Granting relief to public safety agencies and others, the FCC sta...

to narrowband equipment in spectrum below 512 MHz. Four groups had sought a stay of rules for moving to narrowband equipment in spectrum below 512 MHz -- IPMobileNet, the American Assn. of Railroads, the American Petroleum Institute and United Telecom Council, and public safety groups that included the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials. Meanwhile, 18 groups have pending petitions seeking reconsideration of a decision setting interim deadlines for public safety users to shift to more- efficient 12.5 kHz-capable equipment, and barring certification of equipment capable of operating at one voice path per 25 kHz of equipment starting Jan. 1, 2005. They also sought reconsideration of a Jan. 13, 2004, deadline, after which applications to expand the coverage area of an existing radio system would be approved only for narrowband operations. The rules barred within 6 months of Federal Register publication any applications for new operations using wideband channels at 150-174 MHz or 421-512 MHz bands and let incumbent wideband Part 90 licensees make changes only to the extent their interference contours didn’t expand. The FCC said the order released Wed. addressed only 4 stay requests. The order said a stay of the Jan. 13 deadline “pending further proceedings” would further the public interest. “Nothing in the record before us suggests that there will be any injury to any other party if the requested relief is granted,” the FCC said. In the long term, the rules are meant to relieve congestion and clear space for additional licensees in the PLMR bands below 512 MHz, the order said. A temporary stay pending consideration of the petitions for reconsideration doesn’t worsen problems the rules were meant to address, the FCC said. It also said 6 months may not be enough time for all licensees to plan changes to their existing wideband systems or to plan new wideband systems that must be compatible with existing system to meet the Jan. 13 deadline. Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.) recently wrote the FCC he supported challenges by public safety groups. Durbin said Ill. first responders used an interoperability system, the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), to communicate throughout the Chicago area and across the state on a common channel. He said the system, in place since the late 1960s, had expanded from northern Ill., coordinating areas around St. Louis. Durbin said MABAS was attempting to expand to include all of Ill. and adjoining communities in Ind., Iowa, Mo. and Wis. “The deadline of Jan. 13, 2004, to submit applications will prevent the communities from participating in this system,” he said.