Communication centers across the state and country are continuing to deal with the impact of a federal mandate that took effect more than two years ago. Beginning January 1st of 2013, the Federal Communications Commission’s narrowbanding mandate reduced the usable radio frequency range for public safety radio systems.

According to Washington County 911 Supervisor, Cara Sorrells, poor reception has been a problem since then. Another mandate that takes effect in 2025 will shrink the bandwidth range even further.

She says new programs, like the one that sends texts to fire fighters, can serve as a backup when the pages aren’t clear. She explains going completely digital is a possibility in the future, but the technology is not yet foolproof, so using the pagers as their primary form of communication is necessary.

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