CSAA Signals
Vol. 8, No. 22 —November 22, 2002
440 Maple Avenue East, Suite 201, Vienna, VA 22180
703-242-4670; Fax 703-242-4675
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CSAA Signals |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS: Call for Participation for an Expanded Lou Fiore has been asked by John Murphy, Chair of CSAA's Public Sector Liaison Committee (PSLC), to chair a sub-committee of the PSLC to create a standard for Electronic Alarm Verification. Fiore also chairs the CSAA Standards Committee, which has recently approved an Alarm Verification Standard. This new standard, which mainly deals with Multiple Call Verification, should go a long way towards the reduction of false dispatches. Tests have shown that the percentage of false dispatches decreases to 8% of all received alarms when implementing the standard. The addition of Electronic Alarm Verification will further reduce the number of false dispatches and will also assist responding officers in the proper response to actual alarms, minimizing the risk to the responding officer. Fiore sees breaking up this effort into two tasks. The first is a "data gathering" phase to look at all possible technologies and identify those that will perform in an effective and efficient way. These technologies will include video, audio, biometrics and broadband transmission both on premises and to the central station, 911 center, and ultimately, to the responding officer's vehicle. The second task will be the actual process of writing an ANSI-certified standard, or standards, as required. While not part of its original mandate, the subcommittee will also consider if a technology exists that may "verify" false alarms. Currently, NFPA 72 allows only residential alarms to be verified. This new subcommittee needs the participation of all the segments of the alarm industry, especially manufacturers. Please contact Lou Fiore at ltfiore@aol.com or CSAA at 703-242-4670, x. 16 if you would like to participate. Looking for Customer Service Speakers - NAMTSE 2003 In an effort to develop a very useful and interesting program for the upcoming NAMTSE meeting (May 15-18, 2003) in Orlando, Florida, the program has been divided into four different tracks. One of the tracks is the Customer Service Track. We are looking for CSAA members who want to participate in the presentation of related seminars. Some examples of the content that we are looking to cover are listed below. These are only meant to provide some "food for thought". We welcome other suggested topics.
If you or a member of your staff have some practical experience and would like to participate, please contact John Brady or Tracy Chidsey, TRG Associates, Inc. at (860) 664-4101 or email jbrady@trgassociates.com. FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force Presents Recommendations The FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force recently presented recommendations to modernize the rules that guide how the nation's spectrum is managed and utilized. The panel recommended that spectrum management evolve from a traditional government "command-and-control" model to a more flexible, consumer-oriented approach. Created by FCC Chairman Michael Powell last June, the Task Force--after research and extensive public input--concluded that the time is ripe for spectrum policy reform. "The foundations of our current spectrum policy are cracking beneath the weight of innovation and widespread consumer use of spectrum-based services," Powell said. "This is no surprise, since most of our policies date from the 1920s." The FCC said in a Public Notice that the Task Force's report will provide a starting point for a long-term review of spectrum policy approaches. The Task Force said some bands are heavily used while many are not in use in all geographic areas or are used only part of the time. "Thus, there may be opportunities for spectrum-based services or devices to operate in the resulting 'white spaces,'" the Task Force suggested. The Task Force said that technological advances--such as the increased use of digital technologies and the development of software-defined radios--are providing some potential answers to current spectrum policy challenges. "These technological advances enable spectrum rights to be parceled as a function of time," the FCC panel said. "Also, they allow systems to be much more tolerant of interference than in the past." The Task Force also concluded that spectrum rights and responsibilities are not always clearly defined and that users need more certainty. Among its specific recommendations was to adopt "interference temperature" to quantify and manage interference. The Task Force said using an "interference temperature" standard to establish maximum permissible interference levels on a band-by-band basis would place a limit on the noise environment in which receivers would be required to operate. "To the extent, however, that the interference temperature in a particular band is not reached, users who emit energy below that temperature could operate more flexibly," the panel said, "with the interference temperature serving as the maximum cap on the potential RF energy they could introduce into the band." The Task Force said it found that new technological developments now permit access to unused or underused spectrum through time-sharing of spectrum between multiple users and lead to more efficient use of the spectrum resource. Concluded FCC Chairman Powell, "The Commission is chartered to serve the public interest. The public has made their desire for interference-free, spectrum-based services quite clear. The challenge now rests with us to deliver." Adelstein Confirmed To FCC The Senate last week finally confirmed Jonathan Adelstein, long-time telecommunications policy aide to Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), on a voice vote to fill the fifth and final seat on the FCC. He will replace former Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who left the Commission earlier this year and whose term is slated to expire in June 2003. Although the Bush Administration nominated Adelstein earlier this year, his confirmation was held up because of senatorial deadlock over some of the President's judicial nominees. The Republican victory in the November 5 election returned Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) to Majority Leader, and that broke the deadlock over Senate confirmation of nominees such as Adelstein. A native of South Dakota, Adelstein has long demonstrated an understanding of the unique problems that rural carriers face. His nomination was supported by the South Dakota Telecommunications Association, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA), and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO), as well as many other rural advocates. BloostonLaw has had several opportunities to work with Adelstein on rural telecom issues. He was instrumental in helping to convince Congress to allow Auction No. 44 (the Lower 700 MHz band auction) to proceed this year for small and rural licenses. At our deadline, the White House had not filed the necessary paperwork signed by President Bush to make Adelstein's nomination official. However, the President's signature is expected as early as this week. To access this week's issue of the Telecom Update, as well as previous issues, visit the BloostonLaw Telecom Update every Thursday. Join Us for the Long Range Planning Committee Meeting Mel Mahler, CSAA President, and the Executive Committee of CSAA would like to invite all members of the association to participate in next year's Long Range Planning Committee Meeting from January 29-February 3, 2003 at the Ritz-Carlton Naples in Naples, Florida. The meeting is being held at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort property. The Long Range Planning Committee meeting outlines the goals and direction for the association for years to come and evaluates projects for the upcoming year. Member input and feedback is vital to the growth of the association and your attendance is welcome. There is no registration fee to attend this meeting, but all hotel and airline arrangements are the responsibility of the attendee. All food and beverage events are paid for on an individual basis, with the exception of a continental breakfast provided for meeting attendees on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. Meetings and roundtables are held Thursday-Saturday from 8:00am - 12:30pm. Spouses are invited to this meeting as afternoons are free for attendees, and there are many activities to do in and around Naples. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please fax (703) 242-4675 or email meetings@csaaul.org, the interest form back to Suzanne George by Monday, December 2, 2002. All hotel reservations must be made by Monday, December 30, 2002 in order to receive the discounted rates. Additional information: UL Looking for Input for Standards Technical Panel Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is looking for one "General Interest" and five "Users" to participate in their Standards Technical Panel (STP) on Physical Security Devices. This STP covers UL 291, 437, 608, 687, 771, and 887. The STP will meet once a year. Please let Mark Visbal at the Security Industry Association (SIA) know if you are interested in participating (703-683-0493 or mvisbal@siaonline.org). |