MTA to change bus Radio Transmissions despite FCC warning, raising safety concerns

The MTA plans to move city bus radio transmissions into the same bandwidth as that of the Fire Department and EMS, despite a federal order that warns about possible interference with first responders, the Daily News has learned.

A recently approved $202 million contract with Parsons Transportation relies on a type of radio system the Federal Communications Commission bans from use on the so-called “public safety” bandwidth.

The FCC found that the technology that Parsons uses — called TETRA — could potentially interfere with public-safety radio calls.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is making this move to replace what it calls a “technologically obsolete” system of analog bus radios, which for 25 years has operated on a nonpublic-safety radio spectrum.

In a protest letter to the MTA, the other bidder for the contract, Motorola, warned, “If this system is deployed without FCC approval and creates any interference issues for public-safety radio users in New York City, the problems could be catastrophic.”

The five-year contract with Parsons involves 8,500 radios for buses operating within the 700-megahertz spectrum. That’s where FDNY and EMS radio transmissions are broadcast.

In a September 2012 finding, the FCC noted several experts opposed the use of TETRA on public-safety frequencies because it’s not compatible with the technology most commonly used there and “would therefore undermine public-safety interoperability.” The FCC ruled it “will not allow TETRA technology to operate in 700-megahertz public safety spectrum.”

 

A report by MTA staff defended TETRA, stating it’s being used in another, unspecified U.S. transit system. That system is NJ Transit, officials say, where a statewide radio system is still not operational two years after it was supposed to be fully implemented pending talks with the FCC.

MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg declined to comment on the FCC order “because of the obvious potential for future protests and litigation.” The MTA would have to successfully challenge the FCC order before implementing its bandwidth plan....