[ScanIndiana] Marshall County System News

[David Safdy]

March 11, 2003

New rules may hinder radio system
By JENNIFER OCHSTEIN
Tribune Staff Writer 

PLYMOUTH -- A new Federal Communications Commission regulation may put a
glitch in Marshall County Sheriff Bob Ruff's proposal for a new radio
communications system for the county.

Ruff said Monday he received a letter from the FCC last month indicating
it would do away with wideband frequencies, which are the frequencies
his department uses, by 2018. He said the FCC's goal in eliminating the
frequencies would be to make users of the frequencies begin using
narrower band frequencies so more agencies and individuals can have
frequencies. He indicated the FCC wants to break one wideband into two
short-bands. "It would double the frequencies they can issue," Ruff
said.

According to Meribeth McCarrick, a spokeswoman for the FCC, "The
commission has adopted rules requiring people to use more efficient
equipment so more entities are able to use the spectrum in the future."
Ruff said this causes problems for a new proposed radio communication
system for Marshall County, which has been advertised to receive bids.

While the Marshall County Board of Commissioners allowed Ruff to receive
bids on the project, they have not indicated whether it will allow him
to purchase the system. The estimated cost ranges between $800,000 and
$1 million for the system. Ruff has indicated, and the commissioners
have agreed, that the county's current system has problems that need to
be addressed, including the need for more frequencies.

Last year, Ruff was able to purchase two new frequencies from the
forestry service for the Marshall County Sheriff's Department for $500
each, but had to wait for two years before that for FCC approval. He
indicated the request for bids for the proposed project included
obtaining two more wideband frequencies the FCC wants to do away with.

Also, some of the radios now being used in the county, he explained, are
not capable of receiving the split frequencies the FCC is proposing,
while others are. The radios that are not capable of receiving the
frequencies, he said, will likely eventually be replaced.

The proposed communications system Ruff would like to install in the
county is more cost effective because it calls for using existing
equipment his department and other county-wide departments use now, he
has said in the past. Ruff said Monday, he has been told the FCC will
for a time still allow him to apply for the two wideband frequencies, as
long as he understands they will be split by 2018. "That would be a big
help in regard to the bid process," Ruff said. He said if he is still
able to apply for the frequencies he will be able to save money to use
existing equipment that won't receive the split frequencies.

He said radios in the county are upgraded each year, so that by 2018 all
of the radios would likely be able to receive the split frequencies.
Ruff said he and the commissioners will have to decide whether to go
ahead and apply for the wideband frequencies regardless of the new FCC
regulations.
 
Source:
http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/thisday/local.20030311-sbt-MARS-D1-New_rules_may_hinder.sto