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Quality MobileCommunications

Wireless Communication & Information SOLUTIONS for Business, Industry, & Government....Since 1976
, LLC

To All Part 90 VHF & UHF Radio System Managers & Licensees
IMPORTANT TWO-WAY RADIO SYSTEM REGULATORY REMINDER

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all Part 90 Business, Educational, Industrial, Utility,
Public Safety, and State and Local Government VHF (150-174 MHz) and UHF (421-512 MHz) private LMR (Land Mobile Radio)
system licensees convert their radio system operations from legacy 25 KHz “wide-band” to 12.5 KHz (or equivalent) “narrowband”
operation by January 1, 2013.

(See http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-292A1.pdf for details on the FCC’s decision)

In a nutshell, this mandate requires that all currently deployed wide-band only conventional and trunked VHF and UHF
hand-held portables, vehicle-mounted mobiles, dispatcher stations, wireless data, telemetry, or SCADA links (called subscriber
radios) and, any associated 25 KHz conventional or trunked base or repeater stations (called infrastructure) be replaced with
narrow-band equipment prior to the 2013 date in order to continue legal use of your licensed radio frequencies beyond that
date. In addition, your FCC radio system license must be modified to certify this change in the technical parameters of your system.
Non-compliance may result in the cancellation of your license(s) by the FCC.

The mandate DOES NOT require licensees to change frequencies or bands, NOR move from analog to digital or P-25 OR from
a conventional to a trunked radio system. The mandate also does not mean that all radios must be replaced – just the soon-to-be
non-compliant ones, along with relatively minor re-programming of others.

Many of our clients, as your company or organization should and may be doing, have already begun their narrowband migration
by replacing older 25 KHz only subscriber radios with dual-mode subscriber radios (those capable of both 25 KHz and/or 12.5 KHz
operation) as they add new radios to their system, and, as older radios are lost, damaged beyond repair, or otherwise removed from
service. While this strategy is a cost-effective and reasonable migration method for many, particularly those with large numbers of
subscriber radios in their fleets and/or repeaters in their system, this method only addresses the first step of a multi-step process.

Unless your system was initially implemented as a narrowband system, it is important to realize that many, if not all, dual mode
replacement subscriber radios sold into most pre-mandate or older conventional and trunked VHF/UHF radio systems over the last
5-9 years have typically been programmed for wide-band only operation in order to maintain compatibility with existing wide-band
subscriber and infrastructure radios in the system. The mixing of wide-band and narrow-band radios on the same frequency
in a system is generally NOT encouraged nor recommended since doing so has the potential to render most voice - and especially
data - transmissions between wide-band and narrow-band radios unintelligible, distorted, or unreliable. This first step was also
a practical and cost-effective way of deferring the expense and logistics involved in an "all at once” or “forklift” deployment of both
subscriber and infrastructure radios, as 2013 seemed a long way off.

Thus, until all subscriber and infrastructure radios have been fully converted to narrowband operation, your radio system most
likely is still being operated in the wide-band mode, which is legal only until January 1, 2013.

Do you have an implementation plan and a budget to address the next steps necessary to complete the narrowband migration process
and become fully FCC compliant? These steps include (1) replacement of any remaining 25 KHz subscriber radios still being used,
(2) the procurement and installation of any narrow-band base stations or repeaters or other infrastructure as needed, (3)
preparation of a well-planned, coordinated approach to the re-programming of all subscriber and infrastructure radios to narrowband
operation, and (4), the modification of your radio station license.

We can help! We urge you to contact us soon for straight answers and informed suggestions on how we can be of service to your
company or organization - 2013 is NOT that far away, particularly when budgets need to be prepared or when any operations
dependant on uninterrupted radio communications may be jeopardized. Do NOT put off until the last minute the necessary
action required on this important matter.

AT YOUR SERVICE,
Nick Ruark – General Manager - Radio Systems Group

Visit us on the Internet at http://www.qualitymobile.com

12200 NE 60th Way Suite A-108, Vancouver, Washington 98682


(360) 254-9505 (503) 240-8525 (800) 808-9839 Fax (360) 254-9514

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