APCO AFC Forges Ahead      

 In the last year, APCO AFC has made great strides in the development of its frequency coordination system, which is integrated with the FCC’s ULS (Universal Licensing System).   APCO has been busy developing proprietary software that eases the pain and allows APCO to process your applications quickly and with greater accuracy than ever before.  You, as public safety consumers, will be the beneficiaries of APCO’s advancements.   

It’s been about a year since the FCC announced that ULS and the new FCC 601 Licensing Form would offer essentially a zero-tolerance policy for application errors.  It was easy to understand why applicants decided to wait until the smoke cleared before updating radio licenses or applying for new ones.  The new licensing process is very different and intimidating, but you can no longer afford to put off taking care of business.  The time has come to get your licensing back on track or risk losing precious frequencies. 

The APCO AFC processing staff has developed an unsurpassed knowledge of the ULS/601 process, requirements and procedures.  They have the tools to help you get your radio system licensed properly.  On the other side of the network, APCO’s Local Advisors have been thoroughly trained on the new software to make sure frequency coordination is done accurately and offers the best use of the spectrum.  Local Advisors are available to educate and assist you locally with the coordination process. 

By choosing APCO AFC as your frequency coordinator, you become part of a team of 17 dedicated full-time staff employees located in the APCO Headquarters facility.  Our staff has the expertise to assist you with all you application questions as well as an engineering staff to lend a hand in determining RF spectrum requirements. 

By choosing APCO, you will have chosen the oldest, most experienced and most technically advanced public safety coordinating agency.  But most importantly, we are customer oriented, to offer you individualized attention. 

By choosing APCO AFC, you get the assistance of over 70 active Local Advisors across the country.  APCO provides them with training, hardware, software and all the essentials needed to perform quality frequency coordination.  But the most important thing you will receive from Local Advisors is their vast knowledge of local politics and issues, FCC Rules and Regulations, and years of experience.  No other public safety frequency coordinator has near the resources, knowledge and experience to compare with APCO.  APCO takes great pride in its Local Advisors. 

By choosing APCO AFC, you get more than just frequency coordination.  You help support public safety communications spectrum issues.  APCO’s fees support regulatory issues that involve protecting public safety communication at a national level.  The APCO Board, Staff and committees frequently visit lawmakers and politicians to keep abreast of the pulse of public safety communications and monitor issues and events that effect your present and future communication needs.  By choosing APCO, you help ensure that the emergency communications needs of American citizens will be effective and efficient. 

Don’t let your license changes intimidate you any longer.  With the FCC’s increased enforcement and trend toward zero-tolerance, it is important for you to make sure your licenses are updated to match your actual system.  There’s no better way to make this happen than to call the APCO Team. 

The APCO Team is ready to help you with all of your licensing questions.  Give us a call at 888-272-6911, so we can get you started in the right direction.   Check out our web site at: www.apcoafc.org, or e-mail us at afc@apco911.org. 

by, Cheryl Harrer, AFC Deputy Director