Citing progress St. Johns County has made in transitioning to a new 800 Mhz
emergency services radio system, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently granted an
extension of the VHF/UHF narrowbanding deadline and noted that the County’s case met the high
standard for the granting of a waiver.

The FCC deadline for organizations to restrict their bandwidth use is January 1, 2013. Noting the progress
St. Johns County has made in transitioning from VHF band to an 800 MHz system, the Commission
stated that strict application of the narrowbanding rules would force the County to spend significant time
and money to narrowband a system it intends to abandon shortly thereafter. At the request of St. Johns
County, the FCC also granted similar waivers to all municipalities within the County.

“In granting the deadline waiver, the FCC acknowledged the significant amount of time and resources we
have dedicated to planning and executing the transition to a modernized intergovernmental radio system.”
said Carl Shank, St. Johns County Fire Rescue Chief. “Interoperable and reliable communications will
greatly improve the capabilities and safety of all St. Johns County emergency services providers to better
serve our residents and visitors to this area.”

St. Johns County entered into a contract in December 2011 to purchase eleven radio towers and an 800
MHz intergovernmental radio system capable of supporting and providing interoperable communications
between all public safety agencies and government services. The new system is projected to be
operational within the first 90 days of 2013. The extended FCC deadline of June 30, 2013 provides ample
time to complete construction, installation, and testing of the new system. The FCC noted that the new
radio system will significantly upgrade the County’s communications capabilities, improve the safety and
reliability of public safety operations, and better serve the public interest.

Source: St. Johns County BOCC