Public safety entities are continuing to cite instances of 800 megahertz band interference from wireless carriers. For example, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International said in a March 31 ex parte filing in WT docket 12-340 that it discussed interference in a recent meeting with FCC officials. “APCO discussed generally the reports of interference it has received from public safety licensees, which appear to stem from increased wireless network deployments that are overloading the front end (862-869 MHz) portion of public safety radios that radio manufacturers left in place following the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding,” the filing said. “APCO also discussed potential paths forward for resolving these issues.
“Filters, if made available, could help alleviate the problem, but may work more effectively for mobile devices than for portable devices. Further, there are limited options at this point for purchase of new radios that do not contain the front end frequencies, assuming that public safety agencies have the funding in place and the radios offer the features they require,” the filing added. “The parties also discussed the relevance of the above-referenced proceeding, including the setting of power spectral density limits. APCO offered to engage in continued discussions with wireless service providers as well as impacted public safety licensees.”
In another March 31 filing, New Jersey Transit Corp. said that “our situation is far worse than we had experienced with our old network and frequencies in terms of interference. … This effectively renders the mobile or portable [device] inoperable within the affected area.”
The agency said that it “has determined the source of the interference to be high-power signals emanating from the adjacent 862-869 MHz band now occupied in our area by a commercial wireless operator utilizing LTE technology.”
“It is clear that these high power signals, even if operating within the FCC rules, are causing receiver overload and desensitization of our public safety land mobile radios while in close proximity to the commercial wireless carriers’ base stations – the classic near-far effect,” NJ TRANSIT added. “While a short-term solution for NJ TRANSIT may be local negotiations with the commercial wireless carrier, this is extremely burdensome and time-consuming without assurance of success.
“Another extremely burdensome solution may be to install small base stations in the locations where the commercial wireless signal outweighs our own in order to make our signal ‘louder’ than the commercial wireless signal thus improving radio between desired and undesired signal,” the agency added. “This not only would be very costly, a burden on our taxpayers, but would impose an ongoing obligation on public safety licensees as commercial operators deploy additional sites.”
In recent meetings with FCC officials, Verizon Communications, Inc., and AT&T, Inc., have discussed FCC adoption of power spectral density limits for cellular spectrum as well as the public safety complaints, according to ex parte filings. – Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com
Courtesy TRDaily