Minutes
New England Region 700 MHz
Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
Tenth Meeting
Tuesday 11 March 2003
List of Attendees: See attachment
The tenth meeting of the New England Region 700 MHz Technical Advisory Committee was held on Tuesday March 11, 2003 at the Maine State Police Troop B Barracks in Gray, Maine.
The meeting was convened at 10:00AM
The Chairman and Vice Chairman were present. The Secretary
had informed the Chairman in advance of his absence and the Vice
Chairman, Jerry Zarwanski took minutes.
The Chairman, George Pohorilak requested everyone present introduce themself.
Order of Business:
1. Minutes
A correction was pointed to the Chairman that the last meeting
was the ninth and not the tenth meeting. Jim Kowalik motioned
to ACCEPT the December 10, 2002 minutes as distributed
with correction to ninth meeting. Seconded by Steve Brown and
CARRIED by unanimous vote.
2. Membership
The Chairman indicated that every state except Vermont has
membership on this committee. Letters were mailed to Vermont as
well as all the other New England States and there has been no
official response from VT. The Chairman indicated that CT State
layoffs have affected his ability to visit the "700 MHz State
License" holder in the New England States. The layoff of
the Chairman's two Connecticut staff members and restrictions
in out of State travel has restricted visits and research and
distribution of 700MHz correspondence.
3. State Licensees Update.
There is no new information. Most of the holders are members
of this committee. In Connecticut the Governor has offered an
early retirement incentive. Frank Aiudi from DOIT (CT 700MHz License
holder) who has been attending the 700MHz meetings is strongly
considering retiring. Chuck Welch from NH OEM indicated Meade
Herrick is retiring and he would be the new representative from
NH OEM
4. NCC UPDATE:
At this time there is no new information being distributed
by the NCC.
Two members of this committee, Jim Kowalik and George Carbonell
flew to Denver, Colorado for CAPRAD (Computer Assisted Precoordination
Resource and Database System) Training and will update the committee
further once the agenda item is reached. The Chairman indicated
there is approximately $700 remaining in the budget for 700MHz
planning.
5. FCC UPDATE:
The Chairman indicated there was really nothing new to report
and eventually he would craft a letter to be sent to appropriate
Congressional delegations stating the need for progress on the
issue of making the 700 MHz frequencies available to Public Safety
users. Bob Cruikshank Motorola informed the committee he
has a list of Congressional delegates that sit on the 700 MHz
Committee. He also indicated some action the committee may pursue
with the FCC/Congressional delegates to expedite the use of 700MHz
frequencies for Public Safety.
The Chairman also indicated that at some future date he may send letters to the Governors of the New England State or meet on the topic of 700MHz. At this time, he cannot even meet with the CT Governor because the Governor has other significant issues such as State budget and Departmental issues.
George Carbonell addressed the 85% penetration rule and some
discussion took place but the bottom line is there is no change
in the ruling.
6. CAPRAD
Jim Kowalik spoke on the training that took place in Colorado
and indicated that the online system is a tool for sorting and
allocating frequencies in 700MHz. The 700MHz frequencies have
been pre allotted on a county basis through out the United Sates.
The Development of a State or regional plan would either adopt
the pre-allotment, refine it or supercede the allotment. California
has adopted a 6.25 distribution and Missouri is adopting a cellular
technology distribution approach. George Carbonell presented a
Power Point presentation on CAPRAD which addressed: accessibility
and rights into the online system; Technical system features and
hardware; Placement of Regional Plans, Applications and Database
Information on the online system. George Carbonell also handed
out a CD which introduces the CAPRAD system.
The Chairman motioned we adopt the CAPRAD system as part of the Regional Planning process. Seconded by Steve Brown. Carried by unanimous vote.
The Vice Chairman addressed the issue of interference criteria and what has been technically adopted. Mr. Carbonell indicated that a field strength/contour of 50Dbu is considered and any contour cannot exceed a county by five miles. As to interference criteria, nothing has been adopted. The Vice Chairman asked what would happen if States/Regions adopted different standards and boarder issues arise. Mr. Carbonell indicated there is a need to reach out to the different States/Regions and address these issues.
7. PLAN DEVELOPMENT
Scoring Matrix.
Attached to the Agenda was four available scoring matrix tables
for discussion. The first, existing 821MHz scoring matrix, the
second, NCC 700MHz adopted scoring matrix as provided in the green
binder (700MHz NER Plan), the third, a newly developed scoring
matrix and the fourth, a version of the third with the top category,
Service, modified. The Chairman discussed each and the members
present questioned the differences in each of the scoring matrix.
The deciding factor on which scoring matrix should be chosen is
the objectivity of scoring rather than the subjectivity. The Chairman
asked for a response from each member in a month as to the best
scoring matrix for 700MHZ.
8. New Business/Comments
None
The Chairman indicated the next meeting will be held in Rhode
Island on June 10, 2003 at 10:00 AM at a site still to be determined.
The Chairman MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by
Carbonell. Unanimous vote to adjourn. 11:42AM
Respectfully submitted
Jerry Zarwanski, Vice Chairman.