As noted in my previous blog, I moderated a Narrowbanding Panel at the APCO Annual Conference on August 21. Roberto Mussenden, the FCC Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau point of contact for narrowbanding, pointed out that there has been a lot of progress by licensees. Both the total number and the percent of public safety licensees that are still licensed at 25 kHz-only operation have been more than cut in half over the last two years. However, there are still about 35%, or roughly 37,000, licenses in the FCC database that are 25 kHz emission-only licenses.
If you are one of these, you need to immediately submit to the FCC either (1) a license modification application to include 12.5 kHz or better emission designators, or (2) a waiver request to continue operating temporarily at 25 kHz beyond the Jan. 1, 2013 deadline. The only exceptions are 12.kHz or 6.25 kHz equivalent efficient systems that operate on 25 kHz channels. Roberto emphasized that last-minute waiver requests will “be viewed with skepticism and not likely granted.” He also urged licensees to check their license data in the database and advise the FCC licensing bureau if there are any errors. Finally, he let the attendees know that the FCC Enforcement Bureau will soon issue guidance reminding licensees of their obligation and of the FCC’s intent to aggressively enforce the mandate. That FCC Enforcement Advisory No. 2012-05 was indeed issued on August 22.