2004

REGIONAL INITIATIVES

The World According to... Regional Operations - Spectrum Management (RCRO)

By Erin Nuytten

Editors Note: Welcome to the latest addition to the P&NR Connections! We are proud to present to you a new monthly features section that was introduced by BEST's first i2i campaign on improving internal communications. It was suggested that we include a special section on a branch and/or directorate to find out what they do, who works for them and who their clients are. Please take the time to find out what your colleagues are up to....you might learn something new!

Regional Operations - Spectrum Management is a team of ten people - a director, an administrator, and eight technologists and engineers - that specialize in managing Canada’s Radio Spectrum. They are part of the Spectrum Management & Telecommunications branch of SITT.

All members of this group work in Winnipeg, except Wayne Janzen, who works out of Grande Prairie, AB. The group consists of a director, Cheryl Slack, an administrator, Linda Bialek, and eight specialists: Borys German, Wayne Janzen, Bill Klymochko, Dan Lemoine, Ron Nicolas, Cal Rawluk, Paul Rodzinski and Pawas Verma. The team also consults with five other specialists who provide expertise in areas such as Maritime and Aeronautical Licensing. They are: Richard Jackson, Tony Beck and Rob Longley in Saskatoon, Larry Sawchyn in Regina and Jim Laursen in Victoria, B.C.

The Spectrum Management Program is a legislative and regulatory organization that works to ensure fair and equitable access to the Radio Frequency Spectrum. This includes Spectrum used by police, fire, cellular service providers, broadcasters and equipment manufacturers of license-exempt radio devices such as garage door openers.
 

RCRO’s clients consist of all Spectrum Management Officers (SMO), Technical Assistants and Spectrum Managers in the six district offices of the P&NR. They provide policy and procedure advice, represent the region at national meetings and on working groups, provide support to district office staff, and comment on national policy. For example, Borys German is responsible for technical support associated with Broadband technology, Dan Lemoine looks after automated monitoring equipment and Wayne Janzen coordinates enforcement. Recently, Wayne has been working with the RCMP to search out illegal satellite users, because the signals can interfere with aeronautical radio communications.

Considering the breadth of expertise in this group, and the space limitations of this article, the best places to find out each member’s individual specialties is on the SITT Yellow pages or the Regional Operations Staff Responsibility Chart - affectionately referred to as the RCRO Matrix.

Interesting facts:

• They are currently an all male team that is kept in line by two females: Linda, the chief administrator, and Cheryl, the mountain climbing director.

• Their ‘junior’ man has almost 20 years of experience.

• Within the group, there is a Rotational, Developmental Position that allows an SMO to get a regional perspective on Spectrum Management for a term of two years. That position is currently occupied by Paul Rodzinski from the Manitoba District Office.

• The acronym RCRO goes back a few years, originating in the late 1980's. It literally means Région du Centre/Central Region Operations, which was the group’s bilingual name back then. Although the name of our region has changed, the acronym has stuck.