We all know the PSP has by and large migrated to the OpenSky system, with occasional fallback usage on the VHF system. That's no longer in question.
However what I find interesting is that the state has very recently modified 75 of the PSP VHF licenses to add 11K0F3E (narrowband) emission designators on all frequencies. One large batch was done in March, the other in June, and there are a few applications still pending.
Now perhaps I'm reading too much into this, given the fact that a lot of public safety agencies continually renew their licenses for frequencies they haven't used in years or decades, simply because it doesn't cost them a dime in renewal fees. However I've read several "reports" that the PSP is going to pull all the VHF equipment prior to the Jan 1st 2013 narrowband deadline, rather than replace the existing equipment with narrowband compliant radios.
This effort to modify all these licenses so they're narrowband compliant (on paper at least) has me wondering if the information about the VHF radios being pulled was incorrect hearsay, or if the state has reconsidered their decision. It stands to reason that the bugs in OpenSky and lack of complete coverage will never be fully worked out, which is one big reason I can see the PSP pushing to keep their VHF equipment. The other reason is the fact that most of the local jurisdictions in the state will be operating on VHF for years to come. Many of those jurisdictions allow the PSP to operate on their local frequencies for interops. And of course we have the 155.475 national interop frequency many of them operate on. If the VHF radios go away, so to does that VHF interop capability.
So I guess the question is, will the PSP be making more than just a paper license change as far as bringing their VHF system into narrowband compliance? I guess only time will tell.
However what I find interesting is that the state has very recently modified 75 of the PSP VHF licenses to add 11K0F3E (narrowband) emission designators on all frequencies. One large batch was done in March, the other in June, and there are a few applications still pending.
Now perhaps I'm reading too much into this, given the fact that a lot of public safety agencies continually renew their licenses for frequencies they haven't used in years or decades, simply because it doesn't cost them a dime in renewal fees. However I've read several "reports" that the PSP is going to pull all the VHF equipment prior to the Jan 1st 2013 narrowband deadline, rather than replace the existing equipment with narrowband compliant radios.
This effort to modify all these licenses so they're narrowband compliant (on paper at least) has me wondering if the information about the VHF radios being pulled was incorrect hearsay, or if the state has reconsidered their decision. It stands to reason that the bugs in OpenSky and lack of complete coverage will never be fully worked out, which is one big reason I can see the PSP pushing to keep their VHF equipment. The other reason is the fact that most of the local jurisdictions in the state will be operating on VHF for years to come. Many of those jurisdictions allow the PSP to operate on their local frequencies for interops. And of course we have the 155.475 national interop frequency many of them operate on. If the VHF radios go away, so to does that VHF interop capability.
So I guess the question is, will the PSP be making more than just a paper license change as far as bringing their VHF system into narrowband compliance? I guess only time will tell.
