Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Plan would rescue NHP from botched radio system

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 13:50:49 -0400

Plan would rescue NHP from botched radio system
Anjeanette Damon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
9/9/2003 11:00 pm

More than $16 million would be spent in state contingency funds to rescue the
Nevada Highway Patrol from a botched radio communications system under a plan
approved Tuesday by the Nevada Board of Examiners.

The highway patrol has been operating its radio system illegally for three years,
having spent $16 million to build the complex network without obtaining Federal
Communications Commission approval to use the frequencies.

In an attempt to avoid nearly $1 billion in possible fines, the highway patrol
will move its radio communications to the system now operated by the Nevada
Department of Transportation.

The highway patrol has been unsuccessful in convincing the FCC to grant it
retroactive approval to operate on the existing 150 MHz frequencies, prompting the
move to NDOT’s system, said Col. David S. Hosmer, commander of the state highway
patrol. “We’ve used 10 consultants, our frequency vendors, NDOT, our own
communications staff and three outside attorneys that specialize in the FCC, and
no one has been able to provide us with a viable frequency plan that is legal,”
Hosmer said.
In a last-minute bill, the Legislature approved funding to fix the problem. The
bulk of the money, $14.65 million, will come from state highway funds, with the
remaining $1.5 million coming from the general fund. The expenditures must first
be approved by the Interim Finance Committee scheduled to meet Sept. 16.

To transition to NDOT’s 800 MHz system, the state will have to build 11
mountain-top transmitters to get statewide coverage, buy equipment for dispatchers
and patrol troopers and hire five new people. The highway patrol will cut eight
positions in the transition. “Ours is fully compliant with all FCC requirements
and regulations,” said Robert Chisel, NDOT’s assistant director.
The transition is expected to take one year, with the Las Vegas division moved
first, followed by Washoe County in February 2004 and rural Nevada by October
2004.

An investigation is continuing into how the foul-up occurred, which could result
in criminal charges against those involved, said Maj. Robert Wideman. “It is still
open and on-going,” he said. An internal highway patrol audit discovered the lack
of FCC licensing in February, when the investigation was launched. The department
began building the 150 MHz system in 1996. It began operating in 2001.

As for the existing system, the highway patrol will be able to use some radios and
dispatch equipment. What it can’t use, it hopes to sell at heavily discounted
prices, Hosmer said.

“We’ve been offered 10 cents to 25 cents on the dollar,” he said. “So we should be
able to recover some of the costs.”
The FCC has not fined the highway patrol. Hosmer and other state lawyers are
scheduled to travel to Washington, D.C., later this month for a meeting with the
FCC.

“I don’t think they are pleased with the length of time this has taken,” Chisel
said. “But they are very happy with the direction we are moving.”

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