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Is there a digital transition for the future?
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:24 am
by hobbes
Was wondering about this recently what with the TVs switching over and all -- does anyone know if the FCC is going to make two-way licensees move from analog to digital transmission (in the same way that they forced the narrowband move)?
Not per se...
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:26 pm
by Wowbagger
I don't think the FCC will mandate a move to digital per se, but they will start squeezing the bandwidth per call down - currently it's moving to 12.5kHz/call, with 6.25kHz/call in the future (at least in the crowded 700/800/900MHz PMR bands).
There aren't a whole lot of choices when you get that narrow: you *could* go to AM, but the likelihood is you would go to some digital protocol.
However, unlike TV, there doesn't have to be a single, over-arching standard for PMR, so you can have things like NXDN, P25, D-STAR, and so on all co-existing.