Friday fragments - critical comms news for 1 May

A round-up of the week's critical communications and public safety radio news for Friday, 1 May 2015.

Spectrum auction attracts three bidders. The German spectrum agency says the auction for the 700, 900, 1500 MHz and 1800 MHz bands has attracted three bidders: Telekom Deutschland, Vodafone Germany and Telefonica Deutschland. "Germany will be the first country in Europe to make spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency band available for mobile broadband," said Jochen Homann, the president of Germany's Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency), adding, "We expect the auction to provide a strong impetus for a rapid rollout of the broadband networks, especially in rural areas." The auction will commence on 27 May.

ACMA lowers amateur licence fees. The ACMA has lowered the cost of an annual amateur radio licence renewal from $74 to $51. The cost of a new licence has made a small jump from $74 to $75.

Radios useless inside. In a situation that is all too common around the world, first responders in Columbia, Missouri, have drawn attention to the inability of their radios to work inside the buildings of a high school that is only two years old. "If we are in an emergency situation in that building, our crews inside can't communicate with the 911 centre or other crews outside," Assistant Fire Chief Brad Fraizer told ABC17 News. Mobile phones are no better, with users having to walk outside to get a signal.

Undersea comms. US defence research organisation DARPA is calling for ideas for next-generation underwater communications systems. The agency is seeking "high-risk/high-payoff breakthroughs in all modalities of undersea communications technologies".

Emergency comms exercise. The US state of Oregon has just held its biggest ever emergency communications exercise, with over 300 people involved in the test of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management's (OEM) amateur radio test. The OEM's Amateur Radio Unit is part of the Emergency Services System and comprises FCC licensed amateur radio operators and interested volunteers. Oregon sits on a major crustal fault zone and officials are concerned about the potential for a magnitude 9+ earthquake occurring soon. The OEM exercise took place on 25 April, the same day a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal.

The birthplace of radio lives on. Although the original Marconi factory in Chelmsford, UK, was demolished long ago, a water tower building still stands, and is now the home of Chelmsford Community Radio.