https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • IWCE 2023 Pre-event Guide
    • IWCE 2022 Winter Showcase
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Commentary Newsletters


Commentary

FCC should heed NPSTC concerns about 2011 deadlines

FCC should heed NPSTC concerns about 2011 deadlines

The interim deadline of Jan. 1, 2011 for narrowbanding, includes some stipulations that could have some unexpected interoperability and equipment-cost issues that the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council believes should be avoided.
  • Written by Urgent Communications Administrator
  • 13th October 2009

For most of the radio community, the key target date for narrowbanding from 25 KHz channels to 12.5 KHz channels below 512 MHz is Jan. 1, 2013, because that’s when the job must be completed. But the interim deadline of Jan. 1, 2011, includes some stipulations that could have some unexpected interoperability and equipment-cost issues that the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) believes should be avoided.

That’s why NPSTC recently asked the FCC to adopt a petition to stay the Jan. 1, 2011, deadline, according to NPSTC Chairman Ralph Haller. But before explaining his organization’s reasoning for the petition, Haller emphasized that NPSTC is not looking to delay the ultimate narrowbanding deadline of 2013 in any way.

“NPSTC is not suggesting any chance whatsoever in the 2013 date,” he said. “We are very strongly supporting the 2013 date.”

But NPSTC is not as supportive of the 2011 deadline, which now is less than 15 months away. Current FCC rules prohibit manufacturers from importing or manufacturing equipment that can operate on 25 KHz channels after 2011 and mandate that all equipment be able to operate in 6.25 KHz or equivalent channel efficiency.

These mandates are problematic for public-safety agencies for multiple reasons, Haller said. Agencies planning to make the switch from 25 KHz to 12.5 KHz near the 2013 deadline effectively would not be able to expand their 25 KHz-channel systems after 2011, because equipment likely would not be available.

In addition to this internal issue, there are questions regarding interoperability. If one agency has completed narrowbanding and another one hasn’t, their ability to communicate during an incident could be compromised, Haller said.

“You’ve got 12.5 KHz radios trying to talk to 25 KHz radios, and the net result is — at least for this two-year period — there’s a really good possibility that the interoperability between agencies is going to be adversely affected because people are operating different-bandwidth equipment,” he said.

NPSTC’s third issue with the 2011 deadline is the requirement that vendors include 6.25 KHz efficiency in equipment sold after 2011. The problem is that the Project 25 Phase 2 standard still has not been ratified and likely will not be completed in time for manufacturers to include it in their next generation of products, Haller said.

However, to comply with the FCC mandate, manufacturers will have to develop proprietary 6.25 KHz technologies to include in post-2011 equipment. This will increase the cost of the equipment and likely will be of little benefit to public-safety agencies, most of which will want a standards-based 6.25 KHz solution, Haller said.

“It causes an issue of public-safety entities that are really strapped for money anyway having to pay for a mode of operation in equipment that they likely will never, ever use,” he said.

Of course, public-safety entities and vendors have known about the 2011 deadline for a long time, so the FCC understandably may be hesitant about issuing a stay. More importantly, if the 2011 stipulations are waived, it’s important that the commission word its order in a manner that does not undermine the 2013 date.

And, thus far, there is no indication the FCC is inclined to budge on the 2013 date.

“People can ask for waivers, but I think the commission is going to weigh the fact that these regulations have been out there for so long and the equipment has been available since 1997,” said Jamie Barnett, chief of the FCC’s public-safety and homeland-security bureau. “I’m trying to give [public-safety officials] the information they need to go to their budgeters to say, ‘This really does need to be included now, and we need to finish this transition.’”

That position makes sense. In the meantime, the FCC needs to address the 2011 issues raised by NPSTC, questions regarding enforcement of narrowbanding — what happens if an agency doesn’t narrowband by 2013 — and when interoperability channels should be narrowbanded. Such an FCC notice promises to have an impact in several areas, including agencies should expand systems or whether it’s necessary to stockpile 25 KHz-capable radio equipment after 2011.

Because public-safety agencies need to make budgetary decisions quickly regarding their narrowband migrations, the sooner the FCC can provide such clarity, the better.

Tags: Regulation Commentary Newsletters Commentary Print FCC Narrowbanding NPSTC Policy Commentary

Most Recent


  • Microsoft Outlook vulnerability could be 2023's 'It' bug
    Microsoft recently patched a zero-day vulnerability under active exploit in Microsoft Outlook, identified as CVE-2023-23397, which could enable an attacker to perform a privilege escalation, accessing the victim’s Net-NTLMv2 challenge-response authentication hash and impersonating the user. Now it’s becoming clear that CVE-2023-23397 is dangerous enough to become the most far-reaching bug of the year, security researchers are […]
  • State and local leaders can alleviate the burden on public-safety personnel by tackling three workforce trends
    Government officials and public safety leaders wear many different hats. They serve as sounding boards for constituent complaints and for new ideas that need vetting. They are change agents charged with improving the lives of citizens and colleagues and are tasked with keeping order. Their most daunting responsibility, however, is keeping members of their community […]
  • Telcos need to build businesses, as well as networks
    Telcos are over-invested in 5G in every sense of the phrase. The latest mobile generation has fallen well short of expectations, as recent numbers from analyst firm MTN Consulting attest. Total operator revenue actually declined in the second and third quarters last year, largely as a result of weak service revenues, MTN found. In Q3, for […]
  • Get ready for the summer of spectrum squabbling
    Last week, for the first time ever, Congress allowed the FCC’s spectrum auction authority to lapse – a development that prevents the agency from auctioning more spectrum to 5G network operators. At roughly the same time last week, President Joe Biden’s Democratic nominee to the FCC, Gigi Sohn, abruptly withdrew from contention without any clear replacement. That leaves the […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

To leave a comment login with your Urgent Comms account:

Log in with your Urgent Comms account

Or alternatively provide your name, email address below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • New Orleans-area 911 center inks multiyear APEX deal with Carbyne to replace call-handling system
  • FCC should heed NPSTC concerns about 2011 deadlines
    Newscan: Feds recover millions from pipeline ransom hackers, hint at U.S. Internet tactic
  • Cyber is the new Cold War, and AI is the arms race
  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public

Commentary


Updated: How ‘sidelink’ peer-to-peer communications can enhance public-safety operations

  • 1
27th February 2023

NG911 needed to secure our communities and nation

24th February 2023

How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

State and local leaders can alleviate the burden on public-safety personnel by tackling three workforce trends dlvr.it/SlBH89

20th March 2023
UrgentComm

6G is shaping up to disappoint, and the industry can blame itself dlvr.it/Sl918J

20th March 2023
UrgentComm

Change is coming to the network detection and response (NDR) market dlvr.it/Sl4cts

18th March 2023
UrgentComm

Telcos need to build businesses, as well as networks dlvr.it/Sl4cRR

18th March 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.