On August 4, 2010, the ARRL filed a Petition to Deny Applications with the FCC to deny 68 pending Public Safety Pool license applications associated with the ReconRobotics Video and Audio Surveillance System. Each license application is accompanied by a waiver request to permit operation of the devices in the 433-445 MHz band. The applications were coordinated by APCO International Inc Licensing Services -- the frequency coordinator for the public safety land mobile radio services -- and would allow the use of the Recon Scout product currently being marketed by ReconRobotics pursuant to an FCC waiver.

“While several issues factor into the ARRL’s Petition to Deny these applications, most notable is that the Commission has not acted on the ARRL’s Petition for Reconsideration in WP Docket 08-63, which has been pending since March of this year,” said ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. “That petition raises issues that should be addressed prior to any action on the individual applications. Granting applications based on the Docket 08-63 waiver, which is not final, would be premature. There is the potential for significant interference from these devices to licensed operations in the amateur 70 cm band. We urge the FCC to take thoughtful and expedient action on our Petition for Reconsideration.”

The Petition to Deny also noted incorrect technical parameters and frequency ranges in each filed application, stemming from errors in the grant of equipment authorization for the ReconRobotics device, as well as inconsistencies between the applications and the FCC waiver grant for the device in Docket 08-63.