Attention All FCC Part 90 VHF & UHF Radio System Managers & Licensees
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all Part 90 Business, Educational, Industrial, Public
Safety, and State and Local Government VHF (150-174 MHz) and UHF (421-512 MHz) private PLMR (Private Land Mobile
Radio) system licensees convert from what has been known as "wide-band" (25 KHz) operation to "narrow-band"
(12.5 KHz or equivalent) operation by January 1, 2013.
Is YOUR Private Radio System "Narrow-band" Ready and FCC Compliant?
In a nutshell, this mandate requires that all currently deployed 25 KHz "wide-band" only conventional and trunked VHF and
UHF two-way hand-held portables, vehicle-mounted mobiles, dispatcher stations, wireless data, telemetry, or SCADA links,
(called subscriber radios), and any associated 25 KHz conventional base or trunked repeaters or relay stations (called
infrastructure radios ) be replaced with 12.5 KHz "narrow-band" (or equivalent) equipment prior to the 2013 date in order
to continue legal use of your licensed radio frequencies beyond that date. In addition, your FCC license must be modified
to reflect this change in the emissions of your system.
The good news is that the mandate does not require licensees to change to new radio frequencies (or channels) or to
another band, nor does it require moving from analog to digital or from a conventional to a trunked radio system. However,
in certain situations or circumstances, these alternatives may be options to carefully and fully explore with the assistance
of a qualified radio or wireless communications professional. The mandate also does not mean that all your radios must
be relegated to the recycling pile; just some of them (maybe) along with some relatively minor re-programming of others.
Many of our clients - as your company or organization should and may be doing - have already begun their "narrow-band"
migration process by replacing older "wide-band" only subscriber radios with dual-mode subscriber radios (those capable
of both 25 KHz and/or 12.5 KHz operation) as they add new radios to their system or, as older radios are lost, damaged
beyond repair, or otherwise removed from service. While this strategy is a practical, cost-effective approach for many,
particularly those with large numbers of subscriber radios in their fleets or those with multiple radio frequencies, bases
and/or repeaters in their system, this method only addresses the first step of a multi-step process.
Unless a radio system is initially implemented as a narrow-band compliant system, as most completely new systems have
been over the last 6-9 years, it is important to realize that many - if not all - dual mode replacement subscriber radios
sold into pre-mandate, or older, conventional or trunked VHF/UHF radio systems over this same time period have typically
been programmed for "wide-band" only operation - not narrowband operation. This "best practices" method was done to
maintain compatibility with existing "wide-band" subscriber and infrastructure radios in those systems. (NOTE: the mixing
of "wide-band" and "narrow-band" radios on the same frequency of a system is generally NOT encouraged nor
recommended due to technical differences/characteristics in the transmitted and received audio of each that can potentially
render most voice - and especially data - transmissions between "wide-band" and "narrow-band" radios unintelligible,
distorted, or unreliable). The "best practices" method also meant that the expense and logistics involved in an "all at once"
or "forklift" deployment of both subscriber radios and infrastructure with "narrow-band" equipment could be deferred till
another day as the year 2013 seemed a long way off.
Because of this, in more instances than one might think, the need to address the deferred replacement of system infrastucture
radios may have inadvertantly been overlooked or even forgotten by some licensees or radio system managers. This is
particularly true when it comes to the many smaller business, educational, or industrial users of two way radio who typically
don't keep up with current FCC Rules or the responsibilities that go along with being a Part 90 licensee, and, who quite often
simply take the use and benefit of their radio systems for granted.
Thus, until your entire radio system - including all subscriber radios and all infrastructure radios - have been either replaced
and/or reprogrammed to operate in the "narrow-band" mode, your radio system is most likely still operating in the "wide-
band" mode - which brings us to the next steps that need to be taken in the migration process.
Do you have an implementation plan - and a budget - to address the final steps necessary to complete the "narrow-band"
migration process and become fully FCC compliant? These steps include the replacement of any remaining 25 KHz subscriber
radios still being used, the procurement and installation of any "narrow-band" base stations or repeaters or other infrastructure
if needed, the coordinated re-programming of all subscriber and infrastructure radios to "narrow-band" operation, and, the
modification of your radio station license to reflect new emission designators.
If you do not, we can help! We urge you to contact us soon for straight answers to your questions and informed
suggestions on how we can be of service to your company or organization - 2013 is NOT that far away, particularly when
budgets may need to be prepared or, where day-to-day operations dependant on uninterrupted radio communications
may be jeopardized by further delays in your migration to "narrow-band" operation and compliance.
Companies and organizations who value and depend upon their Part 90 two-way voice and data radio communications systems
are advised to NOT wait untill the last minute to begin (or to complete) the narrow-banding process. If they do so, they are risking
not only the use of their current radio frequency(s), but the return-on-investment (ROI) and benefits gained from the use of their
radio system equipment as well.
