Richland Sheriff Repeater scheduled to switch to Narrowband on February 15th, 2012.
Sylvan Sheriff has switched to Narrowband as of October 5th, 2011.
Eagle Sheriff Repeater switch to Narrowband is set for October 24th, 2011
Richland Highway Repeater switch to Narrowband is set for October 24th, 2011
Sheriff Car to Car / Point Base will remain on Narrowband.
County Wide Narrowband completino date is currently set for May of 2012.
The FCC Narrowbanding Mandate is January 1st, 2013
This site will be updated as information is available.
Background on Narrowbanding
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) narrowbanding requirements adopted in 1992 during a process known as “refarming.”
- Purpose - enhance spectrum efficiency in the VHF (150 – 174 MHz) and UHF (421-512 MHz) land mobile radio (LMR)bands.
- Refarming - not just narrowbanding, but also the consolidation of twenty separate radio service pools into two; Public Safety Pool and Industrial/Business Pool.
What is Narrowbanding
- FCC mandated radios in the VHF and UHF radio bands reduce their transmission signal from 25 kHz (wideband) to 12.5 kHz (narrowband) before December 31, 2012.
- Radios may not be legally operated after January 1, 2013 unless narrow banded.
- FCC may levy large daily fines.
