The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) released a position paper against mixing 700 MHz public-safety broadband and narrowband operations in the same spectrum. The council said “doing so can negatively impact both public-safety communications reliability and interoperability.”

The FCC requested comment on a waiver request by the International Municipal Signal Association (IMSA) regarding the FCC’s rule that it no longer accepts applications for certification of Part 90 equipment in the 150 – 174 MHz and 450 – 512 MHz bands that cannot operate in a 6.25-kilohertz mode or with equivalent efficiency.

The FCC extended the freeze on the acceptance of new 800 MHz applications along the U.S.-Mexico border until Feb. 1, 2017. The extension is needed to preserve vacant channels for licensees re-tuning their systems according to the updated band plan for licensees operating along the border with Mexico.

The FCC approved only one of several wavier requests to permit Part 90 private land mobile radio (PLMR) stations on frequency pairs 451/456.003125 MHz, 451/456.009375 MHz, 451/456.015625 MHz, 462/467.5375 MHz and 462/467.7375 MHz, which are not designated for Part 90 use. The commission granted only a waiver request for frequency pair 462/467.5375 MHz.

The FCC modified its 700 MHz narrowband channel rules to allow Project 25 (P25) Compliance Assessment Program (CAP) compliance or the equivalent to be completed after equipment certification but prior to the marketing or sale of that equipment. The commission also requested comment on vehicular repeater use at 700 MHz and other items.

The FCC amended its rules to permit railroad police officers to use public-safety interoperability channels to communicate with public-safety entities already authorized to use those channels.

EF Johnson Technologies signed a $16.1 million contract with Erie County, Pennsylvania, to deliver a secure Project 25 (P25) Phase 2 communications system, new radio fleet, dispatch consoles and long-term support services to upgrade and manage its radio network.

Barrett Communications signed a significant contract with the National Defence Force of an East African Nation, company officials said. The first phase of the contract involves the supply of PRC-2090 tactical HF radio communications systems, in manpack configurations.

The Washington State Auditor’s Office released its performance audit on the Washington State Patrol’s digital narrowband radio project. The audit found the patrol could have benefited from an engineering study before designing its narrowband system, and soliciting competitive proposals could have helped it better assess the best project approach.

During the past few years there have been updates to the Project 25 (P25) standards, improvements to the P25 vocoder and new P25 products incorporating these updates and improvements. These updates and improvements make it a good time to reconsider P25 for the fireground.