Western Washington Cooperative Interference Committee
Meeting Minutes for July 8, 1997
Roster of Officers and Members of the Executive Council
Position Name & Affiliation Address Phone
Chairperson George Bisso 11645 132nd Court N.E. 314-4018
Redmond WA 98052 889-4772
Vice Chair Steven Mayes 42404 S.E. North Bend Way 888-1421
U.S. Forest Service North Bend WA 98045
Sec-Treas Shirley Perry 11410 N.E. 122nd Way #312 558-4161
Kirkland WA 98034
Member at Dennis Reanier P.O. Box 68006 246-3611
Large #1 Radio Link, Inc. Seattle WA 98168-0006
Member at Pat Buller 2803 156th Avenue S.E. 649-4654
Large #2 W.S.P. Bellevue WA 98007
******************************************************************************
Web Page: www.wwcic.org
Bulletin Board Phone Number: 621-9773
Information Line Phone Number: 559-1067
******************************************************************************
The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 9, 1997, 9:30 a.m., at the Renton King County Department of Public Works Headquarters, Bldg. B., 155 Monroe Avenue N.E., Renton, WA.
(Directions: Northbound on I-405, take Exit 4B, circle under freeway and take first right. Go to first light and turn right on N.E. 3rd. Southbound on I-405, take Exit 4, turn left at first light at bottom of ramp, which is N.E. 3rd. Follow 3rd Street up hill to Monroe Avenue. Turn right on Monroe to the "T"; turn right into the Public Works complex.)
07-08-97
The meeting was called to order at 9:40 a.m. by Chairman George Bisso. Shirley Perry, the new Secretary-Treasurer, was introduced. Self introduction by others followed. Members and guests in attendance were:
Name Organization Phone No. Fax No. /email
George Bisso Sandusky Radio 425-454-1540 425-889-4772
Chuck Zappala AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. 425-889-6094
Dennis Anderson FCC 425-820-6271 danderso@fcc.gov
Spencer Bahner King County 206-296-6594
Alan Robinson Goldspar Communications 253-759-4334
Don Jones 425-861-0844
Pat Buller Washington State Patrol 425-649-4654
Steven Mayes U.S. Forest Service 425-888-1421
Capt Bill Hopper COMNAV Base Seattle, US Navy 360-315-5372
Jack Manon Manon Engineering 425-827-7449 425-827-5305
Gerry Broerman Boeing 253-657-6420
Kim Torp-Pedersen Alster Communications 425-702-8396 kimtp@aol.com
Kris McGowan FCC 425-820-6271 kmcgowan@fcc.gov
Shirley Perry FCC 425-820-6271 sperry@fcc.gov
FINANCIAL REPORT
Checking Account: $4,248.75
OLD BUSINESS
800MHz Cross Border Interference. Negotiations are on track to reduce the interference that Victoria Mobile Radio is experiencing from Valley Comm to an acceptable level. Representatives from FCC, Industry Canada, King County, Victoria Mobile, and Valley Comm met in Victoria B.C. on May 23 to discuss the situation, make observations, and conduct signal measurements. The two radio licensees detailed measures they had taken to minimize effects of the interference. In hopes of resolving the problem, Valley Comm plans to replace their omni-directional antenna on McDonald Peak with an adjustable pattern antenna.
In line with this topic, Committee members discussed that the term "harmful" interference needs to be better defined, as opposed to "nuisance" interference. It would be helpful if regulatory entities had a system of categorizing pre-defined signal strengths and setting standards that are acceptable to the marketplace and not just left to interpretation.
WWCIC Web Site. Alan Robinson reported on his progress in establishing a WWCIC web site. He is still shopping for a server. The lowest price would be around $20.00 a month; a virtual server would cost $45.00 per month. A motion was made to do a one-year pilot program at $45.00/month and make a report at the September meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
APCO Meeting. George stated the date of the annual APCO meeting in 1998 may be in conflict with the annual WWCIC/WCTC (Western Canada Telecommunications Council) meeting. He will contact an APCO representative and, if necessary, change the date of the WWCIC/WCTC meeting.
King County. Spencer Bahner stated that he recently obtained call signs from the FCC over the phone for frequency applications on Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass. The applications had been submitted quite some time ago.
Washington State Patrol. Pat Buller reported that an abnormal propagation problem at the WSP Tacoma site is causing interference into central Oregon.
FCC Items of Interest. Dennis Anderson and Kris McGowan reported the following:
Chairman of the FCC, Reed Hundt, has announced his resignation. Compliance and Information Bureau Chief, Beverly Baker, also announced her retirement. Her replacement has not yet been determined. Four individuals have been offered the job thus far but turned it down.
It is not anticipated that there will be increased funding levels for FY98.
Last month, the FCC adopted a Report and Order establishing a Forfeiture Policy Statement and guidelines for the issuance of forfeitures. The adoption of guidelines will preclude the case-by-case approach that has been used since the Courts vacated the last policy statement in July 1994. In general, base forfeiture amounts are close to the $10,000 range, and most violations are the same across all services. As soon as the policy statement is released, it will be available on CIB's home page.
A copy of FCC DA 97-1059, dated May 20, 1997, Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to Facilitate Future Development of SMR Systems in the 800 MHz Frequency Band, was provided to the Committee (copy is attached).
In most instances, the FCC cannot resolve problems of interference to home electronics because the cause of interference is the design or construction of products and not a violation of any FCC rule. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave local authorities authorization to investigate and resolve local interference problems; however, this has not yet been implemented. Privitization of interference resolution has also been considered but not enough radio shops have been interested to make it feasible. FCC has not yet provided any legal authority for entities such as WWCIC to deal with interference resolution although FCC recognizes their importance as a voluntary organization.
- Committee members discussed methods of stirring up interest in the potential that WWCIC has for interference resolution such as articles in trade magazines.
The meeting adjourned at 10:45.