NPSTC, National Regional Planning Council Recommend Six-Channel Plan for 700 MHz Networks

The FCC should adopt a six-channel plan for nationwide allocation of 700 MHz deployable trunked radio networks, recommended the National Public Safety Telecommunication Council and National Regional Planning Council. NPSTC and NRPC told FCC Public Safety Bureau Chief David Simpson in a letter posted Thursday that a six-channel plan is operationally simple and has enough capacity to handle the “vast majority” of incidents requiring a deployable trunk system. The channels also would be usable in all areas of the U.S. except some areas bordering Canada, where only four of the channels would be usable, NPSTC and NRPC said. The FCC’s Oct. 17 order on the designation of former 700 MHz reserve channels for deployable systems use had sought NPSTC/NRPC recommendations for up to eight channels for deployable use. A joint NPSTC/NRPC working group selected the six channels -- 37-38, 61-62, 117-118, 141-142, 883-884 and 939-940 -- based on public safety and industry feedback. The Telecommunications Industry Association said the NPSTC/NRPC channels are workable but also provided an eight-channel alternate plan. The alternate plan “suffered from additional operational complexity that was not worth the increase in capacity of the deployable trunked system,” NPSTC and NRPC said. Public safety agencies can work with their regional planning committees if more than six channels are needed, which would “accommodate the needs of large agencies while not removing additional channels from the available pool nationwide,” NPSTC and NRPC said. The groups said they're still working on other issues involving deployable trunked radio systems.