[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 228 (Friday, November 27, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65568-65571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31608]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 90

[WT Docket No. 98-182, RM-9222; FCC 98-251]


1998 Biennial Regulatory Review--Private Land Mobile Radio 
Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes several amendments to the Commission's 
Rules as part of its 1998 biennial review of regulations. Additionally, 
this document addresses certain rules regarding extended implementation 
periods for public safety licensees, and an ex parte filing in the 
Commission's Refarming Proceeding, PR Docket No. 92-235, regarding 
trunking on frequencies in the bands between 150 and 512 MHz. This 
document proposes various rule changes applicable to the Private Land 
Mobile Radio Services that will either simplify and upgrade part 90 
and/or be deregulatory in nature. The proposed rules will reduce the 
regulatory burden on licensees, and will promote more efficient and 
flexible use of the private land mobile radio frequency spectrum.

DATES: Comments are due January 4, 1999, and reply comments are due 
January 22, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Room 222, Washington, D.C. 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene Thomson, Policy and Rules Branch, 
Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418-0680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice 
of Proposed Rule Making, (``Notice''), WT Docket No. 98-182, FCC 98-
251, adopted September 30, 1998, and released October 20, 1998. The 
full text of this document is available for inspection and copying 
during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Room 246, 
1919 M Street N.W. Washington, D.C. The complete text may be purchased 
from the Commission's copy contractor, ITS, Inc., 1231 20th St. N.W., 
Washington, D.C. 20036, telephone (202) 857-3800. The complete (but 
unofficial) text is also available on the Commission's Internet site at 
<http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Notices/1998/index.html 
under the file name ``fcc98251.txt'' in ASCII text and ``fcc98251.wp'' 
in Word Perfect format.

Synopsis of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making

    1. The Commission has released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making 
that proposes several amendments to the part 90 Private Land Mobile 
Radio Services rules. This action is part of our 1998 biennial review 
of regulations pursuant to Section 11 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended. Section 11 requires us to review all our regulations 
applicable to providers of telecommunications service and determine 
whether any rule is no longer in the public interest as a result of 
meaningful economic competition between providers of telecommunications 
service, and whether such regulations should be deleted or modified. 
However, we believe it is appropriate to review all of our regulations 
relating to administering wireless services, not just those pertaining 
to providers of a telecommunications service, to determine which 
regulations can be streamlined or eliminated. A comprehensive review of 
part 90 of the Commission's Rules determined which regulations were 
either not in the public interest or were obsolete, overly complex, 
required editorial change, or redundant in nature.
    2. The document proposes:
    a. to amend 47 CFR 90.35(c)(60) to indicate that, in addition to 
permitting the use of the listed frequencies at any location for low 
power, non-voice operation, voice operation will be permitted when the 
frequencies are used specifically for cargo handling purposes.
    b. to amend 47 CFR 90.149(a) to provide that licenses for stations 
authorized under part 90 will be issued for a term not to exceed ten 
years from the date of initial issuance or renewal.
    c. to amend 47 CFR 90.155 to permit any public safety applicant to 
seek extended implementation authorization pursuant to the provisions 
of 47 CFR 90.629.
    d. to amend 47 CFR 90.175(i)(14), to require that applicants for 
any of the fifteen 220 MHz public safety channels set forth in 47 CFR 
90.719(c) and 90.720, submit their applications to a public safety 
frequency coordinator for frequency coordination prior to submission of 
the applications to the Commission.
    e. to amend 47 CFR 90.179 to provide that a radio facility 
authorized to a public safety licensee may be shared with a Federal 
government entity on a cost-shared, non-profit basis.
    3. Additionally, the document requests comments on: (1) An ex parte 
filing in the Commission's Refarming Proceeding, PR Docket No. 92-235, 
regarding trunking on frequencies in the bands between 150 and 512 MHz; 
(2) the Land Mobile Communications Council's suggestion that 
decentralized trunking systems be designated as such on the licensees' 
authorizations, and whether two separate authorizations are needed for 
``hybrid'' trunked systems; (3) whether the licensing requirement can 
be eliminated for certain part 90 frequencies and; (4) the concept of 
Adjacent Channel Couples Power as proposed by Motorola, Inc. as an 
alternative approach to emission masks for limiting out-of-band 
emissions. The document proposes these rule changes applicable to the 
Private Land Mobile Radio Services that will either simplify and 
upgrade part 90 and/or be deregulatory in nature. The document also 
invites commenters to submit information on the costs and benefits of 
the rules at issue in this proceeding and of the Commissions proposed 
modifications. The document does not address the part 90 Commercial 
Radio Services.

Administrative Matters

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    4. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (``RFA''), the 
Commission has prepared this present Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (``IRFA'') of the possible significant economic impact on 
small entities by the policies and rules proposed in this Notice of 
Proposed Rule Making (``Notice''). Written public comments are 
requested on this IRFA. Comments must be identified as responses to the 
IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines for comments on this Notice. 
The Commission will send a copy of the Notice, including this IRFA, to 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. 
See 5 U.S.C. 603(a).
A. Need For, and Objectives Of, the Proposed Rules
    5. Although not required by statute, we initiate this proceeding in 
conjunction with the Commission's 1998 biennial regulatory under 
Section 11 of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 161. Section 11 
requires us to

[[Page 65569]]

review all our regulations applicable to providers of 
telecommunications service and determine whether any rule is no longer 
in the public interest as a result of meaningful economic competition 
between providers of telecommunications service, and whether such 
regulations should be deleted or modified. As part of our biennial 
review of regulations required under Section 11, however, we believe it 
is appropriate to review all of our regulations relating to 
administering wireless services, not just those pertaining to providers 
of a telecommunications service, to determine which regulations can be 
streamlined or eliminated. Therefore, to streamline part 90 of the 
rules and reduce regulatory requirements, the Commission proposes to 
amend part 90 of its rules to: (1) Modify the language of specific 
rules to eliminate the confusions that applicants have had, which in 
many cases, has caused additional effort on the part of the applicant 
and resultant delays in application processing; (2) extend all five-
year license terms to ten years, thus reducing the licensee's burden 
and costs for license renewal; (3) for stations with an eight-month 
construction period, increase the time in which a station must be 
placed in operation from eight to twelve months; (4) provide extended 
implementation periods for public safety licensees under identical 
parameters regardless of the operating frequency band and; (5) permit 
public safety licensees with excess communications capacity to provide 
communications service to the Federal Government on a non-profit, cost-
shared basis. We believe these changes will encourage growth of land 
mobile systems and enhance telecommunications offerings for consumers, 
producers and new entrants.
B. Legal Basis
    6. Authority for issuance of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is 
contained in Sections 4(i) and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i) and 303(r).
C. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which 
the Proposed Rules Will Apply
    7. Under the RFA, small entities may include small organizations, 
small businesses, and small governmental jurisdictions. 5 U.S.C. 
601(6). The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601(3), generally defines the term ``small 
business'' as having the same meaning as ``small business concern'' 
under the Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632. A small business concern 
is one which: (1) Is independently owned and operated; (2) is not 
dominant in its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any additional 
criteria established by the Small Business Administration (``SBA''). 
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 601(3), the statutory definition of a small 
business applies ``unless an agency after consultation with the Office 
of Advocacy of the SBA and after opportunity for public comment, 
establishes one or more definitions of such term which are appropriate 
to the activities of the agency and publishes such definition(s) in the 
Federal Register.''
    8. Depending upon individual circumstances, the various proposed 
rules will apply to only certain businesses and local government 
entities that operate radio systems for their own internal use in the 
Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) services. PLMR systems serve an 
essential role in a vast range of industrial, business, land 
transportation, and public safety activities. These radios are used by 
companies of all sizes operating in all U.S. business categories. 
Because of the vast array of PLMR users, the Commission has not 
developed nor would it be possible to develop a definition of small 
entities specifically applicable to PLMR users. For the purpose of 
determining whether a licensee is a small business as defined by the 
SBA, each licensee would need to be evaluated within its own business 
area.
    9. We note that the Commission's 1994 Annual Report indicates that 
at the end of fiscal year 1994, there were approximately 292,000 
stations and 5.4 million transmitters operating just in the 800 and 900 
MHz and 24 GHz bands. Further, because any entity engaged in a business 
activity is eligible to hold a PLMR license, these proposed rules could 
potentially impact every small business in the U.S.
    10. The RFA also includes small governmental entities as a part of 
the regulatory flexibility analysis. The definition of a small 
governmental entity is one with a population of less than 50,000. There 
are 85,006 governmental entities in the nation. This number includes 
such entities as states, counties, cities, utility districts, and 
school districts. There are no figures available on what portion of 
this number has populations of fewer than 50,000. However, this number 
includes 38,978 counties, cities, and towns, and of those, 37,566, or 
96 percent, have populations of fewer than 50,000. The Census Bureau 
estimates that this ratio is approximately accurate for all 
governmental entities. Thus, of the 85,006 governmental entities, we 
estimate that 96 percent, or 81,600 are small entities that may be 
affected by our proposed rules. Therefore in this IRFA, we seek comment 
on the number of small businesses which could be impacted by the 
proposed rule changes.
D. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other 
Compliance Requirements
    11. No new reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance 
requirements would be imposed on applicants or licensees as a result of 
the actions proposed in this rulemaking proceeding.
E. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered
    12. Many of our proposed rules will result in economic benefits to 
small business and local government entities. We believe that there 
would be several public interest benefits gained by extending the 
license term for all part 90 licensees to ten years. First, there would 
be an economic benefit to new applicants in that their licensing costs 
would effectively be lowered. Under the Commission's current license 
fee structure, a part 90 licensee with a ten-year authorization has an 
economic advantage over a licensee with a five-year license in that it 
enjoys a longer license term at less cost. Second, under our proposal, 
existing five-year licenses would receive a ten-year renewal period 
upon expiration of the five-year license, thus halving the licensee's 
long-term renewal costs.
    13. Regarding the proposal to increase the time in which a station 
must be placed in operation from eight to twelve months, we envision 
that this change in the regulatory treatment of PLMRS stations would 
reduce the necessity for a licensee to request an extension of the time 
to construct, and thus would eliminate the costs necessary to make such 
a request.
    14. The distinction between systems operating above and below 800 
MHz is about to change because recently adopted rules will lead to the 
availability of new narrowband equipment and increase the possibility 
of using trunked equipment. This will, in turn, lead to larger, more 
complex public safety systems. Our proposal to permit ``slow growth'' 
extended implementation periods under the same parameters for systems 
operating below and above 800 MHz will enable faster system planning 
and implementation, resulting in reduced costs to licensees.
    15. Permitting a public safety licensee to share its station with a 
Federal government entity, is on a non-profit, cost-sharing basis would 
be beneficial to

[[Page 65570]]

both parties. It would lower the operational costs of the public safety 
system in that the public safety licensee would obtain cost-sharing 
benefits from the Federal agency, and it would enable the Federal 
agency to obtain needed communications at a lower cost than if the 
Federal agency had to implement its own communications system.
    16. We seek comments on these tentative conclusions.
F. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the 
Proposed Rules
    17. None.

Ordering Clauses

    18. It is ordered that, pursuant to Sections 4(i), 4(j), 303(r), 
and 403 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
154(i), 154(j), 303(r) and 403, notice is hereby given of proposed 
amendments to part 90 of the Commission's Rules, 47 CFR part 90, in 
accordance with the proposals, discussions, and statement of issues in 
this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
    19. It is further ordered that the Petition for Rulemaking 
submitted by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-
International, Inc. is granted to the extent indicated in the Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking.
    20. It is further ordered that the Commission's Office of Public 
Affairs, Reference Operations Division, shall send a copy of this 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 90

    Communications equipment, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.

Rule Changes

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR part 90 as follows:

PART 90--PRIVATE LAND MOBILE RADIO SERVICES

    1. The authority citation for part 90 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Sections 4, 303, and 332, 48 Stat. 1066, 1082, as 
amended: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, and 332, unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 90.1 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 90. 1  Basis and purpose.

* * * * *
    (b) Purpose. This part states the conditions under which radio 
communications systems may be licensed and used in the Public Safety 
Pool, Industrial/Land Transportation Pool, and the Radiolocation Radio 
Service. These rules do not govern radio systems employed by agencies 
of the Federal Government.
    3. Section 90.35 is amended by revising paragraph (c)(60)(i) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 90.35  Industrial/Business Pool.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (60) (i) Frequencies subject to this limitation may be used for 
voice or non-voice communications when utilized for cargo handling from 
a dock, or a cargo handling facility, to a vessel alongside. Any number 
of the frequencies may be authorized to one licensee for the purpose. 
Mobile relay stations may be temporarily installed at or in the 
vicinity of a dock or cargo handling facility and used when a vessel is 
alongside the dock or cargo handling facility.
* * * * *
    4. Section 90.149 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 90. 149  License term.

    (a) Licenses for stations authorized under this part will be issued 
for a term not to exceed ten (10) years from the date of the original 
issuance, modification, or renewal.
* * * * *
    5. Section 90.155 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 90.155  Time in which station must be placed in operation.

    (a) All stations authorized under this part, except as provided in 
Secs. 90.629, 90.665, and 90.685, must be placed in operation within 
twelve (12) months from the date of grant or the authorization cancels 
automatically and must be returned to the Commission.
    (b) A local government entity in the Public Safety Pool, applying 
for any frequency in this part, may also seek extended implementation 
authorization pursuant to Sec. 90.629.
    (c) For purposes of this section, a base station is not considered 
to be placed in operation unless at least one associated mobile station 
is also placed in operation. See also Secs. 90.633(d) and 90.631(f).
    (d) Multilateration LMS systems authorized in accordance with 
Sec. 90.353 must be constructed and placed in operation within twelve 
(12) months from the date of grant or the authorization cancels 
automatically and must be returned to the Commission. MTA-licensed 
multilateration LMS systems will be considered constructed and placed 
in operation if such systems construct a sufficient number of base 
stations that utilize multilateration technology (see paragraph (e) of 
this section) to provide multilateration location service to a 
substantial portion of at least one BTA in the MTA.
    (e) A multilateration LMS station will be considered constructed 
and placed in operation if it is built in accordance with its 
authorized parameters and is regularly interacting with one or more 
other stations to provide location service, using multilateration 
technology, to one or more mobile units. Specifically, LMS 
multilateration stations will only be considered constructed and placed 
in operation if they are part of a system that can interrogate a 
mobile, receive the response at 3 or more sites, compute the location 
from the time of arrival of the responses and transmit the location 
either back to the mobile or to a subscriber's fixed site.
    (f) For purposes of this section, a station licensed to provide 
commercial mobile radio service is not considered to have commenced 
service unless it provides service to at least one unaffiliated party.
    (g) Application for extension of time to commence service may be 
made on FCC Form 600. Extensions of time must be filed prior to the 
expiration of the construction period. Extensions will be granted only 
if the licensee shows that the failure to commence service is due to 
causes beyond its control. No extensions will be granted for delays 
caused by lack of financing, lack of site availability, for the 
assignment or transfer of control of an authorization, or for failure 
to timely order equipment. If the licensee orders equipment within 90 
days of the license grant, a presumption of due diligence is created.
    (h) An application for modification of an authorization (under 
construction) at the existing location does not extend the initial 
construction period. If additional time to commence service is 
required, a request for such additional time must be submitted on FCC 
Form 600, either separately or in conjunction with the submission of 
the FCC Form 600 requesting modification.


Sec. 90.167  [Removed]

    6. Section 90.167 is removed.
    7. Section 90.175 is amended by revising paragraph (i)(14) to read 
as follows:

[[Page 65571]]

Sec. 90.175  Frequency coordination requirements.

* * * * *
    (i) * * *
    (14) Except for applications for the frequencies set forth in 
Secs. 90.719(c) and 90.720, applications for frequencies in the 220-222 
MHz band.
* * * * *
    8. Section 90.177 is amended by revising the second sentence of 
paragraph (d)(2) to read as follows:


Sec. 90.177  Protection of certain radio receiving locations.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) * * * Prospective applicants should communicate with: Chief, 
Compliance and Information Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 
Washington, D.C. 20554.
* * * * *
    9. Section 90.179 is amended by adding paragraph (h) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 90.179  Shared use of radio stations.

* * * * *
    (h) Licensees authorized to operate radio systems on Public Safety 
Pool frequencies designated in Sec. 90.20 may share their facilities 
with Federal Government entities on a non-profit, cost-shared basis. 
Such a sharing arrangement is subject to the provisions of paragraphs 
(b), (d), and (e) of this section.
    10. Section 90.187 is amended by adding paragraph (d) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 90.187  Trunking in the bands between 150 and 512 MHz.

* * * * *
    (d) The maximum number of frequency pairs that may be assigned at 
any one time for the operation of a trunked radio station (class of 
station YG or YW) is ten.
    11. Section 90.421 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 90.421  Operation of mobile station units not under the control of 
the licensee.

    Mobile stations, as defined in Sec. 90.7 include vehicular-mounted 
and hand-held units. Such units may be operated by persons other than 
the licensee, as provided for below, when necessary for the licensee to 
meet its requirements in connection with the activities for which it is 
licensed. If the number of such units, together with units operated by 
the licensee, exceeds the number of mobile units authorized to the 
licensee, license modification is required. The licensee is responsible 
for taking necessary precautions to prevent unauthorized operation of 
such units not under its control.
    (a) Public Safety Pool. (1) Mobile units licensed in the Public 
Safety Pool may be installed in any vehicle which in an emergency would 
require cooperation and coordination with the licensee, and in any 
vehicle used in the performance, under contract, of official activities 
of the licensee. This provision does not permit the installation of 
radio units in non-emergency vehicles that are not performing 
governmental functions under contract but with which the licensee might 
wish to communicate.
    (2) Mobile units licensed under Sec. 90.20(a)(2)(iii) may be 
installed in a vehicle or be hand-carried for use by any person with 
whom cooperation or coordinations is required for medical services 
activities.
    (b) Industrial/Business Pool. Mobile units licensed in the 
Industrial/Business Pool may be installed in vehicles of persons 
furnishing under contract to the licensee and for the duration of the 
contract, a facility or service directly related to the activities of 
the licensee.
    (c) In addition to the above, frequencies assigned to licensees in 
the Private Land Mobile Radio Services may be installed in the 
facilities of those who assist the licensee in emergencies and with 
whom the licensee must communicate in situations involving imminent 
safety to life or property.
    12. Section 90.629 is amended by revising paragraphs (a)(1) and 
(a)(2) and adding paragraph (f) to read as follows:


Sec. 90.629  Extended implementation period.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (1) The proposed system will require longer than twelve (12) months 
to construct and place in operation because of its purpose, size, or 
complexity; or
    (2) The proposed system is to be part of a coordinated or 
integrated wide-area system which will require more than twelve (12) 
months to plan, approve, fund, purchase, construct, and place in 
operation; or
* * * * *
    (f) Pursuant to Sec. 90.155(b), the provisions of this section 
shall apply to local government entities applying for any frequency in 
the Public Safety Pool.

[FR Doc. 98-31608 Filed 11-25-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P