https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Events
    • 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
    • Cookies Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • Microwave/RF
    • T&D World
    • 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
    • Galleries
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Events
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • WHY ATTEND
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Registration Opens April 2019-Join Our Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookies Policy
  • 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

Land Mobile Radio


News

FCC data shows public-safety LMR licensing activity continues to drop during first half of 2019, while business sector remains flat

FCC data shows public-safety LMR licensing activity continues to drop during first half of 2019, while business sector remains flat

  • Written by Donny Jackson
  • 8th July 2019

Public-safety land-mobile-radio (LMR) licensing activity during the first half of 2019 is lagging behind last year’s record-low pace, while LMR licensing activity in the business-industrial sector is almost identical to the first six months of 2018.

According to the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) database, the agency has received 1,451 applications for new and modified public-safety LMR licenses through June 30, which represents a 13.0% decrease compared to the 1,640 applications approved during the first half of 2018—a pace that resulted in all-time-low activity level for U.S. LMR licensing.

It is likely that this year-to-year deficit in public-safety LMR licensing activity is greater, because 248 of the applications cited for this year are pending. Although a high percentage of pending public-safety applications typically are approved, a few will not be granted. The above figures assume all pending applications will be granted.

Some industry analysts have noted that this year’s public-safety licensing could approach last year’s pace, if Motorola Solutions is allowed to begin building a proposed statewide P25 system in Florida. In the spring, Florida lawmakers approved state officials executing a contract with Motorola Solutions, but no deal has been announced. A court case, tight deadlines and some unique procurement language have caused many industry sources to question whether the statewide system can be completed by the June 2021 deadline.

While the pace of overall public-safety licensing activity is behind last year’s pace, a more dramatic decrease occurred in number of new LMR licenses sought. During the first six months of 2019, 501 applications for new public-safety LMR licenses were filed with the FCC, which represents an 18.8% decrease—if all of this year’s pending applications were granted, which is unlikely—compared to the 617 new licenses granted last year.

If public-safety LMR licensing activity at the end of the year does not match last year’s total of 3,191 licenses granted (seven other applications are still pending), it would mark the seventh consecutive year-to-year decrease for the sector and the third consecutive year of setting a record low mark since the FCC established ULS in 2001.

Most industry observers expected a decline in public-safety LMR licensing to occur after a spike in public-safety LMR applications was realized as agencies worked to meet the FCC’s narrowbanding mandate in 2013. But the public-safety licensing activity has fallen below the levels seen during the economic credit crisis of 2008 and before the 2001 terrorist attacks led to additional federal funding for first-responder communications.

One factor cited by many has been the advent of FirstNet, the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) being built by AT&T, which has announced that mission-critical-push-to-talk (MCPTT) services will be offered to FirstNet subscribers by the end of the year.

Few expect U.S. first-responder agencies to abandon their LMR systems in the year in favor of using MCPTT-over-LTE technology for mission-critical voice communications. However, many industry sources have indicated that local-governments elected officials are hesitant to invest heavily in new LMR infrastructure—often a financial commitment of 10-15 years—until they can determine whether an LTE solution could be a viable alternative for mission-critical voice.

In the business-industrial sector, the pace of LMR licensing is virtually flat, with the FCC receiving 5,482 applications during the first half of this year. That figure represents a 1.7% increase compared to last year’s pace of 5,388, but it also includes 1,265 pending applications. If a normal percentage of the pending applications are granted, the business-industrial LMR applications approved during the first six months should be very close to the number for the same period in 2018.

Last year’s business-industrial LMR licensing activity represented the second-lowest level in the 19-year history of the FCC’s online ULS database, but it represented a 4.3% increase compared to the record-low figures posted in 2017.

One thing that has changed in the business-industrial sector is the number of applications seeking new licenses, as opposed to modifications to existing licenses. This year, the FCC has received 3,219 applications for new licenses, which is a 15.8% increase compared to the 2,779 new applications granted during the first half of 2018.

 

 

Tags: homepage-featured-2 Broadband Push-to-X Critical Infrastructure Enterprise FCC Federal Government/Military Funding Land Mobile Radio Narrowbanding News NTIA/FirstNet Policy Project 25 Public Safety Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet State & Local Government Test & Measurement News

Related


  • Ericsson, Huawei, AT&T attending Mobile World Congress in June, others not so sure
    Ericsson, Huawei, AT&T attending Mobile World Congress in June, others not so sure
    A few high-profile companies, including Ericsson, Huawei, Telefonica, Parallel Wireless and AT&T, confirmed to Light Reading that they intend to send executives to Barcelona, Spain, in June to attend the MWC trade show in person. But a large number of other companies, including Mavenir, Cisco, Intel, Rakuten, KPN, Deutsche Telekom, BT and Orange, said they […]
  • Newscan: Klobuchar calls on Congress to get serious on tech reform
    Newscan: Klobuchar calls on Congress to get serious on tech reform
    Web Roundup Items from other news organizations Klobuchar calls on Congress to get serious on tech reform After stimulus, Biden to tackle another politically tricky issue: infrastructure UK fire chiefs facing expensive bills for botched ESN project Verizon support says you should turn off 5G to save your phone’s battery Here’s where Americans are using […]
  • The era of converged network infrastructure has officially begun
    After a year of shopping itself, Boingo has finally found a buyer. However, the important element here is not that Boingo finally managed to sell itself, but that Marc Ganzi found another telecom company to purchase. Boingo announced Monday that Digital Colony – a $23 billion infrastructure investment company linked to Ganzi’s Colony Capital investment firm – will take […]
  • Biden to follow through on Trump-era China tech ban
    Then it was, then it wasn’t. Whether the Biden administration will radically change the Trump era’s truculent China policy has been the million yuan question since it took over in January. But it now looks as if the course of Washington’s China policy may be more straight tracks ahead than all change. On January 14, […]

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

  • California PD: ‘Game-changing’ Live911 streaming of emergency calls accelerates responses
  • Why Tucson is building its own 4G network
  • SolarWinds attackers lurked for 'several months' in FireEye's network
  • Buffalo's 48 hours to navigate a mission-critical transition to remote work

Commentary


Ransomware? Let’s call it what it really is: extortionware

21st February 2021

Redefining communications for today’s mobile workforces

18th February 2021

Hi-tech sewer can help safeguard public health, environment and economies

18th February 2021
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

How SolarWinds busted up our assumptions about code signing dlvr.it/Rv25kB

5th March 2021
UrgentComm

Senate American Rescue plan calls for more than $60 million in direct aid for counties dlvr.it/Rv1wGF

5th March 2021
UrgentComm

NTIA seeks potential new FirstNet Authority board members dlvr.it/Rv0YfL

5th March 2021
UrgentComm

Smart-building projects target energy efficiency as launchpad to health and safety dlvr.it/RtyhRY

4th March 2021
UrgentComm

ESN official hints at potentially costly new timeline for UK public-safety broadband project dlvr.it/Rttvzj

3rd March 2021
UrgentComm

Ericsson, Huawei, AT&T attending Mobile World Congress in June, others not so sure dlvr.it/RtrtT2

3rd March 2021
UrgentComm

Newscan: Klobuchar calls on Congress to get serious on tech reform dlvr.it/RtqByn

2nd March 2021
UrgentComm

The era of converged network infrastructure has officially begun dlvr.it/Rtmq62

2nd March 2021

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
  • Microwave/RF
  • T&D World
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 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.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X