TIA Push for T-Band Clarity Gets Broad Support
The Telecommunications Industry Association got support from the Association for Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) , Motorola Solutions and Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) for a petition asking the FCC clarify as OK the continued certification of 25 KHz equipment for use in the T-band. Public safety agencies that use the band, at 470-512 MHz, got a waiver from the FCC so that they didn’t have to overhaul their systems by the Jan. 1 narrowbanding deadline. Unless the commission offers clarity, these agencies won’t be able to replace equipment operating in the T-band, TIA warned. Under February’s spectrum law, the FCC is required to auction the public safety portion of the T-band within nine years, with public-safety licensees having to move to other spectrum within 11 years.
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"APCO agrees that the Order is ambiguous, and with TIA’s recommendation that the Commission should clarify that type-acceptance of wideband equipment for use in the 470-512 MHz band will continue to be permitted so long as the band continues to be used for land mobile radio,” APCO said (http://xrl.us/bnc68o). “Many 470-512 MHz band licensees are likely to need to continue wideband operation until forced to vacate the band pursuant to recent legislation. For many, there is no immediate alternative to remaining in the band for as long as possible, as there is no current funding available for relocating entire systems to other spectrum.” LMCC said that “without clarification permitting the certification of new equipment with that capability, T-Band licensees may not be able to maintain essential operational functionality while the FCC pursues its efforts to comply with the provisions of the recent legislation that directed the Commission to reallocate spectrum in T-Band used by public safety licensees” (http://xrl.us/bnc68u).
Motorola Solutions also supported TIA’s request for clarity. “The Order explicitly allows manufacturers to enable wide band operation in the T-Band via a permissive change if the current grant of equipment authorization does not cover such operation and if the change is made through software,” said the dominant maker of public safety radios (http://xrl.us/bnc7g4). “While this flexibility is necessary, it is not sufficient to ensure that T-band licensees will have continued access to improved equipment, including future multi-band devices that could ensure continued interoperability with neighboring or regional systems, or devices that could smooth the process of relocating the T-band licensees to alternate spectrum in the future, should such alternate spectrum and sufficient relocation funding become available."
The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council also supported the TIA petition. “NPSTC agrees that there will be a continued demand by T-Band licensees for equipment capable of operating in 25 kHz (wideband) efficiency, as the result of the Order waiving the deadline which banned such operation after the end of this year in the T-Band,” the group said (http://xrl.us/bnc73q).