EWA Approves Public Safety 800 Mhz Waiver Request – Maybe

 (Herndon, VA) –On May 2, 2016, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission stating that, under certain conditions, it would not object to a Waiver Request submitted  by the State of Tennessee’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security (TDOSHS) to use an 800-MHz Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) Pool channel within the state for “simplex car to car communications” and “tactical field operations” in connection with temporary fixed base stations. In fact in this case, EWA stated that it does not object to the waiver request “provided it is approved for operation on a secondary, non-interference basis, and the TDOSHS is fully aware that it cannot cause interference to and must accept interference from any current or future” enterprise that may require the frequency for business/industrial use.

“The request from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security is unclear, and so the Alliance cannot approve without reservations,” said EWA President and Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Crosby. “EWA would object to the grant of a primary, protected status on B/ILT frequency for what is essentially itinerant statewide use. EWA must ensure that the channel is available, unencumbered, for businesses that may need it.”

In its comments, the Alliance offered a variety of alternatives to TDOSHS that would allow it to retain protected status, including operating on one of the several very lightly used Public Safety channels in the state, “rather than assume the risk that B/ILT eligible entities might be assigned primary rights to the Channel in the future.”