[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12055-12056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4659]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[WT Docket No. 12-37; DA 12-202]


Comment Sought on Petition for Declaratory Ruling Interpreting 
the Definition of ``Commercial Mobile Radio Services'' as Applied to 
NEXTG Networks of California, Inc.'s Distributed Antenna Systems and 
Other ``Small-Cell'' Solutions

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau seeks 
comment on NextG Networks of California, Inc.'s Petition for 
Declaratory Ruling, which asks the Commission to interpret Sec.  20.3 
of the Commission's rules and to find that it is not a provider of 
``commercial mobile radio service'' (CMRS).

DATES: Interested parties may file comments on or before April 2, 2012, 
and reply comments on or before May 2, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by WT Docket No. 12-37, 
by any of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Federal Communications Commission's Electronic Comment Filing 
System (ECFS) Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by 
commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. 
Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
    People With Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request reasonable 
accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: [email protected] or phone: (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
    For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional 
information, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Brett, Spectrum & Competition 
Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, [email protected], 
(202) 418-2703.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Public 
Notice, DA 12-202, released on February 16, 2012, which seeks comment 
on a Petition for Declaratory (Petition) filed December 21, 2011, by 
NextG Networks of California, Inc. (Petitioner), a subsidiary of NextG 
Networks, Inc. The full text of this document is available for public 
inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC 
Reference Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street SW., Room CY-A257, 
Washington, DC 20554. The complete text may also 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 email to [email protected] or 
by calling the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 
(voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
    The proceeding this Notice initiates shall be treated as a 
``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's 
ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy 
of any written presentation or memorandum summarizing any oral 
presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a 
different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons 
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda 
summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or 
otherwise participating in the meeting at which the ex parte 
presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and 
arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted 
in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already 
reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda or other 
filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such 
data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other 
filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where 
such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the 
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex 
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must 
be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 
rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of 
electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda 
summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, 
must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available 
for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g., 
.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding 
should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules.

Summary of Public Notice

    1. The Petitioner asks the Commission to interpret Sec.  20.3 of 
the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 20.3, in response to a referral from the 
Superior Court of Arizona, County of Maricopa. In the state court 
litigation, Petitioner is challenging the City of Scottsdale, Arizona's 
authority to impose fees on Petitioner for use of public rights-of-way. 
Petitioner asks the Commission to find that it is not a provider of 
``commercial mobile radio service'' (CMRS) as defined in Sec.  20.3 of 
the Commission's rules. Such a finding could potentially exempt 
Petitioner from local fees under Arizona law.
    2. The Commission has defined CMRS in Sec.  20.3 of the rules as: 
``A mobile service that is: (a)(1) Provided for profit, i.e., with the 
intent of receiving compensation or monetary gain; (2) An 
interconnected service; and (3) Available to the public, or to such 
classes of eligible users as to be effectively available to a 
substantial portion of the public; or (b) The functional equivalent of 
such a mobile service described in paragraph (a) of this Sec.  .'' 
Sec.  322(d)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
similarly defines a ``commercial mobile service'' as ``any mobile 
service (as defined in Sec.  153 of this title) that is provided for 
profit and makes interconnected service available (A) to the public or 
(B) to such classes of eligible users as to be effectively available to 
a substantial portion of the public, as specified by regulation by the 
Commission.'' 47 U.S.C. 332(d)(1).
    3. Petitioner states that it provides telecommunications service 
via Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) and other ``small-cell 
solutions.'' Petitioner states that in operating these systems, it 
transmits signals for its wireless carrier customers along fiber optic 
networks between equipment used by the carriers to receive and transmit 
radio signals and the carriers' networks. Petitioner argues that, 
because it only transports received wireless signals over its own wired 
network, it does not provide ``commercial mobile radio service'' as 
defined under the Commission's rules. Petitioner also states that it 
has received a certificate of convenience and necessity from the 
Arizona Public

[[Page 12056]]

Utilities Commission to provide its services in the State of Arizona.

Federal Communications Commission.
Jane Jackson, Associate Chief,
Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2012-4659 Filed 2-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P