“Narrowbanding” refers to a requirement by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that — on or before January 1, 2013 — all existing licensees on the VHF and UHF Spectrum implement equipment designed to operate on channel bandwidths of 12.5 kHz or less or that meets a specific efficiency standard. Licensees will need to convert or replace their existing VHF and UHF wideband (25 kHz) systems. Ultimately, equipment will need to operate on bandwidths of 6.25 kHz or less; however, no deadline has been established for this second phase of narrowbanding.

FCC's Narrowbanding mandate:

• 2012 FCC Enforcement Advisory (Click Here) NEW!
• 2010 Interim Deadline Update (Click Here)
• 2008 6.25 KHz Migration Clarification (Click Here)
• 2007 Order (Click Here)
• 2004 Order (Click Here)

All Part 90 VHF (150-174 MHz) and UHF (421-512 MHz) Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) system licensees convert from what has been known as "wide-band" (25 KHz) operation to "narrowband" (12.5 KHz or equivalent) operation by January 1, 2013.

• VHF (150–174 MHz: available nationwide)
• UHF (450–470 MHz: available nationwide)
• UHF (470–512 MHz: shared with UHF-TV; available only in 11 cities)

Note: The FCC may terminate your license or issue monetary fines if your agency is not in compliance with the FCC narrowbanding requirement.

Oklahoma Narrowbanding Plan

Recognizing that the narrowbanding deadline is fast approaching and that a number of public safety agencies in the state are not in a financial position to meet the mandate by January 1, 2013, OKOHS offered a one-time opportunity in 2011 for Oklahoma public safety agencies to apply for funds from the FY 2010 Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program to be used toward the purchase of mobile and portable narrowband-capable equipment.

(Update) OKOHS received an overwhelming amount of requests for assistance. Funding was very limited, but OKOHS made every effort to assist as many applicants as possible. Approximately $379,000 total was awarded to the following agencies for the purchase of narrowband-capable mobile and portable radio equipment:

Adair County Emergency Management and Sheriff's Office
Allen Fire and Emergency Management
Ardmore Fire Department
Atoka Fire Department
Barnsdall Rural Fire Department
Beaver County Emergency Management
Blaine County Emergency Management
Blair Fire Department
Bryan County Sheriff's Office
Byng Fire Department
Caney Police and Fire Department
Checotah Emergency Management and EMS
Coal County Emergency Management
Coalgate Fire Department
Cushing Police, Fire and EMS
Darwin Vol. Fire Department
Granfield Ambulance and Vol. Fire Department
Goltry Fire Department
Hominy Fire Department
Jackson County Sheriff's Department
Jet Fire Department
Johnston County Ambulance and Sheriff's Office
Kingston Vol. Fire Department
Lake Murray Village Vol. Fire Department
Mannsville Vol. Fire Department
Minco Police
Murray County EMS
New Cordell Emergency Management
Olive Vol. Fire Department
Osage Hills Rural Firefighters Association
Owens and Company Fire Service
Payne County Sheriff's Office
Pontotoc County Emergency Management
Salina Vol. Fire Department
Stillwater Fire Department
Stillwell EMS, Police and Vol. Fire Department
Tecumseh Fire Department
Turpin Vol. Fire Department
Vinita Fire Department
Washington County Vol. Fire Department
Woods County Emergency Management
Yuba Volunteer Fire Department

License Status Tool

The Office of Emergency Communications, along with the Interoperable Communications Technical Assistance Program, recently released a set of online tools enabling public safety officials to check the status of their Narrowband licenses or those of their neighboring agencies. The tool allows public safety officials to run a report and save to an excel file, search for mobiles, search by frequency and search by call sign. The FCC provides the information, and the tool is updated frequently. For best results, search specific locations—there is too much data for broad searches. 

To view the online tool, Click Here. 

Based on FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) Database as of: 01/08/2012

Additional Information

FCC: Narrowbanding Website (Click Here)

Minnesota Fire Services: Radio Information (Click Here)

OKOHS Narrowbanding Presentation: (Click Here)

OKOHS Narrowbanding Basics One-Pager: (Click Here)

Vermont Communications (VCOMM): "How to Modify Your FCC License for Narrowband" (Click Here)

Narrowbanding 101 (Click Here)

Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Communications: "A Practical Guide to Narrowbanding" (Click Here)

Last Update September 2012