Zirkel Wireless and Resort Broadband are NOT against a new generation smart grid water meter system.  We believe that the technology can greatly improve our water system and water conservation. However, we are VERY AGAINST using the 902-928Mhz frequency band for such a system for the following 3 reasons.

***Interference is a 2 way street***

1.  You will receive interference.  

902-928 is FCC approved for HAM radio (part 97) and ISM (part 15) rules.  HAM radio has no power limits, could be ~410W or more.  ISM which this water meter system and our Internet systems use is limited 36db ~4W.

- The life of this water meter project is 20-25 years (the last meters were installed in 1988-1990)
- The cost of this project is $1,000,000
- There is no guarantee that in 20-25 years you will not get interference that will disable parts or all of your system.  This spectrum is already crowded and noisy around Steamboat Springs. (see spectrum analysis graphs from Zirkel Wireless and Resort Broadband)

It is completely unwise to invest $1,000,000 of public money in a system that is not guaranteed to work when there are systems out there that use licensed spectrum and are guaranteed to work.

2.  You will be interfering with Zirkel Wireless and Resort Broadband who are currently using the 902-928Mhz band to deliver Internet which is a much needed resource for communication, commerce, education and many other reasons.

- You will be installing 3,200 water meters, 9 repeater sites and 3 collection sites.  This will create a huge bubble of interference around Steamboat Springs and disrupt Internet service to potentially 150 or more clients between our 2 companies.

- We charge on average $50/mo. for service which is $7,500/mo. in revenue between our 2 companies.  That is approximately the salary of 2 full time employees making $45,000/year.

- Zirkel Wireless and Resort Broadband have worked very had over several years to share this limited resource.  We even had an engineer from Motorola come to Steamboat Springs to help us figure out how to share this spectrum.  Even though we are competitors we worked out a solution for both companies and our clients.

3.  The interference you will cause to our systems will eliminate the use of the Internet to 150 or more residents and businesses.  These clients that we have on the 900Mhz system have no other Internet options.  They will be forced to either return to dial up or move somewhere that they can get Internet.

In collusion there have been many broadband meetings because our area currently lacks the infrastructure to provide the same Internet services available in densely populated metropolitan areas.  The 900Mhz spectrum is one of the few tools we have to bridge that divide.  This water system will for 25 years destroy the ability to use that spectrum in Steamboat Springs.  During these broadband meetings Mike Schmidt the Information Systems Manager for the city of Steamboat Springs asked both Zirkel Wireless and Resort Broadband what our opinion of such a system was and we stated then as we do now that it is a bad idea for the city, for our businesses and for the Internet users in the area.

We politely ask the city to immediately change course and install a licensed system that will avoid all these issues and "future proof" our $1,000,000 investment in the next generation water system.