​​The Michigan Public Safety Frequency Advisory Committee (MPSFAC)
​Region 21

In June of 1946, Michigan state and local government units began being served by the Michigan Public Safety Frequency Advisory Committee (MPSFAC). This committee was one of the first established in the U.S.

The geographic area served by MPSFAC has been designated as "Region 21" in regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission. Within Region 21, MPSFAC assists those entities with radio communication networks in the 39, 155, 460, 700 and 800 MHz electromagnetic spectrums.
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Boundaries for Region 21 vary depending upon which portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is being coordinated. MPSFAC assists in the coordination of frequencies for public safety agencies including the Michigan State Police, all Sheriff and local law enforcement agencies, local government units such as counties, townships and cities and several other agencies and organizations.

MPSFAC History

Italian inventor Guiglielmo Marconi achieved the first transcontinental communications via radio in 1908. However, 13 years would go by before the first police communications using radio was demonstrated when, in 1921 radio enthusiasts on the Detroit Police Department initiated the first police radio dispatch system. The system used in Detroit allowed officers in a patrol vehicle to listen to calls broadcast from the police station. It wasn’t until the 1930s that further improvements in the radio art allowed officers to talk back to the dispatchers from their vehicles. Advances in technology allowed manufacturers to develop the new “two-way” radio equipment on frequency bands that were previously considered unsuitable for radio communications. Consequently, more and more police agencies became interested in constructing radio stations; so much so that competition for channels began to arise.

As a result of this competition, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Secretary T.J. Slowie wrote an open letter recommending police agencies seeking licensure on the new “Ultra High Frequency” band form local associations to coordinate frequency assignments and resolve disputes. In August 1938, the Chiefs of Police of Lincoln Park, Ecorse, Wyandotte, Detroit and Grosse Pointe signed an agreement titled “A Plan for the Allocation of U.H.F. Channels in the Detroit Metropolitan Area.” Thus, the first local committee for the allocation of public safety frequency resources in Michigan was born. An early adopter of the UHF band was the State of Michigan by the construction of a large, statewide system operating around 42 MHz. (Mega Hertz is abbreviated MHz and is named after Heinrich Hertz, the discoverer of the radio wave phenomena.)

The Michigan Public Safety Frequency Advisory Committee (MPSFAC) was formally constituted in 1946. Its purpose, as the police chiefs’ committee before it, is to advise Michigan public safety agencies interested in pursuing communications system licensing. The committee enjoys the continued support of the FCC to this day.

In fact, today the radio spectrum is shared among many groups and commercial entities. These range from AM broadcast radio stations to Amateur Radio enthusiasts or “HAMS” to aircraft radios, police, fire and EMS radio stations and FM radio and television broadcast stations. Beyond television stations can be found commercial cellular telephone and 4G services. And beyond these may be found RADAR and orbiting satellite services. These services occupy the entire breadth of the “electromagnetic spectrum” from the AM Broadcast band below 1 million Hertz or “Mega Hertz” to RADAR and satellite communications services well above 1,000 Mega Hertz and beyond.

Since the 1940s, more and more of this space have been allocated to public safety agencies to meet the ever growing demands from the public for police, fire and EMS services. Both technological advances in the radio art and regulatory changes have spurred this demand. In 1938, for example, Police agencies wrangled over channels in the new “Ultra High Frequency” band centered around 40 MHz. By the 1960s technological advances made it possible for police agencies to request channels in the “new” Ultra High Frequency band centered around 460 MHz! It is to be remembered that equipment capable of operating at 460 MHz was in the realm of science fiction in the1930s! Today, however, police agencies routinely operate on channels in the 700 and 800 MHz bands! And these are the bands that the MPSFAC is primarily concerned with; although this may change as technology continues to open more space in the electromagnetic spectrum for use of public safety and others.

Changes on the regulatory side have also made spectrum available. For example, in 1985 the FCC reallocated TV channels 70 to 79 for use of Public Safety. However, the FCC also stipulated that local agencies could not use this spectrum until a regional planning committee was formed and a plan developed for the allocation and use of the new 800 MHz spectrum. Since the MPSFAC was already a standing committee it’s members, along with others, were tasked with the development of the plan and allocation of the new 800 MHz channels. In 1999, the FCC reallocated TV channels 60 thru 69 to public safety and once again, MPSFAC members were called upon to write a plan governing this new 700 MHz spectrum as well.

The Michigan Public Safety Frequency Advisory Committee is authorized by the FCC to oversee allocation and licensing of the 700 and 800 MHz frequency bands in the State of Michigan. This authorization is embodied under FCC Dockets 87-112 (1987), 90-221 (1990) and 96-86 (1996) and further codified under Title 47 Code of Federal Regulations Part 90 Subpart "R" and "S". The MPSFAC is also charged with the modification and updating of the two regional plans that govern the allocation of 700 and 800 MHz frequencies. Some of the other functions of the committee are: advocate for the implementation of interoperability of public safety radio systems through out the state, inform the public safety community on matters of FCC regulation and public safety communications in general (through the Michigan Chapter of APCO), investigate interference problems brought to the committee’s attention, represent Region 21 (Michigan) before the FCC and other regulatory agencies in regard to proposed policy and rule changes, and assist APCO local Frequency Advisors with their duties as they may request.

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Michigan APCO Frequency Coordinators

The Michigan Public Safety Frequency Advisory Committee (MPSFAC) has assisted coordination efforts since 1946. In the beginning, the Committee served as advisors to eligible entities seeking to acquire a radio license from the FCC for local government and public safety radio systems. At that time approval or approval of MPSFAC was one of the three options the FCC would consider before granting a license. As more and more radio systems were implemented, coordination between units of government became more and more complex. After all, radio signals do not honor township, village, city, county or state border lines.

Thus, spectrum congestion and increasing demand for public radio systems grew dramatically. So, the FCC eventually delegated frequency coordination to specialized agencies which in turn appointed frequency coordinators state-by-state. The following individuals have served as the Frequency Coordinator in Michigan. Names are listed by date of service beginning June 1946.
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• Kenneth O. Winberg, Sgt. MSP
• David Wise, MSP
• David Held, MSP
• Harry Warner, MSP
• William Folske, City of Ann Arbor
• Keith Bradshaw, Macomb County

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