Dates for WWCIC meetings for 2006   Meetings will be held on the 2^nd Tuesday like always, with no meeting in August and June joint meeting with our Canadian counterparts.  The current location for regular meetings is the Washington State Patrol Office in Bellevue.

Business Reports

Chairman’s opening comments: Chairman George Bisso called the meeting to order at 9:35 am. Introductions were made around the tables.  Attendance today: 15.

Secretary-Treasurer Finance and Correspondence Reports: No activity. Checking balance $594.70, savings balance $2873.47.

Committee Reports

Technical Committee Report:  Suggestions for technical presentations at meetings are always welcome. A presentation on in-building communication enhancement by Dekolink (UHF through PCS bands) is scheduled for the January meeting. Icom is now planning a presentation early 2007 on digital modulation land mobile radio. (OPEN)

Web Site Report:  The web host has changed ownership and has started charging ten dollars more per month. Despite being out of town and experiencing email server problems Alan is checking into what is going on and our options.  (OPEN)

Old Business

BPL Issues: No report. (OPEN)

150/450 MHz IX: No Report. (OPEN)

FRS Issues: Nothing new to report.  (OPEN)

700 MHz Planning & Meetings: Joint 700/800 Mhz meetings are the last Wed of the month, non public safety attendees welcome. The November meeting was cancel due to weather. Pierce County Transit has an application in for 700 Mhz. King County Metro is also looking into 700 Mhz. The 700 MHz web sites are www.region43.org for Washington State, and www.region35.org, for Oregon. (OPEN)

800 MHz IX and Nextel issues: Washington State DOT and Sprint/Nextel have agreements along the Oregon border (Clark Co.) for Wave One. Sprint/Nextel and the Region 43 committee have asked Canada for frequency use information to assist in planning but have been denied. Little information is available on what level of diplomatic involvement is occurring between the U.S. and Canada. The Port of Seattle is negotiating with Sprint/Nextel currently. Congress approved 1 billion dollars to be spent on public safety communications grants and awarded in 2007.

Nextel is using 50 to 75 Khz channel blocks in western Washington metropolitan area. The 900 Mhz band is getting congested.  Narrowband paging is causing other users to spend more time optimizing their system.

Sprint/Nextel will be building their 2.5 Ghz Wimax in the Seattle area starting in the second quarter of 2007 with operational tests expected for second quarter of 2008. They are migrating their infrastructure service from copper wire to their 2.5 Ghz service or LMDS providers.

Technical Seminars at WWCIC Meetings: No presentation at December meeting. Dekolink will be making a presentation on in-building communications systems at the January meeting. A session on P25 and HF radios by Daytron is scheduled for the February meeting. Icom is tentative for March. Suggestions are welcome. (OPEN)

XM and Sirius Satellite Radio News: Nothing new.  (OPEN)

APCO business or reports and general frequency coordination news:  Washington APCO conference in Wenatchee on` June 27-29. http://www.apcowa.org/ (OPEN)

License-free or Spread-Spectrum technology issues:  No report. (OPEN)

4.9 Ghz:  4.9 interference is up to licensees to resolve.  No airborne stations allowed. Boeing Co. is working on a pilot test of mesh video networking at the Renton plant. (OPEN)

New Business

None.

  Items of Information

Wiztronics is planning a digital radio demonstration (P25) in the spring (~April). They plan on setting up equipment from multiple manufactures including portable, mobile, base, and repeaters for live testing. This is mainly being set up for public safety personnel in the North Puget Sound area to see how things really work but will be an open house. More information to come.

The Air Force has been deploying new homeland security communications systems at some of their facilities. The Air Force has primary authorization to use these frequencies but there are an estimated 50 million garage door openers nationally that use the same frequency band. When they started implementation about three years ago there were only a few conflicts noted during initial tests. However a major impact came when they set up a system atop the 6,184 foot Cheyenne Mtn. in Colorado. Door service companies received hundreds of calls about door malfunctions including Air Force personnel that couldn’t get into their houses. The Air Force is trying to change frequency. If it is not feasible to change then door owners will have to get new units.

Moved and seconded to adjourn at 10:32 PM.

Respectfully submitted,