MoveTheTower Newsletter - http://www.highway60.com/MoveTheTower
February 20, 2005
Table of Contents
1) Gov. Doyle Signs Executive Order #87 To Avoid Disasters like Sauk County's New Network!
2) Communications Expert Calls Sauk County's Project a "Travesty"!
3) The Bottom Line by Mark Culverhouse
1) On Feb 2, 2005 Governor Doyle Signs Executive Order to Stop Counties from Wasting Money on Non-Interoperable Communications Projects like Sauk County's!
Executive Order #87 - Relating to the Creation of the State
Interoperability Executive Council (SIEC).
The Governor wants to end problems caused by obsolete, non-interoperable
systems, e.g., "emergency first responders and other vital emergency services
utilize different radio frequencies and technologies that are often not
interoperable". Sauk County is currently spending $6,000,000 to replace their
obsolete non-interoperable network with a brand new obsolete non-interoperable
network.
In light of this new order from the governor will the Board of Supervisors rethink their December vote to go ahead with this project? After all, the supervisors did know about the Department of Homeland Security requirements and how it implied that the county's new network was obsolete. I mailed each supervisor a Dear Supervisor letter on October 3, 2004. The first two paragraphs are included below:
In my previous letter I tried to make the case that the cost of a county-wide communications network based on the new 802.16 (WiMax) and 802.11 (Wi-Fi) wireless Internet technology is less than the cost of the upgrade to existing technology. In addition to cost, there are other advantages of the new wireless technology that should be considered. Since the wireless system uses the Internet, every resident can use the network as well as the emergency services. For emergency services the wireless network also represents the next generation of interoperable communications that meet the requirements set by the Department of Homeland Security.
April 26, 2004, “The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate today announced the release of the first comprehensive Statement of Requirements (SoR) document outlining future technology requirements for public safety wireless communications and interoperability”.(1) “The Statement of Requirements is a critical document that will provide first responders with the architectural framework for future interoperable public safety communications," said Dr. David Boyd, Director, SAFECOM.(3
To read the entire letter go to: http://www.highway60.com/MoveTheTower/dearsupervisor_041003.htm
Executive Order #87 go to: http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/journal_media_detail.asp?prid=938
2) Communications Engineer Calls Sauk County Project a "Travesty"!
At a meeting in Lone Rock on February 11, 2005, sponsored by Southwest Wisconsin Regional Economic Development Coalition, Ken Schlager, Ph.D., P.E., President, Bioelectromagnetics, Inc. stated when asked about the Sauk County communication tower project said it was "a travesty" to not consider wireless Internet. This was reported by the Spring Green Home News in their February 16, 2005 issue on page 9.
Schlager discussed his design for Rusk County. The design is a two-tiered design for a high-speed 802.16 WiMAX and 802.11 WiFi hierarchical mesh network. This system could support applications like telephone calls and telemedicine, i.e., virtual visits with your health providers. Dr. Schlager stated that counties in the US like Sauk County have already fallen behind the public networks in South Korea, Singapore and China. Most Sauk County residents outside of towns have the equivalent of third-world telecommunications capabilities.
In this same meeting in Lone Rock, Mr. Schlager estimated it would cost $900,000 to cover a county like Sauk County with one tier of the two-tiered design. So a rough total estimate would be $2,000,000 for a complete network. Mr. Stieve told the Board of Supervisors at the Board Meeting on September 21, 2004 that his rough estimate was $62,000,000.
The Sauk County project is an engineering project without an engineer. And just like a speeding freight train without an engineer, it's heading for a crash. The question is when will enough supervisors realize what is happening with our tax dollars. The county supervisors rely on Mr. Stieve's advice, but the supervisors need to verify that his advice is correct. He is not a registered engineer.
September 21, 2004 Letter Re: Board of Supervisors Meeting
where Tim Stieve Gave $62,000,000 Estimate:
http://www.highway60.com/MoveTheTower/dearsupervisor_040925.htm
Here is a link the the February 16, 2005 Home News article
(247K jpg scan):
http://www.highway60.com/MoveTheTower/images/homenews_050216.jpg
3) The Bottom Line
The wireless Internet technology is an unstoppable wave that undermines the Sauk County's tower project. The county Board of Supervisors have voted to spend $6,000,000 to replace one obsolete system with another. They have voted their confidence in their communications administrator who brazenly misled them in a public hearing about the better and cheaper alternative. They have voted to take the advice of their "loophole" lawyer who advised the county that the ordinance that requires a registered engineer's report and public hearings for building a tower does not apply to taxpayer-paid projects. They have voted against wireless Internet in Sauk County while other cities and counties move forward. Each supervisor has been advised in writing on all of these topics yet 21 still voted to continue anyway.
How long must Sauk County residents wait for the supervisors to put a stop to this project and hire a professional to run the project? The wasted $6,000,000 is only part of the cost to county residents who may have to wait years for wireless Internet service.
Mark Culverhouse
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