Car Thieves Beware: FCC May Boost LoJack's Lookout Power TelecomWeb For those looking to boost a late-model ride, think again. The likes of LoJack's stolen-vehicle recovery systems (SVRS) will become even more potent in the future if a series of new RF spectrum regulations now contemplated at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) eventually take shape.
The federal regulator, which authorized LoJack's analog RF offering and several months ago also granted waivers for its expansion, is now looking into permanent rule changes that would permit increased mobile output power and digital emissions as well as relaxing certain tracking-signal limitations that ostensibly would enhance the anti-crime service's technology. A recently released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the commission is a result of a LoJack petition for capabilities that would accommodate future operations in the 173.075 MHz band as the company transitions from wideband to narrowband, plus it would allow other services - like commercial-cargo and dangerous-material tracking or security - in addition to SVRS. The FCC already believes it is reasonable to revise the rules, including a potentially faster-pace authorization process for more rapid deployment of the service's mobile transceivers According to the agency, it's heard from supplier Motorola and many local governments from around the country - mostly police departments - about LoJack's concepts, and there is widespread support for the requested rule changes and for the expansion of the scope of services offered at 173.075 MHz. The FCC said that, among the favorable comments, a number of local police departments indicated they would use and benefit from LoJack's proposed new services by being able to obtain the position of a stolen vehicle more quickly and, thereby, swiftly dispatching a tracker vehicle to the immediate area and recovering car in question. The LoJack, system's authorization dates back to 1989 and reportedly now accounts for installations in more than three million vehicles and base stations operations in some 22 states. It reportedly has helped recover more than 100,000 vehicles. LoJack is being required to migrate its operations from 20 kHz bandwidth to12.5 kHz bandwidth by 2019 and this so-called "narrowbanding redesign" in large part motivated its late 2004 petition and the FCC's current NPRM. More than 100 comments have been filed in response to the petition. The FCC previous granted much of what LoJack wanted but only via temporary waivers. There was opposition from The Walt Disney Company and Intellareturn Corp. Disney worried about interference to its television stations, while Intellareturn claimed LoJack could gain a new market franchise that would hamper competition and foster an unfair competitive advantage for new LoJack recovery-and-tracking services. One of the issues addressed by the NPRM is whether technical changes in the SVRS system would interfere with TV Channel 7 reception; the FCC believes the problem can be avoided, and LoJack also is requesting the elimination of requirements for TV Channel 7 interference studies, which the FCC thinks remain relatively important. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Duane Whittingham (N9SSN) - Producer Tom and Darryl Radio Shows & Saturday Morning Confusion Heard on C-Band Analog Satellite (W0KIE) - Telstar 6 Ch 1 - 6.2/6.8 WTND-LP Macomb 106.3, WQNA FM, WBCQ 7415 kHz & the Internet. Heard Fridays 9pm ET, Sundays 12am ET and Tuesdays 2am ET (Folk) An Independent Freeform Eclectic Radio Show. http://www.tomanddarryl.org http://www.wtnd.us Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
