[South Florida DX Association] NPSTC Says HR 607 “Needs to Be Amended”

[Bill]

NPSTC Says HR 607 “Needs to Be Amended”
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President Kay 
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03/10/2011

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC 
<http://www.npstc.org/>) -- a federation of more than a dozen public 
safety communications organizations -- has gone on record as sharing the 
ARRL’s concerns regarding HR 607 
<http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr607ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr607ih.pdf>, the 
/Broadband for First Responders’ Act of 2011/. The ARRL is actively 
opposing the legislation in its current form 
<http://www.arrl.org/hr-607> because Section 207(d) of the bill -- 
introduced in the US House of Representatives by Representative Peter 
King (R-NY-3) -- calls for the reallocation of 420-440 MHz for 
commercial auction. The ARRL, which is a member of the NPSTC Governing 
Board, has assured NPSTC members that its opposition is limited to 
Section 207(d) and that it supports the underlying objective of the 
legislation, which is to provide spectrum near 700 MHz for a nationwide 
interoperable public safety broadband network.

Writing to ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, and ARRL Executive Vice 
President David Sumner, K1ZZ, on March 8, NPSTC Chair Ralph Haller said: 
“We want to let you know that NPSTC’s Governing Board understands your 
serious concerns about Section 207 of this Act, and we share those 
concerns.” While reiterating NPSTC’s support for the remainder of the 
Act,  Haller said: “NPSTC is very concerned about Section 207(d) of the 
Act and believes that the section needs to be amended to address the 
concerns of public safety and the Amateur Radio users.” See a copy of 
the letter below.

Commenting on Haller’s letter, Sumner said that “it is gratifying to 
have the support of the NPSTC Governing Board in our effort to remove 
this provision from Rep King’s bill. Once our concerns have been 
satisfied, we hope Congress will proceed quickly to complete work on 
providing our First Responders with this important facility.”

NPSTC's letter to the ARRL regarding HR 607.pdf 
<http://www.arrl.org/attachments/view/News/57518> (203.2 kB)

http://www.arrl.org/news/npstc-says-hr-607-needs-to-be-amended