EWA Files Comments in Support of Illinois America Water Company Waiver Request

EWA filed Comments on March 3 in support of the waiver request from Illinois American Water Company proposing to share 800 MHz public safety frequencies licensed to the statewide STARCOM21 network and to access 700 MHz spectrum in that network on a secondary, preemptible basis limited to emergency events. EWA reminded the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that there is ample precedent in which the FCC has authorized exactly this type of sharing arrangement and will suggest that placing it on Public Notice was unnecessary since the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is qualified to determine the validity of the request and whether waiver relief would be in in public interest, stating, “It is difficult to imagine what input might be submitted in response to the Public Notice that would cause the Bureau to deny a request from an entity that provides essential service to the public and that is supported by the operators of the facilities it seeks to share.”