Friday fragments - comms news from around the web for 3 October 2014

A round-up of the week's critical communications and public safety radio news for Friday, 3 October 2014.

US$6.5m wasted on unused towers. The US military has come under fire for spending US$6.5 million on six communications towers in Afghanistan. Intended to “expand and enhance media provider coverage and telecommunication services to the civilian Afghan population in underserved and strategically important ... provinces via television, radio, and telephonic mediums", the towers remain unused.

Firies and residents clash over tower. Firefighters in Niagara Country, New York, have clashed with residents over the erection of an emergency comms tower. Residents say they weren't consulted and the tower doesn't have a proper permit; the firies say the tower is essential. “I cannot tell you the sinking feeling I get when I'm up on Hillside Drive and we're trying to save the life of a resident and we're calling for advance life support on the radio," Lewiston Fire Co. No. 1 Chief John Penzotti said. “And all I hear is 'Unit calling, you're totally unreadable.'"

Marconi's towers turn 100. Celebrations are about to be held to mark the 100th anniversary of the installation of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company's antenna farm in Marion, Massachusetts. The site, which featured 14 towers more than 120 metres high, handled trans-Atlantic radio traffic, communicating with another station in Norway.

Someone's going to get killed. First responders radios in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, are failing at such rate that the local police chief is concerned someone will die because of it. “Saying I've got one person at gunpoint. And they're not complying," Rose told channel3000.com. “And I'm keying it (radio) and, nothing, nothing, nothing. Or we can hear it click, and then there's nothing. And to hold the radio out from us and reposition it, while holding someone at gunpoint, we're not trained for that."

Emergency radios stashed around city. Worried about what will happen to communications should a huge earthquake hit, the city of Portland, Oregon, has stashed 40 Basic Earthquake Emergency Communications Nodes (BEECN) at various locations. The BEECN stainless steel containers contain UHF radios, along with medical supplies