The Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA) reports that, on Nov. 9, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted not to auction the 450MHz-470MHz band, including the alarm frequencies. Thus, at least for now, the security industry’s frequencies are safe. The FCC alluded to recognizing safety status for security-related entities for auction purposes, but the text of the order is pending.
On Nov. 2, the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) and its counsel, Blooston, Mordkofsky, Jackson & Dickens (BMJD), met with the wireless advisors for each of the five FCC commissioners and with the Wireless Bureau staff to discuss the private radio spectrum auction, in anticipation of a vote on the matter. At the same time, CSAA and its members were able to obtain letters of support from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and from various congressmen, which were presented to the FCC.
The IACP and APCO letters were the result of the strong relations that CSAA has with other professional organizations and regulators. The efforts apparently paid off. CSAA says it will review the order’s “fine print” and reveal more details as they become available.
