Memorandum

TO:                 IACP Board of Officers

IACP Executive Committee

IACP Division of State & Provincial Police

                        IACP Division of State Association

   of Chiefs of Police

                        IACP Committee & Section Chairs

FROM:           Bill Berger

                        President

 DATE:            February 13, 2002

 RE:                URGENT NOTICE:  FCC CONDUCTS AUDIT OF WIRELESS RADIO LICENSES

 At the recent meeting of the IACP Board of Officers, I was made aware of the following matter which could have an impact on the ability of many law enforcement agencies to maintain their wireless radio licenses.  As a result, I wanted to make sure that you were also provided with this important information.

 The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is currently conducting an audit on the status of the Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) stations licensed on frequencies below 512 MHz.  Specifically, the audit is being performed to determine the construction and operational status of these stations and to determine the validity of existing PLMR Licenses.

 FCC regulations governing PLMR stations require that construction of a PLMR station take place within a specified time period and that stations remain operational in order for a license to remain valid.   When a licensee fails to construct its authorized PLMR facilities within the requisite construction period, or allows its constructed stations to discontinue operations for a period of one year, the station’s license is automatically canceled.

 According to the FCC, letters inquiring into the construction and operational status of all PMLR licenses were sent last year.  The deadline for filing a response with the FCC is March 12, 2002.  Failure to respond to this inquiry within the specified time frame may result in cancellation of an agency’s PLMR license.  Therefore it is imperative that you ensure that your agency has responded to this inquiry.

 Further information on this matter may be obtained by calling the FCC at 1-888-225-5322 and selecting option 2.  In addition, information on the audit program can be found at the FCC web site at www.fcc.gov/wtb/plmrs/audit.html.