700 MHz narrowband decision from the FCC is needed—quickly

And, of course, the impact extends beyond the entities operating 700 MHz LMR systems. Vendors also have a great deal at stake, because they have to invest considerable resources to develop solutions and to secure business—strategic decisions that likely would be very different, depending on the FCC’s decision regarding the matter.

The good news is that recent media reports indicate that the FCC is getting set to act on the matter, with a proposed order supposedly being circulated, according to a filing made last week by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO). Not surprisingly, APCO supports elimination of the 700 MHz narrowbanding mandate or a significant extension of the deadline.

“The immediate problem is that, absent a rapid Commission decision, many public-safety agencies will be forced to begin the extraordinarily expensive and time-consuming process of replacing their existing equipment in an attempt to meet the current deadline,” the APCO filing states. “That would be a terrible waste of public resources, as most radios currently used in the band are relatively new and still have many years of useful life before reaching normal equipment-replacement cycles.”

Hopefully, the FCC will heed APCO’s advice and quickly adopt an order eliminating the 700 MHz narrowbanding deadline or extending the deadlines by several years. Quick adoption of such rules not only would allow affected entities to breathe a sigh of relief, it would prevent them from having to allocate scarce resources to a project that many doubt will be needed.