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A small municipal entity I have an association with has a couple UHF simplex
channels (Radio Service: PW - Public Safety Pool, Conventional).
License is for FM modulation (11K2F1D/11K2F1E/11K2F3E) & the license expires
in about 13 months.

We'll be getting new radios to use on the same licensed channels, but since the radios
will be both analog and DMR-capable and we'll have at-least one DMR channel,
I want to follow the law & modify the existing license to reflect FM as well as DMR
use. Ideally, I'd love the freedom of having several digital voice codecs -- TRBO/DMR,
NXDN, etc. licensed, in-case we decide to go with Kenwood or Icom radios
instead of the likely TRBO-capable ones.

So I queried the radio licensing contact within the municipality and received the standard
lack of service. Eventually my query was passed to the commercial LMR vendor that seems to
do most of the FCC license coordination service for this municipality, and was told it'd be $400 to modify the license.

I call BS!

So finally, the question(s):

Is it pretty easy & straightforward to just do a modulation-scheme modification to an
existing license that's just a couple simplex Mobile Only freqs? If I can do it directly on-behalf
of the municipal agency and save them tax dollars other than whatever fee the FCC charges, I'd love to do-so.

Would it save any $$ & time to hold-off on using digital mode, and later this year when it's time to renew the license, submit
the modulation scheme modification & renewal at the same time & then legally use the digital mode?

Thanks!

Go directly to APCO.

https://www.apcointl.org/services/radio ... anagement/

_________________
I generate Board Warnings

If in fact you're dealing with a Government agency, you should be exempt from FCC regulatorily fees. Your mileage may vary.... stipulations... bla to the further bla, but something you should look into. With that being said, license modifications are relativity painless. If you have the FRN and password for the licensee, you can login via the ULS and make modifications (Tinker / experiment) all day long, just don't submit to FCC until you're 100% comfortable and ready to do so.

If any of this seems overwhelming, Sean nailed it..... Reach out to APCO. Although I'm not sure how much $400 will get you these days with them. I've generated many FCC licenses over the years, including modifications. It's not rocket science, but there's a fair amount of liability, especially when you're talking public safety.

Best of luck,

-Marcus