the hand wringing about Open Sky in Oakland County continues to ignore several points:
- The contract with M/A Com was signed years ago (long before our current economic climate). Even IF the county wanted to back out of Open Sky today, they would be found in breech of contract in the subsequent litigation (i.e., law suit) and still liable (i.e., responsible) for the money. Remember too, M/A Com spent huge money out of pocket when this project was begun - money that would not be recouped until AFTER completion of the various stages. Do you really think M/A Com would just walk away and sulk after taking such a hit? I think not. Oakland County would be dragged into court almost immediately and bogged down there for the next few years. Tell me that wouldn't be expensive.
- Do you even know how the Open Sky system in Oakland County is funded? Tell you what.... we'll get back to that.
- The infrastructure is already in place; 36 towers and miles and miles and miles of interconnecting data lines. The radios continue in production and delivery.
- Those who insist the MPSCS is the greatest thing since "Marconi tickled the ether with his longwaves" (????) and THE way for the county to go (just so scanner listening won't die in Oakland County) are forgetting the fact that local police and fire departments don't want their communications system to be under the thumb of the Michigan State Police. The OakWin program will permit a great deal of autonomy for individual public safety agencies, while allowing interoperability (including with MSP). The great and powerful Oz (MPSCS) is not spectrum efficient and not capable of carrying all of the police, fire, EMS, and hospital traffic in Oakland County given the number of frequencies available and the number of users. MPSCS would NOT be free, either. Do you really think MSP would supply a complete MPSCS system to every police, fire, EMS provider, and hospital for free???? Please. They're in worse economic straights than General Motors. Either way, the county pays. Better to pay for something you'll own and control.
- Has Open Sky had its share of problems? You bet. But, given the available spectrum and the demands for interoperability, new technology is badly needed. Do you remember cell phones 10 - 15 years ago? Who would even think about going back to that system? Look what new wireless phones can do: enable a conversation, texting, surfing the web, checking your e-mail, and taking photos of your trip and sending them to relatives on the other side of the country. The explosion of cell users and finite frequencies available demanded new systems and new equipment. Somehow, humanity survived that step in evolution. Fortunately for our generation, a couple of bicycle makers in Dayton, Ohio, decided to try something new a hundred years ago, instead of staying with "the greatest thing to tickle the cobblestone since the horse-drawn buggy."
- Some would say Open Sky is the county's way of keeping scanner listeners from hearing what's going on. To those people, I would say, "Get over yourself." Were that the case, a basic county-wide encryption system would be far more inexpensive than a completely new radio system. The fact that the Open Sky algorithm cannot be scanned is an accident; M/A Com had to come up with something new given the requirements placed before them. After years of research and development on this system, do you really think they'd just hand it over to scanner manufacturers AND (subsequently) other competitors? Why do you think Microsoft's products aren't open source? Answer: they don't want to do all of the work for competitors who'll make money off of that labor. Makes sense to me. Sorry, guys. That's how smart business is run.
- The suggestion that everyone start writing the Oakland Press in protest of Open Sky is laughable, but quite apropos . Firstly, newspaper readership and subscription in the United States has suffered a sharp decline since cable news and the Internet (over 20 years now). Newspapers are to the electronic media what most legacy radio systems are to newer available technologies.
- Now, back to how Open Sky in Oakland County is financed. Here it is:
"1) A monthly statewide 9-1-1 surcharge of .18 cents will be placed on the monthly billing of 'all communications devices.' (MCL 484.1401a [1]-[7] and MCL 484.1408 [1]-[3]). This surcharge is to be remitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury.
The above is a tax enacted by LANSING on each cell phone, fax line, and land line phone you have. Oakland Country DID NOT just add a tax, contrary to popular (and sadly mistaken belief). Oakland County has elected to use this incoming tax revenue to fund the new radio system. Okay, that's 18 cents a month on each of your communications devices. This is money that would be going to your local police / fire agencies ANYWAY. The OakWin coalition members have taken their share of those funds and contributed them to the new system. Do you want to cut off funding for OakWin? Fine. Get rid of your cell phones, your home phone, fax lines, etc. In my circumstance, I pay $6.48 A YEAR for three phones. How much do you spend on just one Starbucks? A pack of cigarettes? Beer? MP3 downloads for your $200 iPod? A ticket to the Wings / Pistons / Tigers? Gas for your snowmobile?
Go ahead and flame me. It won't change the facts.
By the way, as of Tuesday, April 14, 2009, another police agency flipped the switch.
I'm afraid all of the hand wringing about Open Sky in Oakland County continues to ignore several points:
- The contract with M/A Com was signed years ago (long before our current economic climate). Even IF the county wanted to back out of Open Sky today, they would be found in breech of contract in the subsequent litigation (i.e., law suit) and still liable (i.e., responsible) for the money. Remember too, M/A Com spent huge money out of pocket when this project was begun - money that would not be recouped until AFTER completion of the various stages. Do you really think M/A Com would just walk away and sulk after taking such a hit? I think not. Oakland County would be dragged into court almost immediately and bogged down there for the next few years. Tell me that wouldn't be expensive.
- Do you even know how the Open Sky system in Oakland County is funded? Tell you what.... we'll get back to that.
- The infrastructure is already in place; 36 towers and miles and miles and miles of interconnecting data lines. The radios continue in production and delivery.
- Those who insist the MPSCS is the greatest thing since "Marconi tickled the ether with his longwaves" (????) and THE way for the county to go (just so scanner listening won't die in Oakland County) are forgetting the fact that local police and fire departments don't want their communications system to be under the thumb of the Michigan State Police. The OakWin program will permit a great deal of autonomy for individual public safety agencies, while allowing interoperability (including with MSP). The great and powerful Oz (MPSCS) is not spectrum efficient and not capable of carrying all of the police, fire, EMS, and hospital traffic in Oakland County given the number of frequencies available and the number of users. MPSCS would NOT be free, either. Do you really think MSP would supply a complete MPSCS system to every police, fire, EMS provider, and hospital for free???? Please. They're in worse economic straights than General Motors. Either way, the county pays. Better to pay for something you'll own and control.
- Has Open Sky had its share of problems? You bet. But, given the available spectrum and the demands for interoperability, new technology is badly needed. Do you remember cell phones 10 - 15 years ago? Who would even think about going back to that system? Look what new wireless phones can do: enable a conversation, texting, surfing the web, checking your e-mail, and taking photos of your trip and sending them to relatives on the other side of the country. The explosion of cell users and finite frequencies available demanded new systems and new equipment. Somehow, humanity survived that step in evolution. Fortunately for our generation, a couple of bicycle makers in Dayton, Ohio, decided to try something new a hundred years ago, instead of staying with "the greatest thing to tickle the cobblestone since the horse-drawn buggy."
- Some would say Open Sky is the county's way of keeping scanner listeners from hearing what's going on. To those people, I would say, "Get over yourself." Were that the case, a basic county-wide encryption system would be far more inexpensive than a completely new radio system. The fact that the Open Sky algorithm cannot be scanned is an accident; M/A Com had to come up with something new given the requirements placed before them. After years of research and development on this system, do you really think they'd just hand it over to scanner manufacturers AND (subsequently) other competitors? Why do you think Microsoft's products aren't open source? Answer: they don't want to do all of the work for competitors who'll make money off of that labor. Makes sense to me. Sorry, guys. That's how smart business is run.
- The suggestion that everyone start writing the Oakland Press in protest of Open Sky is laughable, but quite apropos . Firstly, newspaper readership and subscription in the United States has suffered a sharp decline since cable news and the Internet (over 20 years now). Newspapers are to the electronic media what most legacy radio systems are to newer available technologies.
- Now, back to how Open Sky in Oakland County is financed. Here it is:
"1) A monthly statewide 9-1-1 surcharge of .18 cents will be placed on the monthly billing of 'all communications devices.' (MCL 484.1401a [1]-[7] and MCL 484.1408 [1]-[3]). This surcharge is to be remitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury.
The above is a tax enacted by LANSING on each cell phone, fax line, and land line phone you have. Oakland Country DID NOT just add a tax, contrary to popular (and sadly mistaken belief). Oakland County has elected to use this incoming tax revenue to fund the new radio system. Okay, that's 18 cents a month on each of your communications devices. This is money that would be going to your local police / fire agencies ANYWAY. The OakWin coalition members have taken their share of those funds and contributed them to the new system. Do you want to cut off funding for OakWin? Fine. Get rid of your cell phones, your home phone, fax lines, etc. In my circumstance, I pay $6.48 A YEAR for three phones. How much do you spend on just one Starbucks? A pack of cigarettes? Beer? MP3 downloads for your $200 iPod? A ticket to the Wings / Pistons / Tigers? Gas for your snowmobile?
Go ahead and flame me. It won't change the facts.
By the way, as of Tuesday, April 14, 2009, another police agency flipped the switch.
