Lake County, CA officials plan on creating an ordinance requiring cell tower owners to provide reciprocity for all cell carriers, directly correlated to emergency services, reported the Record-Bee. At issue, is that cell towers owned by a company sometimes do not allow access to phones linked to other providers.
“The major costs to the sirens are the tower, the electricity and all that kind of stuff, but if we have a cell tower, why can’t we have a siren attached to the tower as well? That would be such a little burden on them and maybe something we can move forward with future applications depending upon the location,” District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown told the Record-Bee. “I’m just not convinced that we have seen the last of disaster.”
Since law enforcement officers and first responders access different service networks from county to county, or even within a county, the issue of needing continuous connectivity is real, noted Brown.
Additionally, the lack of notifications via cell phones to residents during emergencies is a concern and became apparent during fires when cell phone users either failed to receive alerts or experienced a delay.
While the state is working on a defined process to address these issues, the county is trying to fast-track their solution by implementing legislation through the permitting process. According to Brown, a new ordinance, if approved, would ensure more thorough and timely notifications for both emergency personnel and residents.
Regarding the impact on carriers, County Council Anita Grant noted, “I would think…the cell companies would want to do this because having the ability to claim we are integral to public safety is a big marker to put down with the board when it comes to other things they want to do within the county.”
To make this ordinance a reality, county staff will be talking with various groups to obtain recommendations and present information to the board for review.
January 31, 2018
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