Federal Study Identifies Solutions to Improve Emergency Radio Coverage in Pendleton County Within National Radio Quiet Zone
A new federal engineering study has concluded that emergency radio coverage in Pendleton County, West Virginia, can be significantly enhanced without compromising the National Radio Quiet Zone. The two-year study, commissioned by the U.S. National Science Foundation and National Security Agency, examined the impact of the Quiet Zone on public safety radio and communications systems in Pendleton and Pocahontas counties. Currently, Pendleton County's public safety radio infrastructure provides approximately 47% mobile coverage and 49% portable radio coverage, falling significantly short of the nationwide standard of 95%. Large portions of the county, particularly areas with challenging terrain, suffer from unreliable or non-existent radio service. The National Radio Quiet Zone, established in 1958, protects radio-frequency-sensitive federal facilities, including the Sugar Grove Research Station in Pendleton County and the Green Bank Observatory in Pocahontas County, spanning roughly 13,000 square miles acros...