By the end of 2012, all industrial, local and state government and public safety two-way radio systems operating at frequencies below 512 MHz will be required to move to 12.5 kHz narrowband voice channels instead of the traditional 25 kHz channel bandwidths used in the past. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that narrowbanding be completed by January 1, 2013. What does this mean for you and others in our industry?  For those who do not replace, upgrade or modify their existing systems operating in these bands, they will face loss of their communication capabilities, which in cases can be vital in saving lives. Although the migration deadline for the initiative seems far off with over a year remaining, the FCC is already moving full speed ahead with the deadline in clear sight.

This can be seen already; the FCC will no longer grant applications for new voice operations or applications to expand existing stations that use 25 kHz channels.  Only those with narrowband authorizations will be granted.  In addition, the FCC has begun prohibiting the manufacture of new equipment that solely utilizes 25 kHz channels.  This has reduced the availability of new equipment for legacy radio systems and will affect how agencies and companies maintain and upgrade older systems. 

Don’t wait, start planning now!  The FCC has made it clear that any operations not abiding by the narrowbanding initiative will NOT be able to operate on a secondary basis after the January 1, 2013 deadline.  The public safety sector in particular, must work diligently to develop a plan and strategy to meet the deadlines to avoid cancellation of existing FCC authorizations. 

To avoid repercussions and cancelations by the FCC as well as costly expenditures, follow these steps for migration:

1. Take inventory—review current equipment to determine what can be converted and what will need to be replaced.

2. Develop budget requirements, explore funding options and establish an implementation schedule.

3. Obtain new or modified licenses to be properly licensed by the FCC.

4. Inspect and upgrade—monitoring your RF lines and surge protection devices is a crucial step in the migration as years in the field can significantly increase signal degradation that affects your critical electronics.

5. Protect your investment in your equipment with power and signal integrity solutions to defend communication systems and critical electronics from lightning and power anomalies.

If HC Global can provide further assistance to you in understanding this critical mandate which affects thousands of organizations across the country please do not hesitate in contacting us.