The Honorable John F. Kerry
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
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DEMOCRATIC POLlCY & COMM~I~ ~\
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June 8, 2015 ~ ~\}~~. ~
The Honorable Thomas Wheeler ~~\' ~~~~~
Chairman ~ \.;~\'
Federal Communications Commission ~
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
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CHARLES E. SCHUMER
NEW YORK
Dear Secretary Kerry and Chairman Wheeler,
I am writing to ask for your immediate assistance with an important issue in my home state of
New York. In Wyoming County, first responders have been working diligently over the last
several years to improve their emergency communications. They secured significant grant
funding, which will expire next year, in order to complete this project. However they have run
into a substantial bureaucratic hurdJe in securing Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequencies
for the county to operate Fire and EMS communications. Wyoming County is located extremely
close to the Canadian border, and because of the county's proximity to Canada, they are forced
to get approval from the Canadian government for their new radio frequency. Unfortunately, the
county has run up against repeated roadblocks and cannot even get the Canadian government to
schedule an On-Air- Test (OAT), which must be done in coordination with the FCC. Wyoming
has secured a grant for $1.8 million to pay for new radios and tower equipment, but because
Canada has yet to permit access the frequency needed, the project has been severely delayed.
The project will put a new radio in every fire/EMS unit in the county and allow complete
interoperability with all aspects of public safety in Wyoming County.
It is my understanding that traditionally, the FCC has taken the laboring oar with respect to U.S.-
Canadian frequency coordination. However the time sensitive need of Wyoming County and the
potential effect that securing an emergency frequency can have is sufficiently important that I
believe that the State Department should intervene to help ensure a successful result. I have
previously urged the State Department and the FCC to work together to deal with cross-border
frequency issues; I still firmly believe that the decisions about coordination between the U.S. and
Canada will affect numerous U.S. citizens who live near the border and should be made with the
benefit of the State Department's international negotiations expertise.
I would also ask that the FCC continue their work with Wyoming County to ensure that once any
remaining issues between the county and Canada are resolved the county is then able to quickly
and efficiently acquire and set up their frequency communications.
*hllp:lischumer.senl!te.gov
I hope both the State Department and the Commission will work together to resolve this issue
quickly. Thank you for your assistance in this matter and I look forward to continuing our work
together to ensure the availability of emergency communications both in New York State and
nationwide.
~U-
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator