The Federal Communications Commission is requiring all Public Safety, Government, and Business License Holders, using the 150-174 MHz and  421-512 MHz frequencies, to migrate to narrowband 12.5 KHz (or less) bandwidth technology before January 1st, 2013.

Details:

The FCC wants to make room in the radio frequency electromagnetic spectrum for more licenses. To accomplish this, the FCC is requiring every current licensee that is operating at 25 KHz (this is shown as an emission type of 20K0F3E on the FCC license) to cut their bandwidth in half (12.5 KHz) by January 1, 2013. The FCC is also recommending taking the next step and switching to 6.25 kHz bandwidth which will be required at a future undetermined date.

Your FCC license will need to be modified for the change in emission. At the current time, this is a major license modification and requires a FCC coordination with a license application form requesting the change.

Most radios purchased within the last 6 years are able to operate at the 12.5 KHz bandwidth with a programming change. Radio models older than 6 years should be confirmed that they have been certified to operate at the new bandwidth. To operate at the 6.25 KHz bandwidth a newer digital radio will be required. You should inventory your radio equipment to determine which units are capable of operating at 12.5 KHz and which radios will need to be replaced.

The FCC also has another deadline date for radio manufactures that must also be considered when planning your change. As of January 1^st 2011 no radio can be manufactured which can operate on 25 KHz bandwidth. If you wait until after this date to purchase replacement radios, they will only operate on 12.5 KHz or less. Having a radio fleet with a mixture of 25 KHz and 11.5 KHz bandwidth radios can cause intermittent communication problems.