ARLINGTON, Va.-Since the National Communications System no longer pays for wireless priority access service, some phones are being returned because agencies can no longer afford them, said the NCS’s Kathy Blasco on Wednesday at a meeting of the Telecommunications Service Priority System Oversight Committee.
States and localities are saying, “It’s this (wireless priority access) or we put gas in the police cars,” said Blasco.
Wireless priority access service is an add-on available to certain specified entities.
Previously NCS paid the extra charges associated with WPS but due to funding cuts that is no longer true, said Blasco.
Currently T-Mobile USA Inc. is the only WPS-available carrier. It will be a year before Cingular Wireless L.L.C., AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Nextel Communications Inc. come on board. It will be at least two years before the CDMA technical glitches will be worked out allowing Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS to offer WPS.
