U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Justice Programs 

National Institute of Justice 

IN 

NCJ 217865 

SHORT 

➡TOWARD CRIMINAL JUSTICE SOLUTIONS www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij MAY 07 

Understanding FCC Narrowbanding 

Requirements 

Key Points 

■ Most current public safety radio systems use 

25 kHz-wide channels. 

■ The Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC) has mandated that all non-Federal 

public safety licensees using 25 kHz radio 

systems migrate to narrowband 12.5 kHz 

channels by January 1, 2013. 

■ Agencies that do not meet the deadline face 

the loss of communication capabilities. 

■ Agencies need to start planning now to 

migrate to narrowband systems by assessing 

their current radio equipment and applying 

for new or modified licenses. 

OVERVIEW

Private land mobile radio (LMR) systems—including 

municipal government and State and local public 

safety systems—use blocks of radio spectrum 

called channels.1 Historically, LMR systems have 

used 25 kHz-wide channels. In December 2004, the 

Federal Communications Commission mandated 

that all private LMR users operating below 512 MHz 

move to 12.5 kHz narrowband voice channels and 

highly efficient data channel operations by January 

1, 2013.2 This migration complements a National 

Telecommunications and Information Administration mandate for more rapid Federal agency migration to 12.5 kHz narrowband operation by January 

1, 2008. The earlier Federal deadline affects State 

and local FCC licensees that interface or share frequencies with Federal radio systems.3 

Using narrowband channels will ensure that agencies take advantage of more efficient technology 

and, by reducing channel width, will allow additional channels to exist within the same spectrum 

space, as illustrated in figure 1. 

Figure 1. Narrowband channels allow additional 

channels to exist in the same spectrum. 

Legacy 

25KHz 

Phase 1 

Narrowband 

12.5KHz 

Phase 2 

Narrowband 

6.25KHz 

Office of Justice Programs ■ Innovation • Partnerships • Safer Neighborhoods ■ www.ojp.usdoj.gov 
2 DEADLINES

To phase in the migration deadline of January 1, 

2013, the FCC has established interim deadlines. 

The first important deadline is January 1, 2011, after 

which: 

■	 The FCC will not grant applications for new 

voice operations or applications to expand the 

authorized contour of existing stations that use 

25 kHz channels. Only narrowband authorizations will be granted. 

■	 The FCC will prohibit manufacture or importation of new equipment that operates on 25 kHz 

channels. This will reduce the availability of new 

equipment for legacy radio systems and will 

affect how agencies maintain and upgrade 

older systems. 

PLANNING FOR THE MOVE TO NARROWBAND

Public safety agencies need to aggressively develop 

a strategy to meet narrowband deadlines to avoid 

cancellation of existing wideband FCC authorizations. Although the migration deadline may seem 

far off, the long lead time and interim deadlines 

make it necessary for agencies to plan well in 

advance. 

Assess current equipment and start planning.To 

prepare for the migration, public safety agencies 

should start assessing their radio systems and planning for replacements or upgrades. They should 

inventory their current equipment to ascertain what 

can be converted to 12.5 kHz and what will need to 

be replaced before January 1, 2013. Most new 

equipment has the capability for both 25 kHz and 

12.5 kHz operation because any VHF/UHF radio 

equipment accepted by the FCC after February 14, 

1997, had to have 12.5 kHz capability. The 2.5 kHz 

narrowband equipment is available in both conventional analog FM and digital formats (such as 

Project 25), so narrowband conventional FM systems will be compliant. Local governments should 

develop contingency plans to accommodate system 

changes for both public safety and nonpublic safety 

systems. 

Obtain new or modified licenses.To move to narrowband operations, agencies must apply for new 

frequencies or modify existing licenses. An agency 

that is licensed for a 25 kHz-wide channel is not 

guaranteed two 12.5 kHz channels. Licensees will 

have to justify to the FCC why they need additional 

channels. Consideration of applications for new narrowband licenses will follow the same process as a 

new license application. As agencies migrate to narrowband operation, however, the pool of available 

frequencies will increase. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

■	 NIJ’s Communications Technologies 

(CommTech) Web site: 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/commtech 

■	 Federal Communications Commission Web site: 

www.fcc.gov 

■	 Regional National Law Enforcement and 

Corrections Technology Centers: 

www.justnet.org 

NOTES

1. For more information about spectrum allocation 

and the licensing process, see NIJ InShort, Radio 

Spectrum, NCJ 214962, August 2006. 

2. Per the FCC mandate, post-narrowbanding 

data channels must have an efficiency of 

4.8kbps/second/6.62KHz. See FCC Order 05–9, 

WT Docket No. 96–86, January 7, 2005: 

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/ 

FCC-05-9A1.pdf; and FCC Order 04–292, WT Docket 

No. 99–87 and RM–9932, December 23, 2004: 

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/ 

FCC-04-292A1.pdf. 

3. FCC narrowbanding rules for agencies operating 

with FCC licenses but using Federal spectrum are 

frequency specific and may follow a more aggressive schedule. Those agencies may operate on 

these frequencies only on a secondary (unprotected 

and noninterfering) basis. See FCC Report and 

Order 05–69, ET Docket No. 04–243, March 11, 2005: 

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/ 

FCC-05-69A1.pdf. 

*NCJ~217865*
 

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