[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16351-16355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8304]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 90

[WT Docket No. 02-55; FCC 02-81]


Improving Public Safety Communications in the 800 MHz Band and 
Consolidating the 900 MHz Industrial/Land Transportation and Business 
Pool Channels

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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[[Page 16352]]

SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission seeks comment on proposals 
made by the National Association of Manufacturers and MRFAC, Inc. and 
Nextel Communications, Inc. for alleviation of interference to public 
safety communications in the 800 MHz band. The primary objective of the 
Notice of Proposed Rule Making is to explore all available options and 
alternatives for improving the spectrum environment for public safety 
operations in the 800 MHz Band and to ensure that public safety 
agencies have access to adequate spectrum resources in the 800 MHz band 
to support their critical missions. The Commission also requests 
comment on the terms and conditions of licenses in the 900 MHz land 
mobile band if it is used to relocate 800 MHz licensees to resolve 
interference. Finally, the Commission also seeks comment on a Petition 
for Rule Making filed by the Personal Communications Industry 
Association (PCIA) to consolidate the Business and Industrial/Land 
Transportation Pools.

DATES: Written comments by the public on the proposed are due on or 
before May 6, 2002, and reply comments are due on or before June 4, 
2002.

ADDRESSES: Acting Secretary, William F. Caton, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th St., SW., Washington, DC 
20554. Filings can be sent first class by the US Postal Service, by an 
overnight courier or hand and messenger-delivered. Hand and message-
delivered paper filings must be delivered to 236 Massachusetts Avenue, 
NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. Overnight courier (other than 
U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 
9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael J. Wilhelm, Wireless 
Telecommunications Bureau, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, 
at (202) 418-0680 (voice), (202) 418-1169 (TTY), [email protected] (e-
mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Federal 
Communications Commission's Notice of Proposed Rule Making, FCC 02-81, 
adopted on March 14, 2002 and released on March 15, 2002. The full text 
of this Notice of Proposed Rule Making is available for inspection and 
copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Room 
CY-A257, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. The complete text 
and graphical appendices may be purchased from the Commission's copy 
contractor, Qualex International, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, 
Washington, DC 20554. The full text may also be downloaded at 
www.fcc.gov. Alternative formats are available to persons with 
disabilities by contacting Martha Contee at (202) 418-0260 or TTY (202) 
418-2555.
    1. In this NPRM, the Commission:
     Describes the current configuration of the 800 MHz band 
public safety and non-public safety systems.
     Discusses the causes of severe interference to public 
safety communications.
     Tentatively concludes that increasing levels of harmful 
interference to public safety communications on the 800 MHz band must 
be remedied.
     Discusses various means of reconfiguring the 800 MHz band 
in a manner that will effectively minimize interference to public 
safety radio systems from Commercial Mobile Radio Service stations 
using cellular architecture.
     Requests information on the amount of spectrum sufficient 
to meet the needs of public safety.
     Discusses means of handling licensing and frequency 
coordination if the 800 MHz band is restructured and incumbent 800 MHz 
licensees are relocated to other suitable bands.
     With respect to any necessary incumbent relocation, 
discusses what replacement spectrum would be appropriate for displaced 
incumbents, who would be reimbursed for relocating and who would pay 
the costs associated with relocation.
     Considers complementary means of reducing interference to 
800 MHz public safety communications in addition to reconfiguration of 
the 800 MHz frequency band, including receiver standards, stricter 
limits on out of band emissions, and more robust public safety signals.
     Describes and discusses PCIA's petition for rule making 
seeking to consolidate the Business and Industrial/Land Transportation 
pools.
     Requests comment on the terms and conditions of licenses 
in the 900 MHz land mobile band if it is used to relocate displaced 
licensees.
    2. If commenting parties believe 800 MHz band restructuring is 
necessary to mitigate interference to 800 MHz public safety systems, 
they should describe their restructuring proposals in sufficiently 
exact detail that the Commission can ascertain whether they meet our 
goal of resolving interference with minimum disruption to existing 
services. If the 800 MHz band is restructured, there is the potential 
for gaining additional spectrum for use by public safety agencies. 
Before adopting any plan that would realize additional public safety 
spectrum, the Commission requires quantitative information on public 
safety agencies' needs for additional spectrum. The Commission seeks 
such information in this NPRM. In order that the Commission may build a 
record sufficient to take timely and effective action to alleviate 
interference to public safety communications, it solicits comments from 
the public safety community, telecommunications carriers, Specialized 
Mobile Radio, Business and Industrial/Land Transportation licensees and 
their representatives, equipment manufacturers, government agencies and 
any other parties who can contribute to a solution to an interference 
problem potentially threatening to life and property. Also, the 
Commission seeks comment from all interested parties on PCIA's proposal 
to merge the 900 MHz Business and Industrial/Land Transportation pools 
into a single pool accessible to both services.

I. Procedural Matters

A. Ex Parte Rules

    3. Pursuant to Sec. 1.1206 of the Commission's ex parte rules, 47 
CFR 1.1206, this rulemaking proceeding is a permit-but-disclose 
proceeding. Provided they are disclosed in accordance with the 
Commission's rules, ex parte presentations are permitted, except during 
the Sunshine Agenda period.

B. Filing Procedures

    4. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's Rules, 
47 CFR 1.415 and 1.419, interested parties may file comments on this 
Notice of Proposed Rule Making on or before May 6, 2002, and reply 
comments on or before June 4, 2002. Comments and reply comments should 
be filed in WT Docket No. 02-55. All relevant and timely filings will 
be considered by the Commission before final action is taken in this 
proceeding. To file formally in this proceeding, interested parties 
must file an original and four copies of each comment or reply comment. 
Commenting parties who wish each Commissioner to receive personal 
copies of their submissions must file an original and nine copies of 
each comment and reply comment. Comments and reply comments must be 
directed to William F. Caton, Office of the Secretary, Federal 
Communications Commission, 445 12th St., SW., Washington, DC 20554. 
Copies of all comments also should be provided to (1) the Commission's 
duplicating contractor, Qualex International, Portals

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II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-B402, Washington, DC, 20554, and (2) 
Michael J. Wilhelm, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 
445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. Filings can be sent first 
class by the US Postal Service, by an overnight courier or hand and 
messenger-delivered. Hand and messenger-delivered paper filings must be 
delivered to 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 
20002. Overnight courier (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 
and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol 
Heights, MD 20743.
    5. Comments may also be filed using the Commission's Electronic 
Comment Filing System (ECFS). Comments filed through the ECFS can be 
sent as an electronic file via the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html. Generally, only one copy of an electronic submission 
must be filed. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by 
Internet e-mail. To obtain filing instructions for e-mail comments, 
commenting parties should send an e-mail to [email protected], and should 
include the following words in the body of the message: ``get form your 
e-mail address>.'' A sample form and directions will be sent in reply. 
Or, you may obtain a copy of the ASCII Electronic Transmittal Form 
(FORM-ET) at http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/email.html.
    6. Comments and reply comments will be available for public 
inspection during regular business hours at the FCC Reference 
Information Center, Room CY-A257, at the Federal Communications 
Commission, 445 12th St., SW, Washington, DC. 20554. Copies of comments 
and reply comments are available through the Commission's duplicating 
contractor: Qualex International, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room 
CY-B402, Washington, DC, 20554, telephone 202-863-2893, facsimile 202-
863-2898, or via e-mail at [email protected]. This Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking can be found on the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau home 
page at http://wireless.fcc.gov.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    7. Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, see 5 U.S.C. 603, 
the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis is set forth beginning 
at paragraph nine. We request written public comments on the Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. These comments must be filed in 
accordance with the same filing deadlines as the comments on the rest 
of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making, and must have a separate and 
distinct heading designating them as responses to the Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. The Commission's Consumer Information 
Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a copy of this Notice 
of Proposed Rule Making, including the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    8. The proposals contained herein have been analyzed with respect 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 and found to contain no new or 
modified form, information collection and/or record keeping, labeling, 
disclosure, or record retention requirements; and will not increase or 
decrease burden hours imposed on the public.

II. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking

    9. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the 
Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA) of the possible significant economic impact on small entities of 
the policies and rules proposed in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(Notice). Written public comments are requested regarding this IRFA. 
Comments must be identified as responses to the IRFA and must be filed 
by the deadlines for comments on the Notice provided in paragraph 4 of 
the item. The Commission will send a copy of the Notice, including this 
IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration. In addition, the Notice and IRFA (or summaries thereof) 
will be published in the Federal Register.

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed Rules

    10. In the Notice, we consider proposals submitted by Nextel, Inc. 
(Nextel) and the National Association of Manufacturers and MRFAC, Inc. 
(NAM). Nextel proposes to: (1) Expand the 800 MHz public safety 
spectrum by consolidating it into 10 MHz blocks of contiguous channels 
at 806-816 MHz and 851-861 MHz; (2) relocate National Public Safety 
Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) licensees from their current 821-
824 MHz and 866-869 MHz channels into the above blocks of contiguous 
public safety spectrum; (3) relocate Business, Industrial and Land 
Transportation (I/LT), and Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) licensees 
from their current channels in the 809.75-816 MHz and 854.75-861 MHz 
band to channels in the 896-901 MHz and 935-940 MHz band and in the 
762-764 MHz and 792-794 MHz Guard Band Block B; (4) establish an 
allocation for ``low site, low power digital SMR'' licensees in the 
816-824 MHz and 861-869 MHz band; and (5) establish two 5 MHz blocks 
for ``Nextel SMR'' in the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) band. 
NAM proposes that the 800 MHz land mobile band be restructured so that 
there is a public safety segment from 806-811 MHz and 851-856 MHz; an 
SMR, Business, and Industrial and Land Transportation segment from 811-
816 MHz and 856-861 MHz; and a Cellular Architecture Digital SMR 
segment at 816-824 MHz and 861-869 MHz. We will also give consideration 
to other reallocation proposals. We have tentatively concluded that 
spectrum reallocation would be in the public interest because it would 
solve current and future harmful interference to 800 MHz public safety 
communications.
    11. We also consider a proposal that the 800 MHz and 900 MHz 
Business and Industrial/Land Transportation (I/LT) pools be 
consolidated into a single pool accessible by both services. In the 
alternative, we propose to lift the freeze on intercategory sharing 
that prevents the use of I/LT channels by Business entities.

B. Legal Basis

    12. Authority for issuance of this item is contained in Sections 
4(i), and 303(f) and (r) and Section 332 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 303(f) and (r), 332.

C. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which 
the Proposed Rules Will Apply

    13. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of and, where 
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be 
affected by proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA defines the term 
``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small 
business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small business concern'' 
under Section 3 of the Small Business Act, unless the Commission has 
developed one or more definitions that are appropriate for its 
activities. Under the Small Business Act, a small business concern is 
one that: (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.
    14. A small organization is generally any not-for-profit enterprise 
which is independently owned and operated and

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is not dominant in its field. Nationwide, as of 1992, there were 
approximately 275,801 small organizations. A ``small governmental 
jurisdiction'' generally means ``governments of cities, counties, 
towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special districts, 
with a population of less than 50,000.'' As of 1992, there were 
approximately 85,006 such jurisdictions in the United States. This 
number included 38,978 counties, cities, and towns; of these, 37,566, 
or ninety-six 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 81,600 (ninety-one percent) are small entities. Below, 
we further describe and estimate the number of small entities--
applicants, licensees, and radio equipment manufacturers--that may be 
affected by the proposals, if adopted, in this Notice.
    15. Public Safety Radio Licensees. There are currently 1320 public 
safety and NSPAC licensees who would be required to relocate their 
station facilities, with some reimbursement, if the NAM or Nextel 
proposals described in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking were adopted. 
The NSPAC licensees operate on six (6) MHz of spectrum from 821-824 and 
866-869 MHz known as the NSPAC channels. In this band the public safety 
channels are not interleaved with channels of other services; however, 
the band abuts the upper 200 SMR channels ending at 821/866 MHz and the 
cellular band beginning at 824/869 MHz. The other public safety 
licensees--operating on channels interleaved with channels of other 
services--affected by this proceeding include police, fire, local 
government, forestry conservation, highway maintenance, and emergency 
medical services operating in the 800 MHz band. Non-Federal government 
entities, as well as private businesses, are licensees for these 
services. As indicated above, all governmental entities with 
populations of less than 50,000 fall within the definition of a small 
entity.
    16. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a definition 
of small businesses directed specifically toward public safety 
licensees. Therefore, the applicable definition of small business is 
the definition under the SBA rules applicable to radiotelephone 
(wireless) companies. This provides that a small business is a 
radiotelephone company employing no more than 1,500 persons. According 
to the Bureau of the Census, only twelve radiotelephone firms from a 
total of 1,178 such firms that operated during 1992 had 1,000 or more 
employees. Therefore, even if all twelve of these firms were public 
safety licensees, nearly all would be small businesses under the SBA's 
definition, if independently owned and operated.
    17. Business, I/LT, and SMR licensees. At present, there are 2,100 
Business and I/LT licensees who would be required to relocate their 
station facilities, without reimbursement, if the Nextel proposal 
described in the Notice were adopted. Also, there are currently 1,100 
SMR licensees who would be required to relocate their station 
facilities, without reimbursement, if the Nextel proposal were 
implemented. Significantly fewer such licensees would have to be 
relocated under the NAM proposal. Neither the Commission nor the SBA 
has developed a definition of small businesses directed specifically 
toward these licensees. Therefore, the applicable definition of small 
business is the definition under the SBA rules applicable to 
radiotelephone (wireless) companies. This provides that a small 
business is a radiotelephone company employing no more than 1,500 
persons. According to the Bureau of the Census, only twelve 
radiotelephone firms from a total of 1,178 such firms that operated 
during 1992 had 1,000 or more employees. Therefore, even if all twelve 
of these firms were business, ILT, SMR, or MSS licensees, nearly all 
would be small businesses under the SBA's definition, if independently 
owned and operated.
    18. Communications Equipment Manufacturers. This proposal will 
provide marketing opportunities for radio manufacturers, some of which 
may be small businesses. According to the Small Business 
Administration's regulations, a radio and television broadcasting and 
communications equipment manufacturer must have 750 or fewer employees 
in order to qualify as a small business concern. Census Bureau data 
indicate that there are 858 U.S. firms that manufacture radio and 
television broadcasting and communications equipment, and that 778 of 
these firms have fewer than 750 employees and, therefore, would be 
classified as small entities. We do not have information that indicates 
how many radio equipment manufacturers who would be interested in 
manufacturing the new radio equipment are among these 778 small firms. 
Motorola and M/A COM Private Radio Systems, Inc., however, are major, 
nationwide radio equipment manufacturers, and thus, would not qualify 
as small businesses.

D. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements

    19. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking does not propose a rule that 
will entail additional reporting, recordkeeping, and/or third-party 
consultation or other compliance efforts.

E. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered

    20. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant 
alternatives that it has considered in reaching its proposed approach, 
which may include the following four alternatives (among others): (1) 
The establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or 
timetables that take into account the resources available to small 
entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of 
compliance or reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; 
(3) the use of performance, rather than design, standards; and (4) an 
exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small 
entities. 5 U.S.C. 603.
    21. As an alternative to relocating Business, I/LT, and SMR 
systems, we will consider: (a) Allowing the licensees of these systems 
to remain on the public safety channels, on a secondary basis, after 
the realignment plan is implemented, as proposed by Nextel; or (b) 
allowing Business, I/LT and SMR systems to remain in the 800 MHz band 
as proposed by NAM. We will also consider such alternatives as may be 
recommended in comments to the Notice. We will also evaluate whether 
the 700 MHz public safety allocation, though currently encumbered with 
television stations, can satisfactorily meet public safety's spectrum 
needs.

F. Federal Rules that May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the 
Proposed Rules

    22. None.

III. Ordering Clause

    23. Authority for the issuance of this Notice of Proposed Rule 
Making is contained in Sections 4(i), 303(f) and (r), 332 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 303(f) and 
(r), 332.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 90

    Communications equipment, Radio, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.


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Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-8304 Filed 4-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P