[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63869-63871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22128]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 90

[WT Docket No. 02-55; DA 07-4489]


Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Seeks Comment on Post-
Reconfiguration 800 MHz Band Plan for the U.S.-Canada Border Regions

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document seeks comment on post-reconfiguration 800 MHz 
band plans for the U.S.-Canada border regions. The Bureau, by this 
action, affords interested parties an opportunity to submit comments 
and reply comments on proposals for establishing a reconfigured 800 MHz 
band plan in the U.S.-Canada border region in order to accomplish the 
Commission's goals for band reconfiguration.

DATES: Comments are due on or before December 3, 2007 and Reply 
Comments are due on or before December 18, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Marenco, Policy Division, Public 
Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, (202) 418-0838.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, DA 07-4489, released on November 
1, 2007. The complete text of this document is available for inspection 
and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference 
Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-A257, 
Washington, DC 20554. This document may also be purchased from the 
Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 
12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, telephone (800) 
378-3160 or (202) 863-2893, facsimile (202) 863-2898, or via e-mail at 
http://www.bcpiweb.com. It is also available on the Commission's Web 
site at http://www.fcc.gov.
    1. In a July 2004 Report and Order, the Commission reconfigured the 
800 MHz band to eliminate interference to public safety and other land 
mobile communication systems operating in the band, 69 FR 67823 
(November 22, 2004). However, the Commission deferred consideration of 
band reconfiguration plans for the border areas, noting that 
``implementing the band plan in areas of the United States bordering 
Mexico and Canada will require modifications to international 
agreements for use of the 800 MHz band in the border areas.'' The 
Commission stated that ``the details of the border plans will be 
determined in our ongoing discussions with the Mexican and Canadian 
governments.''
    2. In a Second Memorandum Opinion and Order, adopted in May 2007, 
the Commission delegated authority to Public Safety and Homeland 
Security Bureau to propose and adopt border area band plans once 
agreements are reached with Canada and Mexico, 72 FR 39756 (July 20, 
2007). Specifically, the Commission noted that ``once those discussions 
are completed, and any necessary modifications to our international 
agreements have been made, we will need to amend our rules to implement 
the agreements and identify the portions of the 800 MHz band that will 
be available to U.S. licensees on a primary basis. In addition, we will 
need to adopt a band plan for the border regions that specifies the 
ESMR and non-ESMR portions of the band and the distribution of channels 
to public safety, B/ILT, and SMR licensees.''
    3. In July 2007, the U.S. and Canada reached an agreement on a 
process that will enable the U.S. to proceed with band reconfiguration 
in the border region. Consequently, the Public Safety and Homeland 
Security Bureau issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to seek 
comment on specific proposals for reconfiguring the eight U.S.-Canada 
border regions. The goal is to separate--to the greatest extent 
possible--public safety and other non-cellular licensees from licensees 
who employ cellular technology.
    4. Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments and 
reply comments on or before the dates listed on the first page of this 
summary. All filings related to the Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking should refer to WT Docket No. 02-55. Comments may be filed 
using: (1) The Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), 
(2) the Federal Government's eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper 
copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 
63 Fed. Reg. 24,121 (1998).

Procedural Matters

A. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    5. Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the Bureau has 
prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the 
possible significant economic impact on

[[Page 63870]]

small entities by the proposals considered in the Further Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). The text of the IRFA is set forth in 
Appendix A of the FNPRM. Written public comments are requested on this 
IRFA. Comments must be filed in accordance with the same filing 
deadlines for comments on the FNPRM, and they should have a separate 
and distinct heading designating them as responses to the IRFA. The 
Bureau will send a copy of the FNPRM, including the IRFA, to the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.

B. Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    6. This document does not contain proposed information 
collection(s) subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new 
or modified ``information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4).

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    7. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 
amended (RFA), the Commission has prepared this present Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the possible significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities by the 
policies and rules proposed in the Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (FNPRM). 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 the first page of the FNPRM. The 
Commission will send a copy of the FNPRM, including this IRFA, to the 
Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA). 
In addition, the FNPRM and IRFA (or summaries thereof) will be 
published in the Federal Register.

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

    8. In the FNPRM, we consider proposals submitted by the Consensus 
Parties, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and representatives from 
regional planning committees in Ohio, New York, and Washington State 
for reconfiguring the 800 MHz band in the U.S.-Canada border regions. 
These parties propose relocating public safety licensees to U.S. 
primary spectrum in the lower portion of the band while placing B/ILT 
and ESMR systems higher in the band on U.S. primary spectrum above 815/
860 MHz. These proposals also include region-specific variations. The 
reconfiguration of the 800 MHz band in the U.S.-Canada border regions 
is in the public interest because it will allow the Commission to 
eliminate interference in these regions to public safety and other land 
mobile communication systems. Interference is eliminated by 
separating--to the greatest extent possible--public safety and other 
non-cellular licensees from licensees that employ cellular technology 
in the 800 MHz band.

B. Legal Basis

    9. The legal basis for any action that may be taken pursuant to the 
FNPRM is contained in sections 4(i) and 332 of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 332.

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

    10. 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 the proposed rules. The RFA generally defines the term 
``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms ``small 
business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same 
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business 
Act. 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).
    11. Nationwide, there are a total of approximately 22.4 million 
small businesses, according to SBA data. A ``small organization'' is 
generally ``any not-for-profit enterprise which is independently owned 
and operated and is not dominant in its field.'' Nationwide, as of 
2002, there were approximately 1.6 million small organizations. The 
term ``small governmental jurisdiction'' is defined generally as 
``governments of cities, towns, townships, villages, school districts, 
or special districts, with a population of less than fifty thousand.'' 
Census Bureau data for 2002 indicate that there were 87,525 local 
governmental jurisdictions in the United States. We estimate that, of 
this total, 84,377 entities were ``small governmental jurisdictions.'' 
Thus, we estimate that most governmental jurisdictions are small. 
Below, we further describe and estimate the number of small entities--
applicants and licensees--that may be affected by the proposals, if 
adopted, in this FNPRM.
    12. Public Safety Radio Licensees. Public safety licensees who 
operate 800 MHz systems in the U.S.-Canada border region would be 
required to relocate their station facilities according to the band 
plans proposed in the FNPRM. As indicated above, all governmental 
entities with populations of less than 50,000 fall within the 
definition of a small entity.
    13. Business, I/LT, and SMR licensees. Business and Industrial Land 
Transportation (B/ILT) and Special Mobile Radio (SMR) licensees who 
operate 800 MHz systems in the U.S.-Canada border region would be 
required to relocate their station facilities according to the band 
plans proposed in the FNPRM. Neither the Commission nor the SBA has 
developed a definition of small businesses directed specifically toward 
these licensees.
    14. Wireless Service Providers. Wireless Service Providers who 
operate 800 MHz systems in the U.S.-Canada border region would be 
required to relocate their station facilities according to the band 
plans proposed in the FNPRM. The SBA has developed a small business 
size standard for wireless firms within the two broad economic census 
categories of ``Paging'' and ``Cellular and Other Wireless 
Telecommunications.'' Under both categories, the SBA deems a wireless 
business to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For the census 
category of Paging, Census Bureau data for 2002 show that there were 
807 firms in this category that operated for the entire year. Of this 
total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or fewer employees, and three 
firms had employment of 1,000 employees or more. Thus, under this 
category and associated small business size standard, the majority of 
firms can be considered small. For the census category of Cellular and 
Other Wireless Telecommunications, Census Bureau data for 2002 show 
that there were 1,397 firms in this category that operated for the 
entire year. Of this total, 1,378 firms had employment of 999 or fewer 
employees, and 19 firms had employment of 1,000 employees or more. 
Thus, under this second category and size standard, the majority of 
firms can, again, be considered small.
    15. Also, Sprint Corporation will be affected by the band plan 
proposals in this FNPRM but it is not a small carrier.

[[Page 63871]]

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

    16. The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking does not propose a 
rule that will entail additional reporting, recordkeeping, and/or 
third-party consultation or other compliance efforts. As noted in 
Section C, supra, public safety, B/ILT, SMR licensees, and wireless 
service providers who operate 800 MHz systems in the U.S.-Canada border 
region would be required to relocate their station facilities according 
to the band plans proposed in the FNPRM. Also, Sprint Corporation will 
pay the cost of relocating incumbent licensees.

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

    17. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant, 
specifically small business 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) and exemption 
from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small entities.''
    18. In the FNPRM, the Bureau seeks comment on proposals to relocate 
public safety systems to U.S. primary spectrum in the lower portion of 
the band while placing B/ILT and ESMR systems higher in the band on 
U.S. primary spectrum above 815/860 MHz. These proposals also contain 
certain region-specific variations. Because the reconfiguration of the 
800 MHz band in the U.S.-Canada border regions seeks to eliminate 
interference to public safety and other land mobile communication 
systems, these proposals, if adopted, minimize the cost that licensees 
would otherwise incur to resolve interference. Further, Sprint 
Corporation will pay the cost of relocating incumbent licensees. 
Additionally, the Bureau specifically seeks comment on alternatives to 
the proposed band plans and will consider such alternatives as may be 
recommended in comments to the FNPRM.

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

    19. None.

Ordering Clauses

    20. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to sections 4(i) and 332 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 332, 
that this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking IS ADOPTED.
    21. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, SHALL SEND a 
copy of this Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.
    22. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that pursuant to applicable procedures 
set forth in Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 
CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on this Further 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on December 3, 2007, and reply comments 
on December 18, 2007.

Federal Communications Commission.
Derek K. Poarch,
Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.
 [FR Doc. E7-22128 Filed 11-9-07; 8:45 am]
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