FCC Will Begin Enforcing Compliance with Narrowbanding Mandate.
In a public notice issued on March 14, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it will proceed with plans to determine compliance with the narrowbanding mandate which took effect on January 1st.
Public and private organizations utilizing two-way radio communication and not yet in compliance with the narrowbanding mandate can essentially garner two take aways from the notice.
The first is the FCC will actively verify compliance in the near future. The second is by gaining compliance the penalties for failure to do so can still be avoided. The FCC stated the reason for the notice was to provide guidance to various organizations still in the process of converting from 25kHz to 12.5 kHz communication technology.
Many affected parties missed the deadline, but had submitted waiver requests. The sheer volume of those requests meant the FCC was unable to address them by the time compliance was mandated.
Noncompliance Still Significant Nationwide
The Department of Homeland Security estimates 1 in 5 licensees are still operating on the older technology.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance, in their own announcement following that of the FCC, suggested that operators should remove non-compliant wideband emission designators on their licenses, even if the license designates a compliant emission.
The FCC has advised operators who are non-compliant to either cease operations immediately or file a waiver for an extension of the narrowbanding deadline.
Businesses like Day Wireless, which rent or lease compliant two-way communication systems nationwide, are expected to see increased engagement from non-compliant operators. Not only can rental of a compliant system avoid fines, the rental company can assist in transition to a permanent compliant system in most cases.
Check out Electronics Rentals at Rent it Today to find rental providers for of all types of electronics. Walkie-talkies, satellite phones, and much more.
