Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Radio system solution might not be needed

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:58:44 -0400

Radio system solution might not be needed

Martha Bellisle
 
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
9/15/2003 

As a legislative fiscal panel considers today giving the Nevada Highway Patrol $16
million to fix its radio system, critics say lawmakers are being duped into a
solution that is not needed, dangerous and soon would become obsolete.

The state is under pressure from the federal government to revamp the agency’s
radio system because it’s operating on unlicensed frequencies.

“The people of Nevada are going to be hoodwinked,” said Mel Pennington, a retired
NHP communications supervisor who says he warned officials about the frequency
problem at the end of last year and was ignored.

NHP and transportation department officials said they learned about the problem
from an audit done in February. They said they have explored every possible
solution to the radio crisis and have determined that the fix being proposed is
the only one available.

“We consulted with technical staff, external consultants and everyone said this
was the best way to go,” said Robert Chisel, assistant director of the Nevada
Department of Transportation. “And in the time frame we’re talking about, it’s
probably the only way to go.”

The highway patrol has operated on unauthorized and unlicensed radio frequencies
for several years and is being pressured by the Federal Communications Commission
to fix the problem or face fines.

How they ended up operating illegally is under investigation by the FCC and the
state.

To resolve the problem, the NHP, transportation department officials and
governor’s office want to switch the NHP and ultimately the state’s entire radio
system from a 150-megahertz VHF system to an 800-megahertz system.

But critics say the state officials are making false and/or misleading statements
to force lawmakers into funding a faulty, unnecessary system.

Dick Mirgon, director of Douglas County Communications, said the problem with the
state’s remedy could jeopardize public safety.

“It’s an issue of protecting the lives of our first responders and our citizens,”
Mirgon said Monday.

According to Mirgon, the biggest threat to life and property in his region is a
wildfire. If a large fire were to hit, he said, public safety officials —
including police, troopers and fire departments — would need to communicate with
U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management personnel.

And those federal agencies use the 150 megahertz VHF system, he said.

“If we were to leave the VHF system, we’d be putting people in danger,” Mirgon
said. 

He said he plans to challenge the 800-megahertz plan today when the Legislature’s
Interim Finance Committee takes up the question of whether to release $16 million
to the highway patrol and transportation department.

In addition, he said, the 800-megahertz system faces escalating interference from
cellular phones, which use the same band. The technology would need to be changed,
he said, as the experts come up with solutions to those and other problems.

“The technologies are changing,” he said. “(The 800 system) is not compliant with
national standards.”

Instead of switching the system, he said, the highway patrol could use frequencies
available through a wide range of sources, including some not being used by NDOT
and the Sparks Police Department.

“Clearly there are frequencies out there they have failed to address,” he said.

Chuck Rogers, a consultant engineer who is the Nevada frequency adviser for the
Association of Public Safety Communications, said he did a study in May for the
state and found 54 frequencies were available.

“They were presented with a solution and they didn’t take it,” he said. “My
question is, if it’s not broke, why are we trying to fix it?”

Col. David Hosmer, chief of the NHP, said the criticism is unfounded.

The problem with the federal agencies using VHF systems is easily remedied, he
said, by putting two radios in cars — one using VHF frequencies and the other on
the 800-megahertz frequencies.

Both Hosmer and Chisel said the claims of available frequencies are not true.

“If somebody is saying there are frequencies out there, let’s hear about them,”
Chisel said. “We attempted to do searches and even the (radio) vendor said it was
difficult if not impossible to find licensable frequencies in Reno and Las Vegas.”

Chisel said the frequencies suggested by Rogers are unusable.

Chisel acknowledged that cell-phone interference was a possible problem but was
being addressed at the national level and should not stand in the way of their
plans.

Systems might need to be upgraded, he said, adding that does not mean they are
obsolete.

http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/09/15/51767.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News&sp5=RGJ.com&sp6=news&sp7=local_news

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