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Check Your License
June 29, 2011As of Jan. 1, 2013, all FCC Part 90 licensees operating in VHF spectrum 150–174 MHz and UHF spectrum based on location 421–512 MHz must reduce their emission to 12.5 kHz or less or use technology that provides an equivalency to 12.5 kHz in a 25 kHz emission. The FCC’s ultimate goal is for 6.25 kHz or equivalent emission in the future. As of today, the FCC has not set a date for when this must take place.
Read full article‘Unfunded Mandate’
June 29, 2011Politicians tell us the recession ended last year. If you ask a person standing in an unemployment line in New York, Philadelphia, Denver or Los Angeles if they agree with that assessment, they’d probably say no. If you take a close look at many state and local budgets, prosperity is hard to find. More and more, the states are withholding funds that used to be passed on to municipalities to help with their projects.
Read full articleNarrowband Migration
June 29, 2011If your radio system is subject to the FCC’s narrowbanding mandate and you haven’t yet started the process, it’s time. “You can’t put your head in the sand on this one,” Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Radio System Analyst John Johnson told Public Safety Communications in April. So why have agencies postponed taking action on an FCC mandate that’s been on the table for more than 15 years?
Read full articleFrequently Asked Questions about Narrowbanding
June 29, 2011This article addresses frequently asked questions about the FCC’s narrowbanding deadline. It addresses compliant equipment, coverage, digital radio vs. P25, efficiency and more.
Read full articleStarting from Scratch
June 29, 2011Developing training, whether it’s a single class or a comprehensive agency program, can be daunting. You may find it more manageable, if you follow four simple steps.
Read full articlePacifica City Council Approves Outsourcing Police CommunicationS to South San Francisco
June 29, 2011Pacifica, Calif. — City Council unanimously approved on Monday an agreement with the city of South San Francisco to handle all communication services for the Pacifica police department. It was another step among many City Council took to trim personnel and city services in every department to pass this year’s budget.
Read full articleRockingham County Commissioners Approve 9-1-1 Consolidation Plans
June 29, 2011Wentworth, N.C. – It took nearly two months of negotiations, but Rockingham County appears on its way to consolidating 9-1-1 operations. County commissioners approved an agreement Monday night to consolidate the Eden and Reidsville 9-1-1 centers with their own.
Read full articleFolly Beach, S.C., Might Leave County 9-1-1 Center
June 29, 2011Folly Beach, S.C. – Paul Chrysostom lives and works right across the street from police headquarters in City Hall. For years, that meant quick access to an officer if he reported noise problems, drunk drivers or an emergency of some sort. If he needs to hail a cop these days, however, Chrysostom has to call a Charleston County dispatcher some 18 miles away in North Charleston.
Read full articlePa. Bill Would Restrict Public Access to Information about Where 9-1-1 Calls Originated
June 29, 2011If you call 9-1-1 here, Lancaster County-Wide Communications workers have your number. In some cases, they know your name. They know your address. But how much information they must surrender upon request to reporters — or the public — is not entirely clear.
Read full articleNaples City Council Bristle at Cost of New Radios; Suggest Officers Share
June 29, 2011Naples, Fla. — Naples police Chief Tom Weschler was ready for a fight. He knew City Council would frown at some of his fiscal 2011-12 budget requests. But Weschler said recently he never expected to have to go to bat over something he deems an essential tool of the trade: portable police radios.
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