Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (AP...

that some proposed UWB operations could be useful for public safety agencies, but he told Powell: “A greater concern is that widespread unrestricted deployment of commercial UWB devices could cause harmful interference to public safety radio systems and to critical GPS-based technologies used to locate emergencies.” APCO was particularly concerned about “uncontrolled, unpredictable” UWB operations indoors. “Within buildings, low-power portable public safety radios (all of which operate below 1 GHz) may be susceptible to signal degradation caused by increased noise levels produced by UWB devices,” APCO said. Nash said that at 800 MHz, these radios already faced interference from Nextel and other adjacent cellular systems. “Adding potential UWB interference to that scenario is unacceptable,” APCO said. Group also cited concerns that potential impact of UWB signals on GPS systems could compromise accuracy of Enhanced 911 systems that relied on GPS to pinpoint location of emergency callers. “We urge the Commission to proceed with great caution in its consideration of this important issue,” Nash said. Separately, AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Qualcomm, Sprint PCS and Verizon Wireless wrote to Powell Thurs. reiterating their concerns about UWB’s impact on wireless phones, including E911. Wireless coalition cited letter earlier this week to NTIA from Asst. Secy. of Defense for Command, Control, Communications & Intelligence John Stenbit (CD Jan 15 p1). He outlined DoD’s UWB position, saying Pentagon required that there be no intentional emissions below 4.2 GHz except for imaging systems. Stenbit also acknowledged that other agencies had concerns about higher frequencies. Citing higher cutoff of 6 GHz backed by Dept. of Transportation and NASA, wireless carriers said they continued to agree with higher cutoff. Group also cited recent test results that carriers said showed harmful effect of UWB on Qualcomm’s E911 technology, gpsOne. Verizon and Sprint are rolling out that technology to meet FCC’s E911 requirements. “These tests proved that gpsOne technology incorporated into wireless phones to provide E911 service will not operate reliably or accurately in the face of UWB emissions,” letter said. “There is no basis to authorize UWB communications devices below 6 GHz.”