September 21, 2006, Washington, DC - The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International today responded to Sprint Nextel's suggestion to freeze the 800 MHz rebanding timetable two years to allow public safety agencies to complete the planning process for the rebanding, and to comments made yesterday by a senior Sprint Nextel executive at the PCIA Conference.
APCO International is very disappointed by Sprint Nextel's presumption that public safety communications entities are not ready to move forward with the rebanding process. Further, APCO International finds no apparent rationale as to how a freeze will enhance the process. However, APCO International recognizes that the rebanding process has not proceeded as expected and would consider minor adjustments if absolutely necessary to ensure safe and effective rebanding. Until rebanding is complete, first responders and the public they serve are at risk due to the continued potential for interference.
"Public safety agencies and organizations across the nation have been working to address this issue from the beginning," APCO International President Wanda McCarley said. "Nobody understands the complexity of the public safety systems and the challenges of rebanding better than the agencies operating those systems."
APCO International recognizes the delays in the rebanding planning process and attributes them, in part, to the difficulty experienced by several agencies going through negotiations and seeking reimbursements for planning funding. If public safety has not proceeded with planning it is often because agreements could not be reached with Sprint Nextel regarding the cost of such planning.
"Public safety agencies have watched their colleagues spend their time and money going through these initial steps and are aware of the great difficulties they have experienced," McCarley said. "It is certainly not the complexity of the rebanding that gives them pause, but the response from Sprint Nextel."
About APCO International
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International, Inc. is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO serves the professional needs of its 15,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain and supply the communications systems used by police, fire and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.apcointl.org.
