State DTRS

[cstockmyer]

I have a question about the DTRS system. It sounds like it requires a ton of towers. How big of a problem is the state going to have putting thoes in up in the mountains? At leased around where I live it requires a lot of public input, and that's down here in Denver. It seems like I heard about a fight about putting up a tower on look out mountain. Do you all see it being easy for the state to put up these towers where they are needed, or are people who don't know and don't care about emergency communications going to make it hard?

 

[Thayne]

The tower on lookout is being fought mainly by Golden now--altho a lot of people that live near there have been fighting towers for years. Actually if they build that one tower for the digital TV then they would take down 4 or 5 others. The DTRS can usually use a lot of existing towers, but of course they need more to fill in the mountains because of the 800Mhz propagation difference; However if they get a dedicated tower it is can be fairly short and unobtrusive. The other problem is getting power and the infrastructure to a remote or rugged site. IMHO it will be a few more years at least

 

[cstockmyer]

I thought about this becuase today I got an email from family I have up in Grand Lake. I guess the town is up in arms becuase a cell company wanted to put in a tower up there. Maybe I am to simple but a cell tower can't be to far away from the tower needed to do the DTRS right? Or am I wrong?

 

[DTRS_Master]

Actually, the entity that is most likely to make trouble is the Federal government. With all of the federally set-aside land there is around the state,especially in the mountains, (NF, NWR, etc.) they will most likely be required to perform EAs (Environmental Assessments) at a bunch of these sites. EAs take for-ever.

In regard to Golden/Lookout Mountain, that has most to do with digital TV from the commercial TV providers in Denver wanting to consolidate towers and doesn't have anything to do with DTRS really.