Fall Conference Venue and Dates Announced
EWA and USMSS are pleased to announce that Enterprise Wireless 2011 will be held October 5-7, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel. “This conference has proven itself as a singular national event,” said Mark Crosby, EWA President, noting further that, “We present wireless solution providers on the exhibit floor and combine that with two days of high-level, intense educational sessions and expert presentations on the critical wireless issues.” “The Enterprise Wireless 2011 event serves both as our national meeting for USMSS members and an important educational and networking opportunity,” commented David Robison, Chairman, USMSS. “It is also when we assess the challenges ahead for our membership, and come together as a national organization to share strategies, network and set goals.” Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities for the conference will soon be made available. Contact Elaine Walsh at elaine.walsh@enterprisewireless.org.
Category: EventsHeed FCC Warnings
After repeated warnings from the FCC, RAMCO Broadband Services, Yorktown, Texas, did not offer any defense as to why they had not addressed multiple violations regarding their antenna structure. As a consequence, on January 13, 2011, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture that included $6,000 for failure to provide updated information of new ownership of the structure; $4,000 for two failures to post the Antenna Structure Registration Number (ASRN) in a visible manner on the base of the structure; and $15,000 for violation of lighting requirements.
Category: Enforcement CornerAdd New Site, Update License
Even though Hilltop Tower Leasing in Everett, Pennsylvania shut down their unauthorized system after a call from the FCC, the Commission still issued a $4,000 fine for operating land mobile radio station WPSQ972 from an unauthorized location. According to the Commission’s Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Hilltop Tower relocated their system to a new location, but kept an unauthorized backup system operational at the old site to support Bedford County’s 911 system. In their response to the FCC’s Letter of Inquiry, Hilltop conceded that the system did periodically transmit data bursts.
Category: Enforcement CornerFCC Releases Narrowbanding Migration Mapping Tool
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau has released a new mapping tool to assist in determining the status of licensees migrating in the VHF and UHF bands. You can now search by city, county or state, and you can include results from multiple narrowband and wideband licensees. Results may be generated on a map or in Excel.
Category: In the newsVerizon Challenges FCC Net Neutrality Rules
Verizon filed suit January 20 in federal appeals court, arguing that the FCC does not have authority to mandate how Internet service providers treat content on their networks. The lawsuit against net neutrality was anticipated, as Verizon and other carriers have signaled their opposition to the Commission’s controversial order last month. The FCC has stated that Congress enabled it to issue net neutrality rules in accordance with the Telecommunications Act 0f 1996. Resolution of this matter may take a while.
Category: In the newsFCC Issues Clarification of Conditional Grant of Renewal Licenses
On January 11, an item described as “Federal Communications Commission Clarifies Conditional Grant of Renewal Licenses Pursuant to the Wireless Radio Services Order WT Docket No. 10-112” was placed on circulation to be considered by the Commissioners. EWA had been advised that the FCC intended to clarify the statement in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that all renewals granted after adoption of the NPRM would be conditioned on compliance with whatever rules are adopted in that proceeding.
Category: In the newsFCC Narrowbanding Workshop Starts Today at 1:00 PM (EST)
The FCC has released its January 26 workshop agenda for VHF/UHF narrowbanding to help licensees completing the January 1, 2013, transition to narrowband. The workshop will feature two panels, “Narrowbanding: Impact on Licensees,” and “Narrowband Funding and Budgetary Issues.” The first panel will provide information about how narrowbanding will increase spectrum availability and how narrowbanding could impact existing systems. Presenters include representatives from the FCC, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, and National Association of State EMS Officials. The second panel will explore compliance issues with the deadline, and presenters will include representatives from various government entities and agencies, including FCC staff, state government officials, and the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice. Live and simultaneous broadcast will be available on the FCC's Reboot web site. Workshop highlights will be provided in the next issue of “Insider.”
Category: In the news