New Jersey Transit Selects Alcatel-Lucent Network, Harris Counters with FCC Letter
In the filing, Harris wrote that there is diverse support to prohibit TETRA technology in the public-safety frequencies, stating that it could cause serious interference, which could jeopardize lives...
At the New Jersey Transit (NJT) board of directors meeting on March 14 the board unanimously approved the authorization to enter into a contract with Alcatel-Lucent for the procurement of a network for the bus radio system.
The contract was awarded to Alcatel-Lucent after a competitive request for proposal (RFP) procurement process that included proposals from Harris and Alcatel-Lucent. The awarded Alcatel-Lucent system includes PowerTrunk’s Digital Land Mobile Radio (D-LMR) equipment. This equipment is based on a modification of the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI) TETRA standard that makes the technology compliant with the FCC’s Part 90 rule for use in the U.S. In February 2011, NJT completed the first TETRA pilot in the United States.
Harris’ FCC Filing
On March 16, two days after the NJT board of directors meeting, Harris filed an ex parte notice with the FCC seeking the “immediate and final declaration by the commission that no TETRA equipment - regardless of power level - can be operated in public-safety frequencies or otherwise in the vicinity of public safety systems.” The filing argued that the PowerTrunk technology should not be authorized for operation in the 800 MHz National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) frequencies.
In the filing, Harris wrote that there is diverse support to prohibit TETRA technology in the public-safety frequencies, stating that it could cause serious interference, which could jeopardize lives. The letter stated that even reduced-power TETRA technology should not operate in the NPSPAC frequencies, as the FCC’s Clarification Order addressed all TETRA equipment and made no distinction between reduced power and other TETRA equipment.
Harris stated that the emission mask the reduced-power TETRA equipment meets is less stringent that what other digital technologies currently use in the public-safety frequencies. The FCC Part 90.210 rule permits type certification with different masks. Reduced-power TETRA equipment is based on a slightly modified TETRA waveform that enables it to operate pursuant to Mask B, the filing said.
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Source: www.radioresourcemag.com
