Public Safety Officials Expect 800 MHz Rebanding Delays

“I think there’s growing concern about the ability to do it within 36 months and to do it in a way that is rational and allows systems to be rebanded in a safe, careful manner,” Robert Gurss, APCO dir.-legal & govt. affairs, told us: “It’s certainly a worthwhile goal. But there’s questions being raised about whether it can or not in fact be reached.”

Gurss said APCO members have told him about their growing rebanding concerns. “We're hearing from members who are concerned about being pushed into time frames that they're having trouble meeting,” he said: “There are also issues that may be of less concern to the agency than to vendors. A lot of work has to be done by the vendors in the planning process and the implementation process -- and there are situations where there are questions over whether all the things that have to be done, either externally or internally, can in effect get done.”

Gurss said members of APCO aren’t just concerned about the timetable for completing the rebanding, but other deadlines as well. “We're concerned about the interim things that apply within each of the waves,” he said: “There are concerns about it. But at the same time you have to step back and remember the reason why we have deadlines, because we need to deal with interference as quickly as possible. It’s a difficult issue.”

Harlan McEwen, who represents major police organizations on communications matters, told us the public safety community is reluctant to ask for more time. But at the same time, many agencies say the rebanding will take longer than expected.

“There are some bottlenecks that are all of a sudden appearing,” McEwen said. “For those of us who in a national leadership role, it’s what I call a very difficult place. We want to get this done as quickly as possible. We want to get it done and over with. But at the same time, it’s got to be done right. We have to be realistic in how long it’s going to take. Most of us are now realizing that the Commission’s aggressive timetable is probably not realistic. We're trying to tell the Commission that. They're not real happy about that. They want to get it done, too.”

Like the Commission, public safety doesn’t want deadlines to slip unnecessarily, McEwen said: “If we advocate for an extension of time in the whole process that gives people an excuse to kind of sit on their hands and not do anything. It’s a double-edged sword for us… We have not asked for an extension of time at this point, but we're getting more and more pressure from some of the public safety licensees to considering doing that.

McEwen said no one knew how difficult the rebanding process would be when the 800 MHz order was under construction under former Chmn. Powell. “We're learning as we go along,” he said: “Some of the complexity we didn’t understand. We have to be realistic. Some things probably just are not going to get done in the time allotted.”

McEwen added that an extension request is probable: “The question is how much and when do you do it and how is that going to all work out.” McEwen also said public safety licensees are mixed in their view of how Sprint Nextel has handled its end of the rebanding: “There are some complaints and there are some people who are very happy.”

In another complication, many public safety agencies are increasingly concerned about the fees charged by consultants helping them on the rebanding, McEwen said. “The problem is there starting to emerge a problem where some of these consultants are asking for more than is reasonable for these agencies,” he said: “Sprint Nextel has balked at some of that.”

The 800 MHz Transition Administrator had a room at the APCO conference and has been meeting with public safety on rebanding issues. Sprint Nextel will release updated numbers on rebanding progress on Thurs. “Sprint Nextel intends to complete 800 MHz reconfiguration according to the FCC’s guidelines,” a spokesman said Tues.

During APCO’s annual regulatory panel late Mon., frustration seemed to boil over. Alan Tilles, an attorney for licensees that must negotiate 800 MHz band agreements, said no one believes the rebanding will be completed during the 36 months: “We just can’t get answers out of the Commission soon enough on very important, fundamental questions.”

Tilles said the Commission under Chmn. Martin has been too slow to act on many smaller items. “The way it has been explained to me is that because we have a centralized system at the Commission now everything has to flow through the chairman’s office,” he said: “That means that certain things that maybe are perceived as being less big picture, that impact peoples’ daily lives, don’t get worked on in a timely basis then the Commission winds up of being of no value to anyone in this room.” Tilles’ comments received strong applause from many in his audience.

One FCC source said concerns of the public safety community came through “loud & clear” during the panel discussion.

“Believe me, we're very conscious of the concerns that are out there,” David Furth, assoc. chief of the Wireless Bureau, said in response to Tiles. “There are many, many moving parts to this and they're all important to keeping the process moving and we have tried as best as possible to balance all of those. “ Furth also said the bureau appreciated guidance from APCO and its members: “To the extent that there are ways that this group can suggest that these are the priorities -- these are the things that are really time sensitive and need to be addressed quickly and bring that to our attention and the chairman’s office’s attention and the 8th floor’s attention -- that gives us something that we can focus on,” he said.

Fred Campbell, Martin’s aide on wireless issues, said he has been recused from participating in the proceeding. Furth said Heather Dixon, another Martin aide, “has been very active and has talked to many, many stakeholders” about the 800 MHz rebanding.