By Jennifer Lin, Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
The Philadelphia Police Department has warned officers about 25 locations where it believes cell-phone calls may be interferring with public-safety radios.
In an announcement sent out in the last week, all police officers were alerted to locations throughout the city that could present problems with radio communication.
The announcement follows a summer of increasing complaints from public-safety workers, especially firefighters, about blocked radio calls.
Two cell-phone carriers in the city - Nextel and Cingular - operate on the 800-megahertz band of radio frequency, the same spectrum as the city’s police and fire systems.
Because the signals bump up against each other, cell-phone calls can create “noise” on public-safety bands.
In response to complaints, the city’s Public Property Department hired a consultant to verify the existence of interference. Experts came up with a list of 44 locations, including all of Grays Ferry.
Deputy Police Commissioner Charles Brennan said the police list was narrowed to 25 sites because some of the other locations were too broad or imprecise.
“Some of the sites were puzzling to us,” Brennan said.
Of the 24 police districts across the city, 14 have locations where officers may experience interference with the radio system.
“Our biggest problem are two to three specific areas,” Brennan said. “The others are more sporadic.”
Brennan said the locations where officers have reported persistent problems are Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill near the Chestnut Hill Hospital; Ridge Avenue near cluster of radio towers in Roxborough; and Pine Road in Northeast Philadelphia.