Inman hired to move station frequencies

OXFORD COUNTY — The federal government is requiring all law enforcement agencies to complete a transition to narrow-band radio frequencies by January 1, 2013.

Thanks largely to the efforts of two of the region's finest, it is hoped that Oxford County will complete the transition this July, nearly a year and a half ahead of schedule.

Oxford County Regional Communications Center Director James Miclon said that juggling the responsibilities of the transition along with his other duties was becoming overwhelming.

"It was a nightmare," said Miclon. "... It was really difficult to do."

So when Maine's Emergency Management Association (MEMA) was able to provide funding for a six-month, full-time hire that could shoulder the burden, Miclon jumped at the chance.

He hired Geff Inman, who is also the chief of the Woodstock Fire Department.

"We came up with a very short list," said Miclon. "Geff was the first person, and the only person, I called."

The call came at a good time for Inman, who had been laid off months ago from his regular job as an electrician.

"The jobs aren't easy to find in Woodstock right now," said Inman.

Now, Inman is using the expertise and relationships that come with years of volunteering to help emergency services transition to narrow-band.

"He came in with his feet on the ground and running before he even came in the door," said Miclon.

The transition involves hundreds of logistical problems that Inman helps to solve.

There are dozens of fire departments, law enforcement agencies, ambulance services, and rescue services. For each department, pagers, central radios, and portable radios have to be brought into phase with the new system, which transmits through the several call towers in the county.

"Every department has a different issue," said Inman. "With some of them it's programming, with some of them it's equipment, with some of them it's money."

Inman says that some departments have prepared for the transition well in advance, and are better-prepared to make the switch, while other departments are struggling to fully equip themselves in a compressed period of time.

"I've been working with towns to make sure they have what they need," said Inman.

Miclon says that some naysayers within the agencies have questioned his decision to move forward as quickly as possible, but he sees it as a way to minimize the costs.

To apply for both a narrowband and a broadband license simultaneously would have created an extra expense.

"We had to hire a FCC lawyer in Maryland," said Miclon. "The attorney said, 'you must convert to narrow-band unless you have $100,000 in your pocket,' and I don't have $100,000 in my pocket."

"Due to the fact that we are applying for a new radio license frequency, it would have been very costly to apply for two licenses," said Miclon. "The bottom line is that it would have been costly."

Miclon says that, based on the advice of the attorney and other factors, a speedy transition will prevent added costs, like legal fees, from continuing to accrue.

Inman says that the goal is to have the entire county converted by July 11.

The switch to narrow-band is being federally-mandated as a means of conserving the amount of bandwidth used by emergency services. Advances in technology have placed more demand upon available bandwidth, which has fueled the conversion.