This is a draft template letter to Senators. You are encouraged to put it in your own words. Do not worry about grammar. Mistakes indicate that this is a real letter and not some that has been computer generated. Due to security, it can take many weeks to be delivered, so we are requesting that these letters be sent to CSAA rather than sent directly to Congress.

To Your Senator:

The Honorable (full name)
(Room #) (Building Name) Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:

My company (name of company) which is located at (address of company or start the letter “ I live at – address – and work for a burglar and fire alarm company in – name of state – use your address in the same state”).

Companies such as mine protect the life, safety and property of your constituents through the use of home and business alarm systems. We serve as the eyes and ears of first responders. In very many instances, we are the ones who notify the police or fire fighters that there is a threat to public safety. That is why we are concerned about any proposal which would result in confiscating the alarm industry frequencies for auction. We are using these frequencies both within the home or business and to transmit from the home or business to a central monitoring station.

Currently, burglar and fire alarm companies use the frequencies between 300 and 350 MHz and at 900 MHz for the transmission of short range signals within the premises to the control panel on the premises. The industry uses the frequencies between 450 to 470 MHz. to transmit long range emergency signals from the home or business to the monitoring company. As recently, as three years ago the FCC discontinued the AMPS cellular radio system which many in the industry was using. Because of the FCC’s decision, the industry incurred the cost of purchasing and installing over 300,000 transmitters in the 450 to 470 MHz. band at a cost of millions to us and our customers. Many of the alarm companies using these transmitters are small businesses which could not afford the cost of once again having to replace them. For the other alarm companies, the cost could run in the millions of dollars. To ask us to once again incur this cost would result in an unreasonable financial burden.

While we support efforts to establish a public safety network by Senator Rockefeller (S. 28) and to inventory spectrum by Senators Kerry and Snowe (S. 455), we are opposed to any proposal that would result in auctioning off the frequencies used by the alarm industry (300 to 350 MHz. and 450 to 470 MHz.) as it would compromise our ability to act as the eyes and ears of first responders.

(Your name)

(Signature)