The FCC Public Safety Bureau seeks comment on a petition...
The FCC Public Safety Bureau seeks comment on a petition from Arkansas seeking a waiver of FCC rules so it can continue to operate the Arkansas Wireless Information Network (AWIN) through Dec. 31, 2024. The state faces a mandate that…
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700 MHz narrowband radio systems operate with a bandwidth of no more than 6.25 kHz by Dec. 31, 2016. The system has more than 21,400 subscribers representing 900 public safety agencies statewide and was built at a cost of $70 million, the state said, according to a public notice from the bureau (http://xrl.us/bnytu2). “Arkansas argues that the AWIN system can be expected to last close to 15 years, so the December 31, 2016 deadline ‘prematurely and artificially shortens the life-cycle of the statewide system,'” the bureau said. “Arkansas states that AWIN is the key element in its statewide emergency communications plan, and that first responders have come to rely on AWIN.” The state told the FCC replacing the system would cost $136 million. Responding to a similar petition from the state of Louisiana, the Association for Public-Safety Communications Officials said in an August filing the FCC should “modify the underlying rule, which would obviate the need for waiver requests from Louisiana and similarly situated 700 MHz band licensees” (http://xrl.us/bnjrxn). Comments are due Nov. 30.