Eligibility and Intended Use
Public Safety Licensing is done for all governmental
entities. This includes cities, counties, and state
governments. It also pertains to the American Indian
Tribes in some instances. Some school districts and
universities are also eligible for Public Safety licenses.
Public Safety licenses are specified for governmental
users. They may not be held by non-governmental
entities. There was a time when enterprise users could
use Public Safety frequencies. An example of that
would be a security company that is providing security
services for hire. However, in the last several years
the FCC has drawn a line in the sand and specified that only
governmental users may obtain Public Safety licenses.
Even if they are being used for something as mundane as a
sprinkler system that is operated by the Parks Department, a
Public Safety license is what the applicant is eligible to
receive.
There are a few instances where a governmental entity may
obtain non-Public Safety licensing.
Utility Districts: These
utilize SCADA systems for control
and monitoring, and due to the nature of water or waste
water districts and PUDs (providing a service to the
citizens for monetary remuneration), often they may be
licensed as a
Business/Industrial license. These also utilize
Multiple Address Systems
(MAS).
Airports & Landing Strips:
These use Unicom systems and possibly other systems
that require Aeronautical &
Aviation licensing. Many governments have their
own aircraft, which need radio licensing. In certain
instances, the govermental Office of Emergency Management
(OEM) office may require this type of licensing for Search
and Rescue (SAR) frequencies. In some instances, the
local police and fire departments may also be able to obtain
this kind of licensing. (See below.)
Ports, Rivers, Coastlines:
The local governments may require
Marine licensing for
operation of their watercraft, or for use of marine Search &
Rescue (SAR) frequencies by the regional OEM. These
licenses are also useful for use on inland lakes, especially
on large lakes in mountainous regions where boats may not be
heard in times of distress and some sort of repeater system
is needed.
Public Safety licenses are coordinated by specific
frequency coordinators that specialize in police, fire &
EMS, or roads/public works frequencies. While entities
that are eligible for Public Safety licenses are tax-exempt
and therefore pay no FCC fees, the frequency coordination
requirements are higher to obtain these licenses. This
is understandable, since Public Safety licenses are used
with radio systems that typically have to do with
safety-of-life purposes, and therefore the interference
protection must be greater than with an enterprise user.
Due to the higher coordination standards, the coordination
costs are higher, which makes licensing for governmental
users actually higher than for enterprise users in many
instances. It also means that the time required for
licensing can be weeks, months, or in exceptional cases even
years!
Due to the rather extensive systems that governments
operate and maintain, they often do not have the personnel
or funding to devote to properly keep licensed. RLS
can provide license
management services to governmental customers, which
helps reduce their yearly operating budget.
We also provide quotes to
governments for new construction and for service contracts.
If you are interested in receiving a quote, please have your
purchasing department contact us with bid information.
To license your Public Safety
radio systems, contact us to get started.
Issues of Interest
Notice of Interference Between Radios and Tasers [
View article ]
Taser and Motorola have issued a notice warning of possible taser discharge during radio use.
Interested in Help Obtaining Grant Funding?
Visit these links to learn how to write grant proposals
and fund expansion of your public safety operations.
Grant Writing USA [
Read Here ]
NTIA Investment Justification Guide & Reference
[
Read Here ]
Public Safety Groups Eligible to Use Airport
Discrete Emergency Frequency [
View the FAA Advisory Circular. ]
In 1999, the FAA issued an
advisory notice (FAA
AC 150/2510-7C) to all airports and other concerned
parties that provided guidance for planning and implementing
airport emergency communications and fire response
procedures. Specifically, the advisory specified that
all airports were eligible to obtain licensing for a
Discrete Emergency Frequency
(DEF) for use when responding to an emergency situation or
accident scene at the airport and in the surrounding
countryside. Since the release of this Notice, the FAA
has also clarified that local Public Safety entities are
also eligible to obtain licensing on this same frequency
to allow coordination between the Aircraft Rescue &
Firefighting (ARFF) personnel and local city, county, and
state emergency responders. Our experience is that
most airport managers did not receive or read this notice
when it was published, or did not consider that it was
important, so they never put the procedures into practice.
Fast forward to the present day, where interoperability has
since gained paramount importance. While still mostly
unaware, airport managers and local Public Safety entities
are very interested to learn
that the DEF is available for their use. Once they
know that this is available, they typically move to
implement the procedures specified in the Advisory.
Many times, they coordinate with the local Public Safety
groups to implement and train in the use
of the DEF.
Airports can obtain licensing of a new frequency to be used
as this Discrete Emergency Frequency. However, some
airports could also designate one of their existing
frequencies as the Discrete Emergency Frequency. An
example of this would be the frequency that is licensed for
use by the Mobile Utility Station (ground crew) may, in time
of emergency, serve as the DEF. Once an airport
manager has either licensed a DEF frequency or has co-opted
one of its existing licensed frequencies for the DEF, then
the local Fire Departments, EMS groups, Police, Sheriff, or
the Office of Emergency Management may also be licensed for
that frequency.
Radio Licensing Services can work with
airport managers to license them for the Discrete Emergency
Frequency, and once completed can also license the local
Public Safety groups too.
Contact us to learn more about
how we can help you work together better to ensure quick and
timely response to emergency situations.
