FCC Moves Back Some Narrowbanding Deadlines

Along the road to making the nation’s wireless spectrum more efficiently used, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has posted a “Go Slow-er” sign. The Commission has accepted a petition by a public safety radio group to delay certain deadlines regarding its long-term plan to require public safety and other users of the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands to begin using radio gear that uses a narrower slice of the spectrum. The FCC’s so-called “narrowbanding” project would end use of 25 kHz channels, in favor of 12.5 kHz and eventually 6.25 KHz channels. In a petition filed by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council last September, the group suggested moving back an interim January 2011 deadline, saying it was too soon and would hamper public safety operations and increase costs to agencies that were trying to comply with the final 2013 deadline. In its order, the FCC moved back a deadline to end the import or manufacture of 25 kHz gear, but retained the deadline on prohibiting 25 kHz gear certifications. The FCC also maintained the final 2013 deadline. Download (pdf) the FCC’s official order with deadline explanations here.