[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41381-41383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17422]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 90

[WT Docket No. 99-87, RM-9332; FCC 10-119]


Private Land Mobile Radio Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission issued an Order (``Order'') 
waiving certain of its rules pertaining to the January 1, 2011 interim 
deadlines associated with the narrowbanding of private land mobile 
radio licensees in the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands. The 
Commission denied relief with respect to the interim licensing 
deadlines, but granted relief in part with respect to certain interim 
equipment deadlines.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melvin Spann, [email protected], 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, (202) 418-1333, or TTY (202) 418-
7233.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order 
in WT Docket No. 99-87 and RM-9332, FCC 10-119, adopted on June 29, 
2010 and released June 30, 2010. The Commission waives certain of its 
rules pertaining to the January 1, 2011 interim deadlines associated 
with the narrowbanding of private land mobile radio licensees in the 
150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands. The full text of

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this document is available for inspection and copying during normal 
business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20554. The complete text may be purchased from the 
Commission's copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th 
Street, SW., Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. The full text may also 
be downloaded at: http://www.fcc.gov. Alternative formats are available 
to persons with disabilities by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or 
by calling the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 
(voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).
    1. In this order, we grant in part and deny in part a petition 
filed by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) 
requesting a stay of the January 1, 2011 interim deadlines associated 
with the narrowbanding of private land mobile radio (PLMR) licensees in 
the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands. In previous orders, the 
Commission set January 1, 2013 as the final deadline for PLMR licensees 
in these bands to migrate to narrowband (12.5 kHz or narrower) 
technology, and January 1, 2011 as the deadline for certain interim 
measures relating to licensing and equipment. For the reasons set forth 
herein, we deny NPSTC's request with respect to the interim licensing 
deadlines, but we grant the requested relief in part with respect to 
certain interim equipment deadlines.
    2. In a 1995 Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule 
Making, at 10 FCC Rcd 10076, 10077 para. 1 (1995), in this proceeding, 
the Commission adopted rule changes to promote the efficient use of the 
PLMR service and facilitate the introduction of advanced technologies. 
To promote the transition to a more efficient narrowband channel plan, 
the Commission provided, inter alia, that ``only increasingly efficient 
equipment'' would be approved. The Commission did not set a date after 
which it would no longer approve equipment with a wideband (25 kHz) 
mode, or after which such equipment could no longer be manufactured or 
used. The Commission contemplated that, as systems reached the end of 
their service life and new radios were needed, users would migrate to 
the narrower bandwidth multi-mode radios in order to avoid the 
adjacent-channel interference that could occur from systems using the 
adjacent narrowband channels.
    3. Subsequently, the Commission determined that the 1995 rules 
failed to provide adequate incentive to realize the Commission's 
spectrum efficiency goals in these bands, and stronger measures would 
be required to bring about a timely transition to narrowband 
technology. The Commission therefore amended the rules to provide that, 
by January 1, 2013, Industrial/Business and Public Safety Radio Pool 
licensees in the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands must migrate to 12.5 
kHz channel bandwidth, or utilize a technology that achieves equivalent 
efficiency.
    4. The Commission also adopted interim deadlines to facilitate this 
transition to narrowband technology. Specifically, beginning January 1, 
2011: (1) The manufacture, import, or certification of equipment 
capable of operating with only one voice path per 25 kHz of spectrum, 
i.e., equipment that includes a 25 kHz mode, will be prohibited; (2) 
the Commission will no longer accept applications for new wideband 25 
kHz operations, or modification applications that expand the authorized 
contour of existing 25 kHz stations; and (3) the Commission will no 
longer accept applications for certification of equipment that cannot 
operate in 6.25 kHz mode or with equivalent efficiency. Since that 
time, the Commission has reiterated its commitment to the narrowbanding 
transition, as demand for scarce PLMR spectrum continues to grow.
    5. NPSTC states that it fully supports the 2013 deadline for 
licensees to transition to narrowband technology, but it requests a 
stay of the 2011 deadlines. It argues that enforcement of the 
prohibition on new or expanded 25 kHz licenses, and on the manufacture, 
import, or certification of equipment that includes a 25 kHz mode, will 
hamper public safety interoperability during the final two years of the 
transition, and requests that these deadlines be stayed until January 
1, 2013. NPSTC also contends that the prohibition on certification of 
equipment that does not include 6.25 kHz capability will unnecessarily 
raise equipment costs, and should be stayed until January 1, 2015. 
NPSTC argues that the Commission's stay of these deadlines would not 
prevent or deter licensee implementation of narrowband technology prior 
to 2013, or prevent manufacturers from voluntarily including 6.25 kHz 
efficiency in new equipment.
    6. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Public Safety and 
Homeland Security Bureau sought comment on NPSTC's request. Commenters 
generally favor an extension of the interim measures relating to 
equipment manufacture, importation, and certification; but are split 
with regard to extending the interim licensing deadlines. Commenters 
agree that any action should apply equally to Industrial/Business and 
Public Safety licensees.
    7. While NPSTC describes its petition as a stay request, we believe 
that it is more accurately characterized as a request for a temporary 
waiver of the 2011 deadlines. Pursuant to Sec.  1.925(b)(3) of our 
rules, we may grant a request for waiver if it is shown that (a) the 
underlying purpose of the rules would not be served or would be 
frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of the 
requested waiver would be in the public interest; or (b) in view of 
unique or unusual factual circumstances, application of the rules would 
be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, 
or the applicant has no reasonable alternative. We remain committed to 
bringing about a timely transition to narrowband technology in the PLMR 
services, in order to alleviate congestion in this crowded spectrum. 
Nevertheless, for the reasons set forth below, we find that a waiver is 
warranted with respect to certain aspects of NPSTC's request, and we 
accordingly grant the request in part and deny it in part. 
Specifically, we: (1) Extend the timeframe for manufacturing or 
importing equipment that includes a 25 kHz mode, but not the deadline 
for prohibiting certification applications for equipment that includes 
a 25 kHz mode; (2) maintain the deadline for new or expanded 25 kHz 
operations; and (3) extend the timeframe for certifying equipment that 
is not capable of operating in 6.25 kHz mode, but only until 2013, 
rather than 2015 as requested by NPSTC. Consistent with the comments we 
have received, all narrowbanding deadlines will continue to apply 
equally to Industrial/Business and Public Safety licensees.
    8. Manufacture or import of equipment with a 25 kHz mode. NPSTC 
argues that prohibiting the manufacture or import of equipment that 
includes a 25 kHz mode will effectively prevent existing systems from 
replacing or adding radios during the last two years of the 
narrowbanding transition, which would hamper interoperability between 
systems (or different parts of the same system) that are at different 
stages of the narrowbanding conversion. When the Commission adopted the 
2011 deadlines, it specifically stated that the narrowbanding schedule 
was designed to avoid complicating efforts to establish public safety 
interoperability. Moreover, we agree that it would be contrary to the 
public interest to prevent licensees from keeping 25 kHz systems in 
full working order until they complete the migration

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to narrowband technology. Relief arguably is not necessary to avoid an 
equipment shortage, given that the rules do not prohibit the marketing 
and sale of existing inventories of 25 kHz-capable equipment after 
January 1, 2011. Nonetheless, we believe that a temporary waiver of the 
prohibition on manufacture or import of 25 kHz-capable equipment is 
appropriate, in order to ensure that necessary equipment remains 
available during the narrowbanding transition. We therefore grant a 
blanket waiver of Sec.  90.203(j)(10) until January 1, 2013.
    9. Certification of equipment with a 25 kHz mode. With respect to 
new certifications of equipment capable of operating in 25 kHz mode, 
however, we conclude that a waiver would not be appropriate. Permitting 
the continued manufacture and import of existing 25 kHz-capable models 
is sufficient to ensure that adequate supplies remain available in 
order to maintain existing systems during the narrowbanding transition. 
In contrast, there is no convincing evidence or argument upon which to 
conclude that certifying new types of 25 kHz-capable equipment is 
necessary for maintaining those systems, or that it would otherwise be 
in the public interest to expand the range of available 25 kHz-capable 
equipment as the 12.5 kHz migration deadline approaches. We therefore 
decline to grant a waiver of Sec.  90.203(j)(4).
    10. New or expanded 25 kHz operations. We also deny NPSTC's request 
with respect to the deadline in Sec.  90.209(b)(6) for applications for 
new 25 kHz operations, or modification applications that expand the 
authorized contour of existing 25 kHz stations. NPSTC argues that 
prohibiting new or modified 25 kHz licenses will hamper 
interoperability between systems. The relief requested, however, is 
much broader, and would permit new or expanded 25 kHz operations for 
any reason. The interim deadlines were intended to encourage licensees 
to begin planning and implementing migration to narrowband technology 
well before January 1, 2013. We conclude that continuing to authorize 
new or expanded 25 kHz operations after January 1, 2011 generally would 
be contrary to the public interest, and would otherwise undermine our 
goals in establishing the narrowbanding transition deadlines in the 
first instance. As 25 kHz licensees migrate to narrowband technology, 
spectrum becomes available to other licensees to relieve congestion. We 
decline to take any action that would leave spectrum encumbered by 25 
kHz operations longer than necessary. In situations where authorizing 
new or expanded 25 kHz operations would further the public interest, 
case-by-case relief may be considered through the waiver process.
    11. Certification of equipment lacking a 6.25 kHz mode. Finally, 
NPSTC argues that requiring applications for equipment certification to 
specify 6.25 kHz capability as of January 1, 2011 will increase 
equipment costs with no accompanying benefit for 12.5 kHz or 25 kHz 
licensees. NPSTC also notes that a public safety interoperability 
standard for 6.25 kHz operation is still under development, and argues 
that compelling the purchase of more expensive equipment that may need 
to be replaced once a standard is adopted would burden public safety 
resources. NPSTC therefore requests that this requirement be extended 
to January 1, 2015, which would align it with the deadline requiring 
manufacturers of 700 MHz public safety band equipment to certify, 
manufacture, market, and import only equipment with a 6.25 kHz 
capability. In the Third Report and Order at 72 FR 19387, April 18, 
2007, in this proceeding, the Commission agreed with NPSTC and others 
that it would be premature to take regulatory action toward a migration 
to 6.25 kHz technology before standards for such equipment are 
developed. Because the standards still have not been finalized, we 
agree with NPSTC that the deadline for complying with the 6.25 kHz 
requirement in Sec.  90.203(j)(5) should be delayed. We do not, 
however, believe that it is necessary to move this deadline to the same 
date as the 700 MHz deadline. Because our intent is to avoid any 
impediment to 150-174 MHz or 421-512 MHz licensees' migration to 12.5 
kHz technology, we grant a waiver of Sec.  90.203(j)(5) only until 
January 1, 2013.
    12. For the aforementioned reasons, we grant the NPSTC request in 
part and deny it in part. We recognize the concerns of NPSTC and some 
commenters that enforcing certain interim deadlines as of January 1, 
2011 could hamper operations during the final two years of the 
transition and unnecessarily raise equipment costs. Consequently, we:
     Waive until January 1, 2013 the deadline for ceasing 
manufacture or import of equipment that includes a 25 kHz mode, but 
deny the request to stay the deadline for prohibiting certification 
applications for 25 kHz-capable equipment;
     Decline to waive the deadline for seeking new or expanded 
25 kHz operations; and
     Waive until January 1, 2013 the deadline for certifying 
equipment that is not capable of operating in 6.25 kHz mode.
    We emphasize our commitment to the January 1, 2013 deadline for 
migrating to narrowband technology, which the Commission first adopted 
in 2003 and subsequently affirmed, in order to promote the efficient 
use of PLMR spectrum and facilitate the introduction of advanced 
technologies.
    13. Accordingly, it is ordered pursuant to sections 4(i), 11, 
303(g), and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 
U.S.C. 154(i), 161, 303(g), and 303(r), that the Request for Stay filed 
by the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council on September 
29, 2009 is granted in part and denied in part, to the extent set forth 
above.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-17422 Filed 7-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P