Krista Langlois, Valley News Staff Writer, Valley News (White River Junction, Vermont)

Norwich — Norwich has a problem, and it isn’t alone.

“This problem is being faced right now by every fire, police and public works department in the United States,” interim Town Manager said Neil Fulton.

Or at the very least, it’s a problem now faced by many towns in hilly, rural northern New England: Loss of licensure of their emergency radio communications system license if they don’t adopt sweeping technological changes mandated by the government, Fulton told a public forum last night.

Beginning in 2013, the Federal Communications Commission is doubling channel capacity nationwide, turning broadband signals to narrowband signals. The move will aid emergency communications services in dense urban areas, but presents a hard sell for rural towns where technology lags. Nonetheless, while updating technology to accommodate the new mandate will cost money, it’ll also ultimately boost communications capabilities, a move welcomed by public safety officials.

For Norwich, the cost comes in the form of building a new $762,511 tower near the public works garage on New Boston Road to help it comply with the new FCC standards, as well as improve its current less-than-optimal system. In some cases, coverage will improve by up to 70 percent.

Like many small towns, Norwich’s fire, police and public works departments currently use a broadband, 25-kHz system for radio, mobile and pager use. If the new federal mandates are put in place without a massive technology upgrade, Norwich’s coverage will decrease dramatically. And it isn’t very good to begin with.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve always been talking about lack of radio coverage,” said Police Chief Doug Robinson, who came to Norwich 12 years ago. “There are areas now where officers cannot or will not stop vehicles because they cannot talk to anybody.”

Last week, for instance, Robinson responded to an accident on Waterman Hill Road and couldn’t talk to dispatch because neither his radio nor cell phone could pick up a signal. Only when he returned to the police station did he discover there was an arrest warrant out for the man who’d been in the accident.

“Luckily, the guy was cooperative and came back,” Robinson said.

Public works officials and members of the town’s volunteer fire department face similar issues. One fire fighter reluctantly resigned because he wasn’t able to get a pager signal at his house, Fire Chief Steve Leinoff said.

“It’s a real problem,” added public works director Andy Hodgdon. “I’ve never had anybody get hurt, but the potential’s there.”

After hiring a consultant, Norwich officials determined that the best scenario to improve existing conditions and comply with new federal standards is to build a 180-foot radio tower on a hill above the public works garage on New Boston Road. The entire project will cost more than $700,000, plus unspecified annual maintenance costs. (Grants may be available, Fulton said.) The proposed tower will not have a blinking red light, as it’s too low to affect aircraft.

Currently, police radio frequencies are transmitted from Hurricane Hill in Hartford, fire from Hayes Hill in Etna and public works from the town garage on New Boston Road. Under the proposed plan, dispatch calls would still go through Hartford and Hanover, respectively, but transmissions will also be sent from the Norwich tower.

Residents in attendance at last night’s forum voiced concerns over aesthetic impact, taxpayer cost and health issues.

As it’s currently proposed, the tower will not increase cell phone coverage in Norwich, but the potential to work with cell phone carriers exists if the carriers are amenable, Capital Facilities Committee Chairman Tom Gray said last night.

Fulton said that some towns, such as Randolph and Sharon, have already addressed the impending communications situation. He, who also is a member of the Capital Facilities Planning and Budgeting Committee that oversees the project, expects to see other towers cropping up across the Upper Valley over the next several years.

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