[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 83 (Monday, May 3, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23281-23299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08802]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 2, 15, 90 and 95

[ET Docket No. 19-138; FCC 20-164; FR ID 17510]


Use of the 5.850-5.925 GHz Band

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) adopts revised rules to repurpose the lower 45 megahertz 
of the 5.850-5.925 GHz band (5.9 GHz band) for the expansion of 
unlicensed mid-band spectrum operations, while retaining the upper 30 
megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for intelligent 
transportation system (ITS) operations. Splitting the 5.9 GHz band 
between unlicensed and ITS uses is intended to optimize use of the 
spectrum resources in the 5.9 GHz band to fully and effectively serve 
the American people, providing access to additional spectrum for 
unlicensed use to help meet the growing demand for wireless broadband, 
while retaining spectrum for ITS use to meet current and future ITS 
needs within the transportation and vehicular-safety related ecosystem. 
The Commission modified the First Report and Order and Order of 
Proposed Modification released on November 20, 2020, with an Erratum 
released on December 11, 2020. The Commission released a Second Erratum 
on February 9, 2021. The corrections from these errata are included in 
this document.

DATES: Effective July 2, 2021, except for Sec.  90.372, which is 
delayed indefinitely. The Commission will publish a document in the 
Federal Register announcing the effective date for Sec.  90.372. The 
incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rules 
is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of July 2, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Coleman, Chief, Spectrum Policy 
Branch, Office of Engineering and Technology, at (202) 418-2705 or 
[email protected]. For information regarding the PRA information 
collection requirements contained in this PRA, contact Nicole Ongele, 
Office of Managing Director, at (202) 418-2991 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's First 
Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification, ET Docket No. 19-
138, FCC 20-164, adopted November 18, 2020, and released November 20, 
2020. This document is available by downloading the text from the 
Commission's website at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-164A1.pdf. When the FCC Headquarters reopens to the public, the full 
text of this document also will be available for public inspection and 
copying during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 45 L 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. Alternative formats are available for 
people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio 
format) by sending an email to [email protected] or calling the 
Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 
(voice), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA) requires 
that an agency prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for notice and 
comment rulemakings, unless the agency certifies that ``the rule will 
not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.'' As required by the RFA, an 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was incorporated in the 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (85 FR 6841, Feb. 6, 2020). The 
Commission sought written public comment on the proposals in the NPRM, 
including comments on the IRFA. No comments were filed addressing the 
IRFA. Accordingly, the Commission has prepared a Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) concerning the possible impact of the rule 
changes contained in this First Report and Order on small entities. 
This present FRFA conforms to the RFA.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The requirements in Sec.  90.372 constitute new or modified 
collections subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
Public Law 104-13. They will be submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3507(d) of the PRA. OMB, the 
general public, and

[[Page 23282]]

other Federal agencies will be invited to comment on the new or 
modified information collection requirements contained in this 
proceeding. In addition, the Commission notes that, pursuant to the 
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission previously sought, but did not 
receive, specific comment on how the Commission might further reduce 
the information collection burden for small business concerns with 
fewer than 25 employees. The Commission describes impacts that might 
affect small businesses, which includes more businesses with fewer than 
25 employees, in the FRFA.

Congressional Review Act

    The Commission has determined, and the Administrator of the Office 
of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 
concurs that this rule is major under the Congressional Review Act, 5 
U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission will send a copy of this First Report and 
Order and Order of Proposed Modification to Congress and the Government 
Accountability Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Synopsis

I. Introduction

    1. To help meet the burgeoning demand for wireless broadband as the 
American public and businesses increasingly rely on internet 
connectivity, the Commission continuously evaluates spectrum use and 
its rules in efforts to enable more efficient spectrum use through a 
variety of methods, including authorizing unlicensed operations. For 
the past two decades, the entire 75 megahertz that makes up the 5.9 GHz 
band has been reserved for use by Dedicated Short Range Communications 
(DSRC) in the ITS radio service for transportation and vehicle safety-
related purposes. During that time, the DSRC-based service has evolved 
slowly and is being used in certain traffic-related projects but has 
not been widely deployed within the consumer automobile market. In 
short, DSRC-based ITS has not lived up to the original promise of 
achieving the ITS goals identified when the spectrum was allocated--
leaving valuable mid-band spectrum underused.
    2. Meanwhile, numerous technologies that operate outside the 5.9 
GHz band have been or are being developed and deployed to improve 
transportation safety and efficiency and provide certain services 
envisioned for DSRC. Recently, Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) 
based technology, which uses a different radio technology standard that 
is incompatible with DSRC-based operations, has gained momentum as a 
means of providing transportation and vehicle safety-related 
communications. On December 12, 2019, the Commission adopted the NPRM 
in this proceeding to consider the most efficient and effective use of 
the 5.9 GHz band spectrum.
    3. In the First Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules to 
authorize unlicensed use in the lower 45 megahertz of the band (5.850-
5.895 GHz) and retain the upper 30 megahertz of the band (5.895-5.925 
GHz) for ITS service applications. As of the effective date of the 
First Report and Order, unlicensed indoor operations are permitted in 
the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band, under specified power 
and other technical limitations designed to protect incumbent ITS 
service and federal radar operations from harmful interference. The 
Commission decided to consider requests for unlicensed outdoor 
operations in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band through the Commission's 
existing regulatory process for individualized and temporary access to 
spectrum, to be coordinated with the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration (NTIA) to ensure that federal incumbents are 
protected from harmful interference. The Commission implemented a 
period of one year from the effective date of the First Report and 
Order for the ITS licensees to transition all operations into the 
5.895-5.925 GHz portion of the band, and issued an Order of Proposed 
Modification that provides the procedures under section 316 of the 
Communications Act for the Commission to modify all ITS licenses to the 
revised bandplan. The Commission further adopted rules designating C-
V2X technology as the ITS delivery system once the Commission adopts a 
deadline and the transition to the revised ITS band is complete. 
Pending resolution of the transition of ITS operations to C-V2X, ITS 
licensees will be able to continue their DSRC-based operations or, 
alternatively, to seek to deploy C-V2X-based operations through the 
Commission's existing regulatory processes.

II. Discussion

A. Dividing the 5.9 GHz Band for Unlicensed Operations and for ITS

    4. Since the Commission first designated the 5.9 GHz band for ITS 
services in 1999, transportation and vehicular safety-related 
technologies have evolved significantly, as have demands for access to 
mid-band spectrum, particularly for unlicensed operations. In the First 
Report and Order, the Commission found the public interest would be 
best served by dividing the 5.9 GHz band to address the needs of both 
ITS and unlicensed users. Based on its evaluation of these changed 
circumstances, the Commission determined that reconfiguring the 5.9 GHz 
band to designate 45 megahertz (at 5.850-5.895 GHz) for new unlicensed 
use and retaining 30 megahertz (at 5.895-5.925 GHz) for ITS 
applications would ensure the quickest path towards the most efficient 
and effective use of the 75 megahertz of spectrum, based on current and 
future needs.
    5. Unlicensed Operations in the Lower 45 Megahertz of the 5.9 GHz 
Band. As proposed in the NPRM, the Commission decided to make the 45 
megahertz at 5.850-5.895 GHz available for unlicensed operations. The 
Commission found that the availability of spectrum for unlicensed use 
is more critical than ever, especially after the COVID pandemic has 
increased reliance on unlicensed technologies like Wi-Fi as more 
households turn to in-home connectivity for distance learning, 
teleworking, and social networking. The Commission found the lower 45 
megahertz (5.850-5.895 GHz) portion of the 5.9 GHz band is particularly 
valuable for unlicensed operations, which, when added to the adjacent 
spectrum available for Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure 
(U-NII) devices below 5.850 GHz, will allow for increased high-
throughput broadband unlicensed applications in spectrum that is a core 
component of today's unlicensed ecosystem.
    6. Based on the record, the Commission also found unlicensed use in 
the lower 45 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band likely would be available to 
American consumers shortly after the rules in this proceeding become 
effective. Software or firmware upgrades to much of the Wi-Fi equipment 
already deployed and operating would allow consumers to access the 5.9 
GHz band relatively quickly, a benefit that would not be possible in 
any other band.
    7. Safety-Related ITS in the Upper 30 Megahertz (5.895-5.925 GHz) 
of the 5.9 GHz Band. Based on its consideration of the record, the 
Commission decided to continue making the upper 30-megahertz portion 
(5.895-5.925 GHz) of the 5.9 GHz band available for ITS. The Commission 
determined that this decision would ensure availability of enough 
spectrum for ITS licensees to continue existing operations and deploy 
those same services at scale. The Commission concluded, as supported by

[[Page 23283]]

many commenters, that continuing to reserve the entire 5.9 GHz band for 
possible additional services by ITS licensees would not be the most 
efficient or effective use of the band, nor was it in the best public 
interest to do so. The Commission agreed with commenters' assertions 
that the original concept for DSRC use of the band had not come to 
fruition, and changes to the 20+ year old band plan were essential to 
maximizing the use of this spectrum for the public's greatest well-
being, particularly Americans in rural areas that lack adequate 
broadband access.
    8. 30 megahertz for ITS. The Commission determined to retain 30 
megahertz of spectrum for ITS services based on the following factors: 
(1) The failure of the 5.9 GHz band to be used ubiquitously for the 
broad range of ITS applications that were originally anticipated; (2) 
the strong public interest benefits that would accrue by allowing 
unlicensed use in 45 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band; and (3) the need 
for dedicated 5.9 GHz spectrum to support core vehicular safety 
applications. Although ITS proponents preferred that the Commission 
continue to allocate the entire 75 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band for 
ITS, the Commission agreed with the commenters contending that 30 
megahertz of spectrum is the appropriate amount of spectrum for ITS in 
the band. Based on the record, the Commission found that 30 megahertz 
would support the provision of the core vehicle-safety related ITS 
functions foreseen when the Commission originally provided for ITS 
services in the band, including for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) basic 
safety applications such as basic safety messages, for personal safety 
message applications, and for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) 
applications.
    9. The record demonstrated that with 30 megahertz, incumbent 
licensees would be able to provide on a widescale basis the same types 
of ITS services that, up until now, have been developed and deployed on 
a limited basis, and would preserve ITS licensees' ability to expand 
their existing safety-related services to millions more vehicles. The 
Commission found that 30 megahertz also would be sufficient for the 
basic safety applications of the next generation of ITS--C-V2X; it 
agreed with assertions in the record that with this 30 megahertz of 
spectrum made available for C-V2X-based ITS, automakers, technology 
providers, and service providers would be able to effectively use the 
spectrum for vehicle safety-related applications. Furthermore, the 
Commission decided that ITS services in the 5.9 GHz band should not 
duplicate information (e.g., important roadway information) that is 
already readily available via other sources, such as commercial 
cellular services, nor should excess 5.9 GHz spectrum continue to be 
reserved for applications that can be or have already been provided 
using other spectrum bands or alternative technology.
    10. The Commission was not persuaded that more than 30 megahertz is 
needed for potential new applications that extend beyond the types of 
safety-related services currently being offered by DSRC licensees 
pursuant to the Commission's rules, especially given that the 75 
megahertz in the 5.9 GHz band has been underused for many years. DSRC 
service has not been widely deployed, potential future advanced 
applications are still under development and have not been deployed, 
and widespread commercial deployment would at best still be years away, 
if it occurs at all. The Commission found that the quickest, most 
efficient way to realize its goals of greater spectrum efficiency was 
to divide the band into two separate spectrum segments rather than 
subjecting the band to additional testing to determine appropriate 
sharing techniques. Furthermore, the Commission found that preserving 
30 megahertz for ITS use in the 5.9 GHz band would comport with the use 
many other countries have designated for this band and allow global 
harmonization. It found that each jurisdiction appears to have made an 
individual policy choice that it has determined to be most appropriate 
for its circumstances, and that there are potential harmonization 
benefits in retaining some dedicated spectrum for ITS in this frequency 
range, particularly in the upper 20 megahertz. The Commission concluded 
that its plan to introduce C-V2X in the band, in conjunction with other 
administrations' support for such use within the 5.9 GHz band, should 
facilitate economies of scale in the production and deployment of 
equipment and, ultimately, provision of the core safety functions 
originally contemplated for the band.
    11. The Commission disagreed with ITS proponents who insisted that 
the entire band be preserved for future ITS developments that could 
make use of the entire 75 megahertz in the 5.9 GHz band and that argued 
that more than 30 megahertz should be reserved to accommodate future 
advanced ITS safety-related services that are under development. Given 
the significant advances that have been made in automotive connectivity 
using a variety of means in different spectrum bands outside of 5.9 
GHz, an ever-greater portion of the overall valuable spectrum resource 
is being used to support automotive-related functions, including those 
related to safety. Viewed from this perspective, the Commission was not 
persuaded by arguments that the entire 5.9 GHz band is needed for ITS 
in order to ensure that possible future developments can be 
accommodated, even if it is possible that such future developments 
could potentially provide some additional safety benefits. In summary, 
the Commission concluded that although it is possible that ITS might 
ultimately make use of the entire 75 megahertz if it continued to be 
set aside for ITS, such a decision would not optimize use of this 
valuable spectrum, and the credibility of such arguments was lacking 
given that these same arguments have been advanced by ITS proponents 
for years with no discernable change in the marketplace. The Commission 
believed that the ITS messaging system must work to prioritize and 
deliver messages more efficiently in the 30 megahertz that will be 
available for ITS, such as by adjusting message timing to provide 
multiple types of messages on a single channel to provide the same 
level of safety to vehicles as can be done on the existing spectrum. 
Finally, the Commission concluded that targeting the upper 30 megahertz 
for ITS use (and transitioning that spectrum to C-V2X over time) will 
enable the United States to lead in the wireless sector as it has in 
others, since it was not aware of any widespread ITS deployments that 
use the full 75 megahertz that proponents say is needed to maintain 
U.S. leadership, and it appears the United States is not the only 
country where the long-time promises of ITS have failed to bear fruit.
    12. Transitioning ITS out of the 5.850-5.895 GHz Portion of the 5.9 
GHz Band. The Commission adopted rules providing up to one year from 
the effective date of the First Report and Order for ITS services to 
cease operating in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band. Based on the record, the 
Commission decided that this is a sufficient and reasonable amount of 
time for ITS licensees to take the necessary steps to transition from 
the lower 45 megahertz of spectrum and to engage in the same types of 
operations in the upper 30 megahertz that they were conducting in the 
band, since there have only been limited ITS deployments with 
relatively few installed transmitters. The Commission concluded that 
because the majority of the installed base was being used in trials for 
roadside units (RSUs) at

[[Page 23284]]

known locations, it should be simple to identify and modify that 
equipment. Furthermore, the Commission did not expect its decision to 
delay the introduction of on-board units (OBUs) since, under normal 
vehicle development cycles, it would expect at least two years before 
such equipment could be deployed in vehicles in large numbers. The 
Commission concluded that its action would accommodate the needs of 
incumbent licensees and provide sufficient time to consolidate their 
operations in the upper portion of the band, while enabling unlicensed 
system operators to begin taking advantage of the 5.850-5.895 GHz 
portion of the band with indoor deployments as soon as possible. The 
Commission directed the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) to 
automatically remove all frequencies in the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of 
the band that remain on any ITS license (individually licensed RSUs and 
OBUs that are licensed-by-rule) at a reasonable time after the 
transition deadline.
    13. The Commission added a notification requirement consistent with 
the transition deadline of one year from the effective date of the 
First Report and Order as a condition on ITS part 90 licenses. This 
condition requires licensees to certify by that deadline that they have 
ceased operating in the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the band. Any 
licensee that does not transition to the upper 30 megahertz of spectrum 
in the 5.895-5.925 GHz segment of the 5.9 GHz band, as evidenced by 
failure to file the required notification advising the Commission of 
its transition, will have their license terminated automatically 
without specific Commission action. The Commission directed the WTB to 
establish the procedural requirements of the notification process via 
Public Notice. The Commission found that the notification requirement 
would ensure clearing of the lower 45 megahertz of spectrum and provide 
transparency to all stakeholders regarding the status of the band.
    14. The Commission revised its rules to prohibit new ITS 
applications for the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band. The 
Commission did not terminate any license or any licensee's renewal 
expectancy and found that this transition plan treats each licensee in 
a consistent manner. The Commission directed the WTB to modify the 
existing license freeze consistent with the decisions it adopted to 
allow licensees to register new RSUs to operate only within the 
modified ITS band of 5.895-5.925 GHz. Licensees may, at any time prior 
to the end of the one-year transition period, modify their currently 
existing RSU location registrations on their own motion to delete 
frequency usage in the lower 45 megahertz, so that the remaining RSU 
registrations on their licenses would reflect only the 5.895-5.925 GHz 
frequencies. By no later than the transition date, licensees are 
required to cease all operations in the 5.850-5.895 GHz, including 
portable RSUs not subject to registration requirements, as any ITS 
operation in the band on or after that date would violate the 
Commission's rules and the terms of the modified licenses. Existing ITS 
licensees that currently operate on channels in the 5.850-5.895 GHz 
portion of the 5.9 GHz band may move any of their DSRC-based operations 
to channels in the 5.895-5.925 GHz portion of the band at any time 
before they are required to cease operations in the 5.850-5.895 GHz 
portion.
    15. The Commission declined to adopt a specific mechanism for 
funding the transition because it did not propose a compensation 
mechanism in the NPRM, and thus did not provide parties an adequate 
opportunity to comment on such a mechanism.

B. Unlicensed Operations in the 5.850-5.895 GHz Band

    16. As proposed in the NPRM, the Commission designated 45 megahertz 
in the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band (the U-NII-4 band) 
for unlicensed operations to expand the unlicensed ecosystem by 
providing additional spectrum adjacent to the upper edge of the 5.725-
5.850 GHz (U-NII-3) band for unlicensed devices. Based on its review of 
the pertinent technical and legal issues and an examination of the 
record, the Commission adopted a staged approach to effectuate the 
band-repurposing actions taken. To optimize use of the 5.850-5.895 GHz 
band by unlicensed operations as soon as possible with full 
consideration of the need to protect ITS and federal incumbent 
operations in this band, the Commission permitted immediate indoor 
unlicensed operations to operate across the entire 5.850-5.895 GHz 
portion of the 5.9 GHz band. The Commission limited unlicensed use to 
indoor operations in recognition of the potential that ITS licensees 
may currently be operating in portions of the 5.850-5.895 GHz band in 
particular geographic areas, as well as the need to protect federal 
incumbents operating in particular geographic zones in the 5.850-5.895 
GHz band. The Commission declined to allow full-power unlicensed 
outdoor operations at this time. Instead, such use across the band will 
be allowed at a later time, after ITS operations have ceased to operate 
in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band and after the Commission has adopted rules 
that will ensure protection of federal operations from these outdoor 
operations.
    17. Technical and Operational Rules for Unlicensed Operations--
Indoor Unlicensed Operations to Protect Federal Incumbents and ITS 
Operations while ITS Remains in the 5.850-5.895 GHz Band. As proposed 
in the NPRM, the Commission placed the U-NII-4 band (5.850-5.895 GHz) 
unlicensed device rules in part 15, subpart E along with the existing 
U-NII rules and subject to all the general part 15 operational 
principles. Based on NTIA's analysis and recommended equivalent 
isotropically radiated power (EIRP) spectral density limit of 20 dBm/
MHz to protect federal radar operations in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band, 
for unlicensed operations in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band, the Commission 
limited indoor access point EIRP spectral density to 20 dBm/MHz with a 
maximum EIRP of 36 dBm over the bandwidth of operation (e.g., 33 dBm/20 
MHz and 36 dBm/40 MHz). The Commission determined that when the U-NII-4 
band was combined with U-NII-3 band spectrum, indoor access point EIRP 
can scale to 36 dBm for 80 and 160 megahertz channels. Under this 
framework, operators relying on indoor U-NII-4 devices will be able to 
operate at the highest power levels the Commission permits for U-NII 
devices (i.e., 36 dBm EIRP) using wider channels to maximize throughput 
and utility of the band. At the same time, the limit on power spectral 
density across all possible U-NII device bandwidths will ensure that 
Department of Defense (DoD) radars and ITS operations are protected 
from harmful interference. The Commission concluded that the 20 dBm/MHz 
EIRP spectral density limit it was adopting for unlicensed operations 
in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band to protect incumbent federal operations 
would similarly protect DSRC-based V2V and V2I operations in the band 
from co-channel harmful interference during the transition period.
    18. In response to the NTIA's suggestions to further reduce the 
potential for harmful interference to federal radar operations in the 
band, the Commission adopted rules to ensure that indoor use only 
devices are not deployed outdoors. Specifically, the Commission 
required that indoor access point devices cannot be weather resistant; 
that access points have integrated antennas, or otherwise prohibit the 
capability of connecting other antennas to the devices, which will 
prevent substituting higher gain directional antennas and make the

[[Page 23285]]

devices less capable or suitable for outdoor use; and prohibited these 
access points from operating on battery power (except for back-up power 
in case of a power outage). It also required that the access points be 
marketed for indoor use only and include a label attached to the 
equipment and included in the device's user manual stating that ``FCC 
regulations restrict operation to indoor use only.'' The Commission 
found that these requirements would make outdoor operations impractical 
and unsuitable.
    19. The Commission also permitted devices such as Wi-Fi extenders 
and mesh networking equipment intended to work in conjunction with an 
indoor access point, referred to as subordinate devices in the 
Commission's rules, to operate at the same power levels as an indoor 
access point, provided that they comply with all of the requirements 
the Commission set forth for those devices (i.e., the device cannot be 
weather resistant, must have an integrated antenna and cannot have the 
capability of connecting other antennas, cannot be capable of operating 
on battery power, and must include a label regarding proper usage) and 
the end unit obtains its own equipment certification. Under these 
requirements, modules do not qualify for higher power. Such devices may 
be used as part of a mesh network but may only be used within a single 
structure and not to connect separate buildings or structures. The 
Commission believed that such relief was a reasonable accommodation to 
keep most popular consumer devices less complex and more affordable 
without increasing the potential of harmful interference to incumbent 
licensees as these devices would be installed and used in manner 
analogous to an access point. To keep the potential for causing harmful 
interference low, the Commission required client devices to operate 
under the control of an access point, and limited client device's power 
spectral density and maximum transmit power to 6 dB below the power 
permitted for the access point.
    20. Out-of-Band Emissions (OOBE) Limits. Based on support in the 
record, the Commission imposed the same level of OOBE protection from 
U-NII-4 devices that it had previously adopted for U-NII-3 devices. 
However, in doing so, it took advantage of building attenuation, as 
well as other factors, to provide flexibility and maximum utility to 
American consumers. Specifically, the Commission adopted indoor 
unlicensed device OOBE limits of 15 dBm/MHz at 5.895 GHz, decreasing 
linearly to -7 dBm/MHz at 5.925 GHz for U-NII-4 devices, or devices 
that operate across a single channel that spans the U-NII-3 and U-NII-4 
bands. The record supported these protection levels, which are the same 
as the current OOBE limits for U-NII-3 devices after accounting for 
building attenuation. The Commission was not persuaded that the more 
restrictive OOBE limits suggested by ITS proponents were needed to 
protect DSRC operations since those limits were more restrictive than 
the U-NII-3 OOBE limits, which the Commission previously affirmed would 
protect DSRC operations and have proven to be effective for protection 
of incumbent operations in the 5.9 GHz band. The Commission also 
adopted its proposal to apply the existing U-NII-3 OOBE limits at the 
lower edge of the U-NII-3 band for U-NII-4 devices, or devices that 
operate across a single channel that spans the U-NII-3 and U-NII-4 
bands. The Commission concluded that these limits would protect 
adjacent-band ITS operations from harmful interference due to 
unlicensed operations in the U-NII-4 band while also supporting 
separate U-NII-3 and U-NII-4 bands, and would provide flexibility to 
design U-NII-3 equipment under the less stringent OOBE rules at the 
upper edge of the band as well as for devices to operate across the U-
NII-3 and U-NII-4 bands using the widest channel bandwidths permitted 
under the IEEE 802.11p-2010 standard.
    21. The IEEE 802.11p-2010 standard referenced in this rulemaking is 
formally known as: IEEE Standard for Information technology--
Telecommunications and information exchange between systems--Local and 
metropolitan area networks--Specific requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN 
Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications 
Amendment 6: Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments. The standard 
specifies the extensions to IEEE Std. 802.11 for wireless local area 
networks (WLANS) providing wireless communications while in a vehicular 
environment and describes the functions and services that allow an IEEE 
802.11(TM)-compliant device to communicate directly with another such 
device outside of an independent or infrastructure network. The 
standard provides valid type and subtype combinations, to/from 
distribution system combinations in data frames, time advertisement 
frame body, element IDs, default enhanced distributed channel access 
parameter set for station operation if dot11OCEnabled is true, encoding 
of the timing capabilities field, optional enhanced receiver 
performance requirements, management information base attribute default 
values/ranges, emissions limits sets, behavior limits sets, transmit 
power level by regulatory domain, and spectrum mask data for 10 
megahertz channel spacing. Other provisions include orthogonal 
frequency division multiplexing specifications for the 5 GHz band, 
frame formats, and the medium access control sublayer functional 
description.
    22. Measurement Procedures. Consistent with its decision in 
Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band, Report and Order, 85 FR 31390 (May 
26, 2020) (6 GHz Report and Order) that the OOBE limit adopted to 
protect adjacent ITS services at the top of the 5.9 GHz band should be 
verified using a root mean square (RMS) detector or other appropriate 
techniques for measuring average power, the Commission decided that an 
RMS detector may be used to conduct 5.9 GHz unlicensed device OOBE 
measurements. The Commission concluded that because RMS measurements 
represent the continuous power being generated from a device, as 
opposed to peak power, which may only be reached for short periods of 
time, an RMS measurement is more appropriate for ensuring that U-NII 
devices' potential for causing harmful interference to adjacent-band 
operations is significantly minimized. The Commission stated that it 
would provide guidance on this procedure to the test labs and 
telecommunications certification bodies which conduct equipment 
approval measurements and equipment approval oversight.
    23. Outdoor Unlicensed Operations. Although the Commission decided 
not to permit across the board outdoor unlicensed operations in the 
5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band before ITS operations move 
out of the band, it decided to allow limited outdoor unlicensed 
operations in certain specified locations in the band through either 
the special temporary authority or other existing regulatory processes 
where such operations would not cause harmful interference to any 
incumbent operations.
    24. Protection of Other Incumbents in the 5.850-5.895 GHz Band. The 
Commission declined to adopt SES Americom's and Intelsat's suggestion 
for an aggregate power limit from unlicensed devices to be enforced 
through use of an Automatic Frequency Coordination (AFC) system to 
protect Fixed Satellite Service space station receivers from harmful 
interference. The Commission believed that because the space station 
receivers are limited to geostationary orbits, approximately 35,800 
kilometers above the equator, it was unlikely that relatively low-

[[Page 23286]]

powered unlicensed devices would cause harmful interference to the 
space station receivers, especially since such devices are not expected 
to radiate significant power skyward. The Commission also believed that 
U-NII devices operating in the U-NII-4 band would not cause harmful 
interference to amateur operations in the 5.9 GHz band due to the 
relatively low power with which U-NII devices would operate as compared 
to amateur stations, which are permitted to operate with as much as 1.5 
kW (62 dBm) peak envelope power. The Commission dismissed amateur 
commenters' concerns the Commission was reallocating the spectrum from 
the Amateur Service to unlicensed operations as beyond the scope of the 
proceeding, since part 15 devices do not operate pursuant to an 
allocation, and in any case, the Commission did not propose to remove 
the Amateur Service allocation from the 5.9 GHz band.

C. ITS in the 5.895-5.925 GHz Band

    25. To promote the most effective use of the upper 30 megahertz of 
spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band, the Commission determined that the ITS 
service should be based on use of one technology, and concluded that C-
V2X technology would provide the best means of achieving its goals for 
ITS in the coming years. In the First Report and Order, the Commission 
provided technical flexibility to enable ITS licensees currently using 
DSRC-based technology to operate in this 30-megahertz ITS band until 
the time ITS services must operate using C-V2X technology. Because the 
Commission believed that many, if not most, of the active ITS licensees 
would want to transition to C-V2X technology as soon as possible to 
speed development and deployment of ITS services, it decided to permit, 
through its waiver process, the deployment of C-V2X technology during 
the transition period in a manner that would not interfere with 
existing DSRC-based operations.
    26. ITS Operations using C-V2X Technology. Based on consideration 
of the technology-related issues in the record, including the 
advantages of both DSRC and C-V2X, the Commission concluded that the 
public interest would be best served by adopting C-V2X as the sole ITS 
delivery technology and phasing out the existing DSRC technology. In 
making this decision, the Commission observed that DSRC had not enjoyed 
widespread deployment as the mandated ITS technology in the U.S. At the 
same time, momentum both domestically and globally appears to be 
shifting toward the use of C-V2X for ITS. International deployment and 
uses of DSRC remain in flux and many automakers and developers are 
moving toward C-V2X. China has adopted C-V2X in lieu of DSRC, and the 
European Union is exploring whether to implement policies to create a 
path for C-V2X Direct deployment in Europe. By designating C-V2X for 
ITS delivery, the Commission concluded that the U.S. is positioning 
itself as a global leader to be at the forefront of continued C-V2X 
technology development as it becomes more globally harmonized.
    27. The Commission stated that the following factors advocated in 
the record shaped its view: C-V2X Direct technology outperforms DSRC on 
reliability, range, and resilience to interference, which in turn will 
help improve non-line-of-site capabilities to promote safety benefits; 
during times of peak congestion, C-V2X functionality can offload less 
time-critical V2V, V2I, and vehicle-to-pedestrian communications to the 
cellular network, thereby supporting safety-critical communications; C-
V2X is better for achieving network effects insofar as cost 
efficiencies support deployment on a more accelerated basis; new 
vehicles are now generally equipped with C-V2X network mode chipsets; 
C-V2X technology can leverage cellular networks and thereby reduce the 
infrastructure cost associated with deploying vehicle-to-everything 
(V2X) communications; and because C-V2X operates on both 20- and 10-
megahertz channels, it could support throughput throughout the 30 
megahertz of spectrum that would be available.
    28. The Commission concluded that choosing C-V2X as the sole ITS 
connected vehicle technology in the U.S. is the best decision for 
promoting more robust ITS deployment in the 5.9 GHz in the coming 
years. While each technology has the capability of providing safety-
related ITS services, the Commission was persuaded that C-V2X promises 
a more efficient and effective use of the spectrum through its ability 
to achieve greater network effects and leverage cellular networks to 
reduce infrastructure costs. The Commission was not convinced that the 
limited examples of recent DSRC deployments in other countries 
outweighed the U.S. automotive industry's focus on deploying C-V2X 
technology, or that those limited deployments portended a significant 
growth in DSRC deployments here in the U.S. The Commission was 
confident that its action would expedite and expand the deployment of 
ITS safety benefits while ensuring efficient use of spectrum.
    29. The Commission rejected claims by the Institute for Policy 
Innovations that ITS was an idea whose time has passed and that vehicle 
connectivity was not critical to potential automotive safety benefits. 
The Commission reasoned that by reducing the size of the ITS band, 
future ITS deployment could be focused on deploying critical vehicular 
safety applications and take its position as part of a larger framework 
of technology solutions currently available to make road travel safer 
for the American people. The Commission also rejected arguments from 
various local entities, state departments of transportation, and others 
that the Commission should conduct testing in coordination with the 
U.S. DOT, both with C-V2X and DSRC technology, to fully understand the 
potential coexistence with other co-primary users in the band. Instead, 
the Commission stated that it was choosing a single technology for the 
entire ITS band that it determined would be best suited for ITS in the 
coming years, and that further delay would not serve the American 
public. Rather, it would be best to move forward with a revised 5.9 GHz 
band plan which supports C-V2X technology so that these vehicle safety-
related applications could be fully deployed quickly. Based on the 
record, the Commission believed that opting to permit a single 
technology--C-V2X--in the revised band plan best serves the American 
public.
    30. Transitioning to C-V2X Operations in the ITS Band. The 
Commission decided to modify existing ITS licenses to allow operation 
only in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band. The Commission required licensees to 
transition out of the 5.850-5.895 GHz segment of the band within one 
year of the effective date of the First Report and Order, and 
designated C-V2X technology as the ITS delivery system once the 
Commission adopts a deadline and the transition to the revised ITS band 
is complete.
    31. To enable a smoother and more rapid development and deployment 
of C-V2X-based ITS operations in the near term, the Commission decided 
to permit any existing or future part 90 ITS licensee to operate C-V2X-
based RSUs in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band within its geographic license 
area by requesting and obtaining a waiver of the Commission's rules, 
subject to specific conditions. Each such ITS licensee would be 
required to coordinate its C-V2X-based RSU operations with any existing 
licensee within that same geographic area to ensure that no C-V2X-based 
RSUs would interfere with any DSRC-based RSUs that operate in the 
5.895-5.925 GHz band. Under this approach, the Commission will also

[[Page 23287]]

condition C-V2X operations on complying with specific technical rules 
(e.g., power and OOBE limits consistent with current DSRC-based rules), 
and the requirement that these operations must comply with any final 
rules that the Commission adopts for C-V2X operations. The Commission 
directed the WTB and the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau 
(PSHSB) to issue a public notice within 30 days of the effective date 
of the First Report and Order to establish and provide further clarity 
on a streamlined waiver process for providing ITS licensees authority 
to operate RSUs with C-V2X-based technology in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band 
in the near term. Because OBUs are licensed by rule under part 95 of 
the Commission's rules, manufacturers will need waivers to obtain 
equipment certification of C-V2X-based OBUs as well as a waiver to 
permit such device operation prior to the Commission adopting final 
rules for C-V2X-based OBUs. The Commission encouraged parties 
interested in pursuing development, installation, and use of C-V2X-
based OBUs in advance of final rules to discuss their equipment with 
the WTB, the PSHSB, and the Office of Engineering and Technology to 
determine the appropriate course of action to enable the expeditious 
roll-out of these devices on vehicles in a manner that is consistent 
with existing technical rules and that will not cause harmful 
interference to DSRC-based operations that have not yet transitioned to 
C-V2X operations.
    32. Protecting Federal Operations. The Commission agreed with 
NTIA's recommendation that sharing between ITS and Government 
operations in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band is possible if proper 
coordination of RSUs is performed, and thus adopted NTIA's 
recommendation. Coordination of OBUs is not needed.

D. Statutory Considerations

    33. Relocating DSRC to the upper 30 megahertz. Under its authority 
under sections 301, 309, and 316 of the Communications Act, the 
Commission decided to modify all existing ITS licenses to specify the 
5.895-5.925 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band for ITS operations 
following the one-year transition period. Under the terms of the 
modified licenses, the authority to operate in the lower 45 megahertz 
will expire at the end of this one-year period. As per 47 U.S.C. 316, 
the Commission provided for a 30-day protest period before these 
modifications can become final. The Commission found that these 
modifications were consistent with its statutory authority, supported 
by judicial and Commission precedent, and would serve the public 
interest, convenience, and necessity.
    34. The Commission found that relocating DSRC operations to the 
upper 30 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band was within the Commission's 
authority under section 316 of the Communications Act. Section 316 
gives the Commission authority to modify, by rulemaking or 
adjudications, any license either for a limited time or for the 
duration of the term thereof, if in the judgment of the Commission such 
action would promote the public interest, convenience, and necessity. 
Courts have held that the Commission's authority to ``modify'' licenses 
under section 316 does not confer on the Commission the ability to 
affect a ``fundamental change'' to those licenses. This means that the 
Commission can permissibly exercise its authority under section 316 if 
(1) it finds that doing so serves the ``public interest'' and (2) the 
modification is not so sweeping as to amount to ``fundamental change'' 
to the licenses being modified.
    35. The Commission found that this modification is manifestly in 
the public interest because the modification will make room for 
valuable new unlicensed uses in the lower 45 megahertz of the band, 
while providing existing DSRC licensees sufficient spectrum to provide 
substantially the same basic vehicular safety services they now 
provide. This modification is therefore consistent with the long line 
of Commission actions changing or reducing frequencies where it has 
found doing so in the public interest.
    36. The Commission also found that the record supported its 
conclusion that relocating DSRC licensees to the upper 30 megahertz of 
the band will not meaningfully interfere with the ability of incumbents 
to provide the same types of safety-related services that they are 
currently offering. The Commission concluded that the 30 megahertz 
would accommodate basic ITS services for not only the limited number of 
vehicles currently equipped with DSRC as currently allowed for under 
the Commission's rules (e.g., certain fleet vehicles, which are mostly 
involved in pilot projects) but also for additional commercial vehicles 
(e.g., fleet vehicles, trucks, cars) that might incorporate DSRC-based 
equipment and that could become available for American consumers on a 
wider basis across the country in the future--notwithstanding current 
trends by many manufacturers for introduction of the new C-V2X 
technology.
    37. Further, the Commission concluded that the transition path it 
was adopting in the First Report and Order was designed to accommodate 
a transition that minimizes any potential disruption to DSRC operations 
because it is technically feasible for ITS to operate on 30 megahertz 
in the upper part of the band by reconfiguring DSRC-based devices by 
updating firmware and/or software. The Commission did not require 
existing licensees to vacate use of channels in the lower 45-megahertz 
immediately; instead it gave incumbent licensees one year to develop 
and implement a transition path out of that portion of the 5.9 GHz 
band. The Commission found that these accommodations were particularly 
reasonable in light of the minimal current deployment of DSRC.
    38. At bottom, the argument that the Commission's action amounts to 
a ``fundamental change'' rests on the assertion that it will upend the 
future plans of DSRC licensees to provide certain advanced ITS 
services, which some commenters argue require the use of the full 75 
megahertz currently allocated to DSRC licensees. But the record--
including the history, current deployment of basic safety-related DSRC-
based ITS services, and status of future plans for these advanced 
services--is unconvincing that relocation to the upper 30 megahertz 
will upend any concrete business plans of DSRC licensees. As the D.C. 
Circuit explained in detail in Teledesic LLC v. Federal Communications 
Commission (275 F.3d at 84), in managing spectrum ``[t]he Commission 
correctly conceives of its role in prophetic and managerial terms''--it 
must ``predict the effect and growth rate of technological newcomers on 
the spectrum, while striking a balance between protecting valuable 
existing uses and making room for . . . new technologies.'' In making 
this determination, the Commission concluded that the potential 
deployment of future advanced DSRC-based ITS services that may or may 
not develop years into the future is too uncertain and remote to 
warrant the further reservation of spectrum for their deployment. After 
20 years, with no widescale deployment of even the basic vehicle safety 
applications that have been available for years, the Commission cannot 
reasonably justify the protection of such possible future deployment of 
advanced ITS service at the expense of proven and market-ready 
technologies that stand ready to make use of the lower 45 megahertz.
    39. Transition to C-V2X. The Commission determined that it has the 
authority under Title III of the Communications Act to transition 
operations in the upper 30 megahertz

[[Page 23288]]

from DSRC to C-V2X. The Commission found that transitioning to C-V2X is 
in the public interest and noted that the exercise of its authority 
under Title III to transition operations to a new technology is 
consistent with past Commission actions modifying technical operational 
rules and mandating the use of newer technologies to maximize spectral 
efficiency. Licenses in the 5.9 GHz band are for the provision of ITS 
services, for which the Commission has required the use of DSRC 
technology. In revising its rules to require ITS licensees to use C-V2X 
technology, the Commission decided it was acting pursuant to its broad 
Title III spectrum management authority and consistent with its 
obligation to ``generally encourage the larger and more effective use 
of radio in the public interest.''
    40. In response to commenters' claims that if the Commission adopts 
a band plan that provides no spectrum for ITS licensees using DSRC 
technology, then the licenses effectively would be revoked and thus the 
Commission would exceed its section 312 authority, the Commission found 
that its decisions do not represent a termination of DSRC licenses. 
Instead, licensees will continue to be able to provide the same 
vehicular safety services on the upper 30 megahertz of the band that 
they provide under the current ITS band designation, and the ultimate 
transition from DSRC to C-V2X would similarly not result in any change 
in or reduction of vehicular-safety services. Licensees that operate 
under the new technical rules will maintain the same renewal expectancy 
they have today. The Commission also provided flexibility for ITS 
licensees to choose to migrate to C-V2X technologies in the upper 30 
megahertz sooner than required by its rules if the C-V2X operation 
would not interfere with any existing ITS licensee that continues to 
use DSRC-based technology before it ultimately transitions to C-V2X.
    41. Other statutory considerations. Contrary to commenters' 
assertions, the Commission concluded that re-designating spectrum it 
originally set aside for ITS is not in conflict with any role assigned 
to it by Congress in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(TEA), nor does the action infringe on the Department of 
Transportation's (DOT's) ability to continue to administer the ITS 
program. The Commission reasoned that in the TEA, Congress directed the 
Commission to consider, in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. 
DOT, spectrum needs for the operation of ITS, including spectrum for 
the dedicated short-range vehicle-to-wayside wireless standard. 
However, the TEA did not require that the Commission designate the 5.9 
GHz band--or any band--for ITS, only that the Commission consider doing 
so. The TEA directed the Commission to complete rulemaking on ITS 
spectrum by January 1, 2000, which it did. That was all that Congress 
required for the Commission to achieve its statutory duties. By 
contrast, the Communications Act gives the Commission broad authority 
to ensure the efficient use of spectrum in the public interest. The 
Commission found that the action it was taking on the spectrum it 
designated for ITS was being done pursuant to its general authority to 
act in the public interest, convenience, and necessity, which, as the 
D.C. Circuit has explained, is the sort of spectrum management issue 
for which the Commission's authority is at its zenith. (47 U.S.C. 303, 
Teledesic, 275 F.2d at 79).
    42. The Commission disagreed with ITS America's claims that 
adopting the Commission's proposal to reduce the amount of ITS spectrum 
in the 5.9 GHz band would not satisfy the requirements of section 1 of 
the Communications Act as it relates to the Commission's responsibility 
to manage spectrum to ensure safety-of-life and property through the 
use of wire and radio communications. The Commission found that the 
record shows significant support for ensuring safety of life and 
property through the use of ITS in the upper 30 megahertz of the band, 
allowing it to repurpose the lower 45 megahertz of the band for 
unlicensed operations. The Commission also disagreed with ITS America's 
suggestion that section 1 of the Communications Act binds the 
Commission so that it may only modify 5.9 GHz licenses consistent with 
U.S. DOT's recommendations, finding that ITS America appears to 
misunderstand the role Congress afforded the Commission to oversee non-
federal use of spectrum (including state and local governmental 
spectrum), whether for public safety or commercial purposes.

E. Benefits and Costs: Economic Analysis

    43. The Commission reviewed the benefits of repurposing the lower 
45 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use and the direct 
costs associated with transitioning existing ITS licensees to the upper 
30 megahertz of the band. The evidence led to the conclusion that the 
benefits, in terms of new economic activity, are well above the costs. 
The Commission expected to realize substantial benefits by expanding 
Wi-Fi capacity. Even using a highly conservative approach to calculate 
benefits, the Commission anticipated a present value of approximately 
$6 billion in benefits in each of the years 2023-2025, or $17.2 billion 
over that time frame. The Commission also noted that unlicensed use of 
the 5.9 GHz band may lead to benefits well beyond 2025, which 
underscores the conservative nature of its estimates. At the same time, 
by preserving the upper 30 megahertz for ITS, the Commission permitted 
current and future licensees to continue to offer such service in the 
band. The Commission therefore took into consideration the one-time 
transaction costs associated with incumbent licensees transitioning 
their operations to the upper 30 megahertz of spectrum and determined 
that these costs are significantly less than the present value of the 
benefits. Specifically, the Commission limited cost considerations to 
the costs of transitioning existing licensees to the upper 30 megahertz 
of the 5.9 GHz band.
    44. Benefits of Unlicensed Spectrum in the Lower 45 Megahertz of 
the 5.9 GHz Band. Proponents of the Commission's proposal generally 
referred to a RAND Corporation study (RAND 5.9 GHz Study), which found 
that repurposing the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use could generate 
between $82.2 billion and $189.9 billion in economic welfare per year, 
or the substantially lower benefits estimate of approximately $28 
billion between 2022 and 2025 put forth by WiFiForward (2020 
WiFiForward Study), to argue that costs related to the automotive 
industry were small by comparison. Conversely, advocates for ITS argued 
that unlicensed benefits put forth in these studies were outweighed by 
those of retaining the band for ITS. While few commenters disputed the 
benefits put forth by RAND and WiFiForward, below, the Commission 
presented its own estimate, which errs toward underestimating benefits 
by using an approach that likely overcounts prospective usage of the 6 
GHz band and omits various consumer benefits as well as benefits that 
could be achieved prior to 2023 or after 2025.
    45. Other commenters supporting the Commission's proposal referred 
to the economic value of Wi-Fi in general and the numerous use cases 
that Wi-Fi enables. Commenters argued that increased Wi-Fi capacity 
will allow new data-intensive Internet of Things applications and 
complement 5G development by facilitating the off-loading of a growing 
percentage of mobile traffic. Other Wi-Fi benefits

[[Page 23289]]

include its importance to education, medicine, smart agriculture, and 
industry. Commenters asserted that benefits from repurposing the 5.9 
GHz band would arise from the increased Wi-Fi capacity attendant with 
the creation of additional channels--including an 80-megahertz channel 
and a 160-megahertz channel.
    46. The Commission evaluated the economic benefits of dedicating 
the lower 45 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use by 
estimating the expected contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 
resulting from additional Wi-Fi traffic once this spectrum is made 
available to augment existing Wi-Fi capacity. Additional Wi-Fi capacity 
is valuable as future U.S. Wi-Fi demand is expected to greatly 
increase. The additional, wider channels made possible by repurposing 
spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band will allow more devices to connect at a 
given time. The additional traffic will produce new productive economic 
activity, including through additional online transactions between 
internet users and additional transactions between internet users and 
internet service providers (ISPs), which together comprise the added 
value of additional spectrum. The Commission focused here on the 
additional GDP created by transactions between ISPs and their customers 
since estimating additional online transactions between internet users 
is difficult due to lack of data. Thus, the Commission's estimate is 
conservative, capturing the economic value to the ISPs directly (i.e., 
producer surplus), while ignoring consumer surplus gains.
    47. Wi-Fi traffic occurs on discrete channels of 20-megahertz, 40-
megahertz, 80-megahertz and potentially 160-megahertz bandwidth. Larger 
bandwidths improve the speed of traffic on the bands and additional 
channels increase the aggregate capacity of Wi-Fi. The Commission's 
baseline calculation of the increase in traffic is based on the idea 
that the additional 45 megahertz of 5.9 GHz spectrum will, when 
combined with spectrum from the 5.725-5.850 GHz (U-NII-3) band, enable 
Wi-Fi users to access an additional 160-megahertz channel and 80-
megahertz channel, two additional 40-megahertz channels, and three 
additional 20-megahertz channels in addition to channels that are 
already available, including those in the 6 GHz band. This will give 
consumer devices additional channels to establish connections to 
mitigate congestion. Because Wi-Fi traffic is expected to greatly 
increase and strain capacity today and in the future, the Commission 
assumed that the additional 5.9 GHz spectrum will be fully used by 
consumers. Moreover, the Commission's finding that benefits outweigh 
costs does not require full use of the U-NII-4 band. This implies that 
the Commission can estimate additional traffic for channels of a 
specific bandwidth as a proportion of new Wi-Fi channels that this 
spectrum would create relative to existing channels of that bandwidth. 
For example, there are already two 80-megahertz channels used commonly 
by Wi-Fi. The additional spectrum would allow use of one additional 80-
megahertz channel. Assuming that this new channel would be fully used, 
traffic would increase by 50% based on the proportion, one new channel 
to two old channels. Using this and reasonable assumptions on the 
distribution of traffic across Wi-Fi channels of different bandwidths, 
the Commission calculated that Wi-Fi traffic would increase by 8.4%. 
The Commission's traffic distribution assumptions are specified in 
Electronic Communications Committee, ECC Report 302, at 22 (May 29, 
2019), https://docdb.cept.org/download/cc03c766-35f8/ECC%20Report%20302.pdf. The Commission noted that although there are 
means to augment capacity other than through additional spectrum, such 
as with greater investment in infrastructure, its result maintains as 
long as capacity remains a bottleneck to service quality.
    48. To calculate additional GDP, the Commission multiplied 8.4% by 
an extrapolation of U.S. Wi-Fi traffic to determine additional traffic 
per year in gigabytes (GBs). See CISCO, VNI Complete Forecast 
Highlights, United States--2022 Forecast Highlights, at 1-2 (2018). The 
Commission then multiplied this figure by an estimate of the average 
ISP revenue generated by an additional GB of traffic. Specifically, the 
Commission used projections of the price per GB for fixed U.S. 
broadband plans based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for ``Internet 
services and electronic information providers'' and a baseline price 
estimate from the Commission's 2018 International Broadband Data 
Report. See U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Databases, Tables & 
Calculators by Subject, Internet Services and Electronic Information 
Providers, https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SEEE03?output_view=data (last visited Oct. 27, 2020); 
International Comparison Requirements Pursuant to the Broadband Data 
Improvement Act, GN Docket No. 17-199, Sixth Report, 33 FCC Rcd 978, 
1035, Table 3 (IB 2018). The Commission estimated benefits only through 
2025 to avoid relying on current data for projecting too far into the 
future, but noted that because its estimates incorporate existing 
sources of unlicensed spectrum, including in the 6 GHz band, it 
believed that the benefits of repurposing the 5.9 GHz band would 
continue beyond 2025. Moreover, although the Commission anticipated 
that benefits could arise earlier, it did not calculate benefits prior 
to 2023 to allow time for devices to be updated and adopted by 
consumers. Using a discount rate of 7%, the Commission's conservative 
approach led to a present value of approximately $6 billion in benefits 
in each of the years 2023-2025, or $17.2 billion over that time frame. 
If the Commission instead discounted by 3%, the present value of 
benefits over 2023-2025 is $19.3 billion. Alternatively, discounting by 
7%, but relying instead on the Census Bureau's national revenues data 
for fixed internet services, the Commission estimated a present value 
of benefits of $34.8 billion over 2023-2025.
    49. Costs of Repurposing the Band to Limit ITS Use to the Upper 30 
Megahertz of the 5.9 GHz Band. Various commenters claimed that the 
costs of reducing the spectrum dedicated for ITS substantially outweigh 
the benefits of dedicating 45 megahertz for unlicensed operations. 
However, rather than quantifying costs specific to the reduction in 
ITS, most commenters pointed to the economic impact caused by 
automobile collisions in aggregate throughout the United States each 
year. Commenters generally referred to U.S. DOT estimates of the 
economic impact of lives lost and injuries resulting from police-
reported vehicle crashes in the United States as well as other studies 
and statistics that were not ITS-specific. Some commenters, however, 
referred to ITS-specific analyses, including to National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates of economic cost 
savings associated with V2V and other studies.
    50. Commenters also argued that repurposing ITS spectrum would lead 
to costs associated with traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and auto 
emissions, but in most instances, did not connect these costs to ITS. 
Certain commenters referred to annual traffic reductions and reduced 
carbon dioxide emissions associated with V2X, while others claimed that 
the repurposing could inhibit technology advancements, including in 
truck platooning, road weather information technologies, and logistics.
    51. More generally, commenters expressed concern that repurposing 
spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band would

[[Page 23290]]

delay the spread of ITS applications in the United States. Relatedly, 
Alliance for Automotive Innovation asserted that ``[w]ithin 5 years, a 
total of at least 5 million radios on vehicles and roadway 
infrastructure will have been deployed, including any previous V2X 
deployment,'' but only if the entire 5.9 GHz band is preserved for ITS.
    52. Finally, ITS advocates argued that existing ITS licensees would 
face a transition cost above $500 million, with specific reference to 
U.S. DOT estimates of infrastructure and equipment replacement, 
engineering, and related costs. Commenters also claimed that 
substantial investments in research, development, and testing would be 
lost as a result of the Commission's proposed rule.
    53. In response, various commenters argued that the Commission's 
proposal leaves sufficient spectrum to meet automotive needs and that 
references to economic valuations based on the sum of U.S. police-
reported vehicle crashes erroneously suggest that 100% of crashes and 
congestion will be avoided if all 75 megahertz in the 5.9 GHz band is 
dedicated to ITS. Commenters also noted claims about advanced ITS-based 
applications that could permit congestion-related and environmental 
benefits were speculative and that automotive technologies could use 
other licensed or unlicensed spectrum for many of the non-safety-of-
life services that automakers contend would rely on ITS. Proponents of 
the Commission's proposal agreed that there would be costs associated 
with moving ITS licensees from the lower 45 megahertz, but that these 
were overstated by the U.S. DOT and should not include sunk costs that 
cannot be recouped regardless of Commission action.
    54. In conducting the Commission's analysis of benefits and costs, 
an underlying objective was to identify benefits and costs causally 
related to the Commission action being undertaken. As such, the 
Commission can credit economic losses only if they would be expected to 
result from repurposing the 5.9 GHz band; we cannot (and should not) 
attempt to attribute losses to this proceeding that would have occurred 
regardless of our rule changes. Thus, the Commission rejected cost 
quantifications based on enumerations of the economic harms resulting 
from police-reported vehicle crashes in the U.S. that are not 
specifically tied to changes to ITS spectrum.
    55. In general, commenters have provided very limited information 
that would allow the Commission to quantify any costs associated with a 
reduction in ITS spectrum. Certain commenters pointed to analyses, such 
as in the NHTSA V2V NPRM (82 FR 3854), seeking to quantify specific 
safety benefits of ITS to argue that such benefits may be diminished by 
the Commission. The Commission found that benefits attributed to ITS in 
these studies are likely overstated and inappropriate to view as costs 
resulting from the Commission's proposal. As discussed above, the 
Commission found that the 30 megahertz of spectrum that is being 
retained for ITS applications is sufficient to support many ITS 
applications. For example, in estimating the benefits of a proposal to 
mandate DSRC-based vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, the NHTSA 
V2V NPRM found that substantial benefits could be achieved using 10 
megahertz of ITS spectrum, 20 megahertz less than the spectrum that we 
retain for ITS. Additionally, NHTSA analysis forecasted benefits based 
on the state of technology in the 2010-2013 base period, which likely 
substantially overestimates the benefits of DSRC in later years, when 
reliance on complementary or substitute safety systems (e.g., based on 
cameras, lasers, and radars) would likely be far more widespread than 
in 2010-2013. Because commenters neither showed that hypothetical ITS 
benefits described in the NHTSA and other studies would be lost as a 
result of the Commission's actions, nor established that such benefits 
are accurately calculated, the Commission rejected comments advancing 
quantifications from these studies.
    56. More generally, the Commission did not believe that this 
proceeding will lead to cognizable costs due to automobile collisions 
that may be linked to its actions. Commenters argued that certain 
advanced features, including those pertaining to life and property, may 
require additional bandwidth. NHTSA's own prior analysis suggests, 
however, that V2V safety applications that could eliminate a large 
proportion of crashes may require much less spectrum. And while 
commenters speculated about certain additional benefits (i.e., to 
pedestrians), they did not demonstrate whether such benefits would 
arise nor quantified the incremental benefit given the V2V safety 
applications that would be expected to be preserved. Further, 
commenters did not demonstrate that advanced applications, even if 
presumed to offer additional safety benefits, need to rely on ITS 
spectrum or would be largely obviated by developing safety features 
outside ITS.
    57. Commenters also claimed various benefits of ITS from non-safety 
applications. As explained above, the Commission declined to rely upon 
estimates of use of ITS spectrum for applications like road weather 
information technologies that are more appropriately provided using 
other spectrum bands not dedicated for safety-of-life applications. 
Moreover, the Commission found that commenters did not effectively 
demonstrate that advanced ITS features would reduce congestion or 
environmental or other costs that are not directly related to safety. 
The Commission noted that 30 megahertz of spectrum is sufficient to 
support many ITS applications and existing studies do not show that 
more spectrum would give rise to additional benefits. For example, 
whereas commenters claimed that commercial platooning systems are 
expected to improve fuel efficiency by 7.25%, other public estimates of 
these impacts are lower, and there may be offsetting congestion, 
safety, and other concerns that could diminish the benefits from this 
technology (if not eliminate them entirely), leading certain truck 
manufacturers to reconsider its use.
    58. Nor did the Commission view the transition by existing DSRC 
licensees to the upper 30 megahertz in the 5.9 GHz band to be a 
substantial cause of delays to deployment of basic ITS applications in 
the foreseeable future. First, as other commenters pointed out, the 
Commission noted that C-V2X has had no spectrum dedicated to its 
deployment, but this has not prevented rapid innovation in that 
technology, which in part necessitated this proceeding. Second, the 
band plan proposed by Alliance for Automotive Innovation suggests that 
a transition by DSRC licensees would have been necessitated, even if 
the Commission's rules proceeded exactly as AAI envisioned. The 
Alliance for Automotive Innovation proposal initially stipulated a 
transition of DSRC licensees from the upper 20 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz 
band to make way for C-V2X. The proposal then stipulated a second 
transition after five years, following selection of a single technology 
(either DSRC or C-V2X) with a ten-year phaseout period for the 
technology that does not prevail. Because there is no guarantee that 
DSRC would prevail, this would forestall its transition by several 
years, even assuming it was ultimately determined to be the prevailing 
technology--an assumption we find unconvincing for the reasons 
discussed above. Moreover, the Commission found that AAI's proposed 
commitment to deploy 5 million radios if the entire 5.9 GHz band

[[Page 23291]]

is preserved for ITS is not enforceable, and importantly, represents a 
relatively modest ITS deployment that is not necessarily at variance 
with deployments that might be anticipated without the proposal. The 
proposed commitment and band plan do not contemplate the additional 
length of time necessary to deploy the prevailing technology nor the 
time that it would take for sufficient adoption by consumers to have 
meaningful benefits, a timeframe during which alternative safety 
applications may substantially diminish the incremental benefits 
achievable from ITS. For these reasons, the Commission declined to 
credit claims that its actions could impose costs stemming from delays 
in ITS deployment.
    59. Finally, the Commission believed that the U.S. DOT's estimate 
of transitioning existing licensees was at the high end of total ITS 
transition costs, and was, in any event, well below the Commission's 
estimated benefits of repurposing the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use. 
In particular, the U.S. DOT confounded the costs of transitioning to 
the upper 30 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band with those of transitioning 
to C-V2X. However, the latter cost is necessitated by market factors, 
including substantial support for the C-V2X technology by proponents of 
ITS, coupled with a general understanding that a single interoperable 
ITS standard best promotes public safety. For instance, the Alliance 
for Automotive Innovation noted that the selection of a single 
technology would put the auto industry in a position that maximizes 
benefits for road travelers. Moreover, existing DSRC licensees have 
recently begun to employ C-V2X on an experimental basis, telling the 
Commission that the transition to C-V2X is already ongoing. Thus, the 
Commission viewed it as inappropriate to include as part of the 
transition calculation, costs of transitioning to C-V2X. Additionally, 
in general, expenses on research, development, and testing referenced 
by ITS proponents represent typical examples of sunk costs that are 
irrecoverable irrespective of any action that we take. Specifically, 
the Commission agreed with comments noting that expenses on grants and 
research projects referenced by the U.S. DOT, represent typical 
examples of such sunk costs, which it declined to recognize.
    60. Robustness of baseline analysis. In addition to applying 
different revenue projections and discount rates to its baseline 
traffic assumptions, the Commission found that its analysis was robust 
to several variations of its model. In particular, the Commission 
repeated its calculations accounting for additional U-NII-2 channels, 
though it noted that most Wi-Fi use occurs within the 2.4 GHz, U-NII-1, 
and U-NII-3 bands. Accounting for U-NII-2 decreased the Commission's 
estimate to a present value GDP contribution of $13.6 billion over the 
years 2023-2025. As in the Commission's baseline model, this valuation 
assumes that the 6 GHz channels would be used at the time that 5.9 GHz 
spectrum would also become available. If the Commission alternatively 
assumed that 6 GHz spectrum would not be available during 2023-2025, 
its estimates of the contribution of 5.9 GHz spectrum for unlicensed 
rises to at least a present value GDP contribution of $53.1 billion 
over the years 2023-2025. Finally, in the Commission's baseline 
analysis, it assumed that 5.9 GHz spectrum would be fully used by 
consumers, which led to its baseline weighted traffic increase of 8.4%. 
Relaxing this assumption, suppose instead that, conservatively, the 
increase in traffic were only 1%. Using the Commission's lowest 
estimates of the value of this traffic still led to a present value GDP 
contribution of $2 billion over 2023-2025, which is still higher than 
expected one-time transition costs.
    61. Alternative Estimates of Unlicensed Spectrum Value in the 
Record. In the NPRM, the Commission noted that the RAND 5.9 GHz Study 
attempted to value additional traffic expected to result from 
repurposing the entire 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use. Although 
commenters generally did not dispute RAND's assessment, per the NPRM, 
the Commission had reservations with these valuations. The RAND 
evaluation of additional traffic was the sum of extra value from the 
additional number of gigabytes (GBs) transmitted times an average 
broadband price per GB, plus the cost to consumers of new Wi-Fi-using 
devices that RAND found would have to be purchased to support this new 
traffic. While the Commission agreed that the availability of 
additional unlicensed spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band will create 
additional traffic, it found that RAND's device-based component likely 
overstated benefits because it assumes that Wi-Fi devices in use are 
substantially limited by capacity constraints, and thus, any increase 
in Wi-Fi capacity would generate new traffic that would be accommodated 
entirely by the purchase of new devices. The Commission anticipated 
that existing Wi-Fi devices will handle most of the additional traffic, 
focusing instead on the value of the extra traffic itself based on its 
calculation above. Additionally, unlike the RAND 5.9 GHz Study, the 
Commission incorporated 6 GHz spectrum into its analysis.
    62. The Commission also previously addressed another approach to 
evaluating unlicensed use: Estimating the GDP increase due to the 
resulting broadband speed increase. An alternative quantification in 
the RAND 5.9 GHz Study as well as the 2020 WiFiForward Study of the 
value of repurposing 5.9 GHz both relied on such estimates but based on 
different data. The Commission did not find an appropriate way to 
address its concerns regarding this estimate in either comments to this 
proceeding, the public record, or in the academic literature, and so 
declined to include a benefit of speed increases in its analysis.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    63. Sections 90.375, 90.379, and 95.3189 of the final rules provide 
that DSRCS Roadside Units (RSUs) and DSRCS On-Board Unit (OBU) 
transmitter types operating in the 5895-5925 MHz band must comply with 
the technical standard Institute of Electrical and Electronics 
Engineers (IEEE) 802.11p-2010. The OFR has regulations concerning 
incorporation by reference. 1 CFR part 51. These regulations require 
that, for a final rule, agencies must discuss in the preamble to the 
rule the way in which materials that the agency incorporates by 
reference are reasonably available to interested parties, and how 
interested parties can obtain the materials. Additionally, the preamble 
to the rule must summarize the material. 1 CFR 51.5(b).
    64. In accordance with the OFR's requirements, the discussion in 
section III.B. of this preamble summarizes the required provisions of 
IEEE 802.11p-2010. Interested persons may obtain a copy of IEEE 
802.11p-2010, either through IEEE's website or by mail at the address 
provided in Sec.  90.395 and 95.3189 the rule. A copy of the standard 
may also be inspected at the FCC's main office.

IV. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the First Report and Order

    65. There is growing demand for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed 
applications' access to mid-band spectrum to provide low-cost wireless 
connectivity in countless products used by American consumers. To meet 
this demand, the Commission adopted rules to repurpose the 5.850-5.895 
GHz portion of the 5.9

[[Page 23292]]

GHz band, which when added to the adjacent spectrum available for U-NII 
devices below 5.850 GHz, will allow for increased high-throughput 
broadband unlicensed applications in spectrum that is a core component 
of today's unlicensed ecosystem. At the same time, the Commission 
recognized that the 5.9 GHz band plays an important role in supporting 
ITS safety-related transportation and vehicular communications. 
Therefore, the Commission retained 30 megahertz of spectrum in the 
5.895-5.925 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band for use by the ITS radio 
service. In addition, it required ITS licensees to transition its 
technology from the DSRC standard to the C-V2X standard.
    66. To promote unlicensed use of the 5.850-5.895 GHz band as soon 
as possible, the Commission allowed immediate access for unlicensed 
indoor operations (at specified low power levels) across the 5.850-
5.895 GHz band. While the Commission will not permit unlicensed outdoor 
operations across the 5.850-5.895 GHz band at his time, requests to 
allow for outdoor unlicensed operations would be considered through the 
Commission's existing regulatory process to be coordinated with the 
NTIA to ensure that federal incumbents are protected from harmful 
interference.

B. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response 
to the IRFA

    67. No comments were filed that specifically addressed the rules 
and polices proposed in the IRFA.

C. Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration

    68. Pursuant to the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which amended 
the RFA, the Commission is required to respond to any comments filed by 
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
(SBA), and to provide a detailed statement of any change made to the 
proposed rules as a result of those comments. The Chief Counsel did not 
file any comments in response to the proposed rules in this proceeding.

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

    69. 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, if adopted. 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).
    70. Small Businesses, Small Organizations, Small Governmental 
Jurisdictions. The Commission's actions, over time, may affect small 
entities that are not easily categorized at present. The Commission 
therefore described here, at the outset, three broad groups of small 
entities that could be directly affected herein. First, while there are 
industry specific size standards for small businesses that are used in 
the regulatory flexibility analysis, according to data from the Small 
Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy, in general a small 
business is an independent business having fewer than 500 employees. 
These types of small businesses represent 99.9% of all businesses in 
the United States, which translates to 30.7 million businesses.
    71. Next, the type of small entity described as a ``small 
organization'' is generally ``any not-for-profit enterprise which is 
independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field.'' 
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses a revenue benchmark of $50,000 
or less to delineate its annual electronic filing requirements for 
small exempt organizations. Nationwide, for tax year 2018, there were 
approximately 571,709 small exempt organizations in the U.S. reporting 
revenues of $50,000 or less according to the registration and tax data 
for exempt organizations available from the IRS.
    72. Finally, the small entity described as a ``small governmental 
jurisdiction'' is defined generally as ``governments of cities, 
counties, towns, townships, villages, school districts, or special 
districts, with a population of less than fifty thousand.'' U.S. Census 
Bureau data from the 2017 Census of Governments indicate that there 
were 90,075 local governmental jurisdictions consisting of general 
purpose governments and special purpose governments in the United 
States. Of this number there were 36,931 general purpose governments 
(county, municipal and town or township) with populations of less than 
50,000 and 12,040 special purpose governments--independent school 
districts with enrollment populations of less than 50,000. Accordingly, 
based on the 2017 U.S. Census of Governments data, the Commission 
estimated that at least 48,971 entities fall into the category of 
``small governmental jurisdictions.''
    73. Radio Frequency Equipment Manufacturers (RF Manufacturers). 
Neither the Commission nor the SBA has developed a small business size 
standard applicable to Radio Frequency Equipment Manufacturers (RF 
Manufacturers). There are several analogous SBA small entity categories 
applicable to RF Manufacturers--Fixed Microwave Services, Other 
Communications Equipment Manufacturing, and Radio and Television 
Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing. A 
description of these small entity categories and the small business 
size standards under the SBA rules are detailed below.
    74. Fixed Microwave Services. Microwave services include common 
carrier, private-operational fixed, and broadcast auxiliary radio 
services. They also include the Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service, 
Millimeter Wave Service, Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS), 
the Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS), and the 24 GHz Service, 
where licensees can choose between common carrier and non-common 
carrier status. There are approximately 66,680 common carrier fixed 
licensees, 69,360 private and public safety operational-fixed 
licensees, 20,150 broadcast auxiliary radio licensees, 411 LMDS 
licenses, 33 24 GHz DEMS licenses, 777 39 GHz licenses, and five 24 GHz 
licenses, and 467 Millimeter Wave licenses in the microwave services. 
The Commission has not yet defined a small business with respect to 
microwave services. The closest applicable SBA category is Wireless 
Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) and the appropriate size 
standard for this category under SBA rules is that such a business is 
small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For this industry, U.S. 
Census Bureau data for 2012 show that there were 967 firms that 
operated for the entire year. Of this total, 955 firms had employment 
of 999 or fewer employees and 12 had employment of 1000 employees or 
more. Thus under this SBA category and the associated size standard, 
the Commission estimates that a majority of fixed microwave service 
licensees can be considered small.
    75. The Commission does not have data specifying the number of 
these licensees that have more than 1,500 employees, and thus is unable 
at this time to estimate with greater precision the number of fixed 
microwave service licensees that would qualify as small

[[Page 23293]]

business concerns under the SBA's small business size standard. 
Consequently, the Commission estimates that there are up to 36,708 
common carrier fixed licensees and up to 59,291 private operational-
fixed licensees and broadcast auxiliary radio licensees in the 
microwave services that may be small and may be affected by the rules 
and policies discussed herein. The Commission noted, however, that the 
microwave fixed licensee category includes some large entities.
    76. Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing. This industry 
comprises establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing 
communications equipment (except telephone apparatus, and radio and 
television broadcast, and wireless communications equipment). Examples 
of such manufacturing include fire detection and alarm systems 
manufacturing, intercom systems and equipment manufacturing, and 
signals (e.g., highway, pedestrian, railway, traffic) manufacturing. 
The SBA has established a size standard for this industry as all such 
firms having 750 or fewer employees. U.S. Census Bureau data for 2012 
show that 383 establishments operated in that year. Of that number, 379 
operated with fewer than 500 employees and 4 had 500 to 999 employees. 
Based on this data, the Commission concluded that the majority of Other 
Communications Equipment Manufacturers are small.
    77. Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications 
Equipment Manufacturing. This industry comprises establishments 
primarily engaged in manufacturing radio and television broadcast and 
wireless communications equipment. Examples of products made by these 
establishments are: Transmitting and receiving antennas, cable 
television equipment, GPS equipment, pagers, cellular phones, mobile 
communications equipment, and radio and television studio and 
broadcasting equipment. The SBA has established a size standard for 
this industry of 1,250 employees or less. U.S. Census Bureau data for 
2012 show that 841 establishments operated in this industry in that 
year. Of that number, 828 establishments operated with fewer than 1,000 
employees, 7 establishments operated with between 1,000 and 2,499 
employees and 6 establishments operated with 2,500 or more employees. 
Based on this data, the Commission concluded that a majority of 
manufacturers in this industry are small.
    78. Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite). This 
industry comprises establishments engaged in operating and maintaining 
switching and transmission facilities to provide communications via the 
airwaves. Establishments in this industry have spectrum licenses and 
provide services using that spectrum, such as cellular services, paging 
services, wireless internet access, and wireless video services. The 
appropriate size standard under SBA rules is that such a business is 
small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For this industry, U.S. 
Census Bureau data for 2012 show that there were 967 firms that 
operated for the entire year. Of this total, 955 firms employed fewer 
than 1,000 employees and 12 firms employed of 1,000 employees or more. 
Thus, under this category and the associated size standard, the 
Commission estimated that the majority of Wireless Telecommunications 
Carriers (except Satellite) are small entities.
    79. Automobile Manufacturing. This U.S. industry comprises 
establishments primarily engaged in (1) manufacturing complete 
automobiles (i.e., body and chassis or unibody) or (2) manufacturing 
automobile chassis only. The SBA has established a size standard for 
this industry, which is 1,500 employees or less. 2012 U.S. Census 
Bureau data indicate that 185 establishments operated in this industry 
that year. Of this number, 162 establishments had employment of fewer 
than 1,000 employees, and 11 establishments had employment of 1,000 to 
2,499 employees. Therefore, the Commission estimated that the majority 
of manufacturers in this industry are small entities.
    80. Internet Service Providers (Non-Broadband). Internet access 
service providers such as dial-up internet service providers, VoIP 
service providers using client-supplied telecommunications connections 
and internet service providers using client-supplied telecommunications 
connections (e.g., dial-up ISPs) fall in the category of All Other 
Telecommunications. The SBA has developed a small business size 
standard for All Other Telecommunications which consists of all such 
firms with gross annual receipts of $35 million or less. For this 
category, U.S. Census Bureau data for 2012 show that there were 1,442 
firms that operated for the entire year. Of these firms, a total of 
1,400 had gross annual receipts of less than $25 million. Consequently, 
under this size standard, a majority of firms in this industry can be 
considered small.
    81. Internet Service Providers (Broadband). Broadband internet 
service providers include wired (e.g., cable, DSL) and VoIP service 
providers using their own operated wired telecommunications 
infrastructure fall in the category of Wired Telecommunication 
Carriers. Wired Telecommunications Carriers are comprised of 
establishments primarily engaged in operating and/or providing access 
to transmission facilities and infrastructure that they own and/or 
lease for the transmission of voice, data, text, sound, and video using 
wired telecommunications networks. Transmission facilities may be based 
on a single technology or a combination of technologies. The SBA size 
standard for this category classifies a business as small if it has 
1,500 or fewer employees. U.S. Census Bureau data for 2012 show that 
there were 3,117 firms that operated that year. Of this total, 3,083 
operated with fewer than 1,000 employees. Consequently, under this size 
standard the majority of firms in this industry can be considered 
small.
    82. Cable System Operators (Telecom Act Standard). The 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, also contains a size standard 
for small cable system operators, which is ``a cable operator that, 
directly or through an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 
one percent of all subscribers in the United States and is not 
affiliated with any entity or entities whose gross annual revenues in 
the aggregate exceed $250,000,000.'' As of 2019, there were 
approximately 48,646,056 basic cable video subscribers in the United 
States. Accordingly, an operator serving fewer than 486,460 subscribers 
shall be deemed a small operator if its annual revenues, when combined 
with the total annual revenues of all its affiliates, do not exceed 
$250 million in the aggregate. Based on available data, the Commission 
found that all but five cable operators are small entities under this 
size standard. The Commission noted that it neither requests nor 
collects information on whether cable system operators are affiliated 
with entities whose gross annual revenues exceed $250 million. 
Therefore, the Commission was unable at this time to estimate with 
greater precision the number of cable system operators that would 
qualify as small cable operators under the definition in the 
Communications Act.

E. Requirements for Small Entities Description of Projected Reporting, 
Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance

    83. In the First Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules 
that require ITS licensees to cease use of the 5.850-5.895 GHz band one 
year following the

[[Page 23294]]

effective date of the First Report and Order, operate in only the 
5.895-5.925 GHz band thereon, and acknowledge compliance with that 
requirement with the Commission. The Commission expects that all the 
filing, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements associated with the 
adopted rules will be the same for large and small businesses. In 
addition, the Commission believed that this rulemaking, by expanding 
the availability of unlicensed devices in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band, 
would provide an advantage to small entities, as these entities would 
benefit from being able to access this spectrum over a wide geographic 
area and frequency range without the complication or cost of needing to 
obtain a license. On balance, this would constitute a significant 
benefit for small businesses.

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

    84. 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.
    85. In repurposing the 5.850-5.895 GHz band for unlicensed use, the 
Commission expects to realize substantial benefits by expanding Wi-Fi 
capacity for small and large entities alike. At the same time, by 
preserving 30 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band for ITS 
use, the rules adopted in the First Report and Order will be sufficient 
for the current and future ITS licensees to continue to offer such 
service in the band. The Commission believes that it has streamlined 
these rules appropriately to afford small entities new opportunities to 
access that spectrum in a cost-effective manner. The Commission found 
that the public interest is best served by addressing the needs of both 
ITS and unlicensed users for access to distinct parts of the 5.9 GHz 
band. The adopted rules for unlicensed indoor operation in the 5.850-
5.895 GHz band are designed to prevent the unlicensed devices from 
causing harmful interference to the licensed ITS services operating in 
the band prior to the deadline for ceasing use of the 5.850-5.895 GHz 
band. Consequently, the Commission does not expect that the current and 
future licensees in the band, including small entities, would 
experience a significant economic impact from additional unlicensed use 
of the spectrum that would be permitted under the adopted rules.
    86. The regulatory burdens, such as filing applications on 
appropriate forms, are necessary in order to ensure that the public 
receives the benefits of 5.9 GHz band in a prompt and efficient manner 
and apply equally to large and small entities, thus without 
differential impact. The Commission will continue to examine 
alternatives in the future with the objective of eliminating 
unnecessary regulations and minimizing any significant impact on small 
entities.

V. Ordering Clauses

    87. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority 
found in sections 1, 4(i), 301, 302, 303, 309, 316, and 332 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 301, 
302, 303, 309, 316, and 332, and Sec.  1.411 of the Commission's rules, 
47 CFR 1.411, that the First Report and Order and Order of Proposed 
Modification are hereby adopted.
    88. It is further ordered that the rules and requirements as 
adopted herein are adopted, effective sixty (60) days from the date of 
publication in the Federal Register, with the exception of Sec.  
90.372, which contains new or modified information collection 
requirements that require review by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Commission directs the 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to establish and announce the 
effective date of Sec.  90.372 in a document published in the Federal 
Register after the Commission receives OMB approval.
    89. It is further ordered that, pursuant to sections 309 and 316 of 
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 309 and 316, in 
this Order of Proposed Modification, the Commission modifies all ITS 
licenses in the 5.9 GHz band pursuant to the conditions specified in 
the First Report and Order. Specifically, the Commission modifies the 
licenses of all DSRC incumbents to add authorization to operate in the 
5.895-5.925 GHz band to any RSU registrations currently lacking 
authority to do so. In addition, the Commission will modify all DSRC 
licenses to provide that after the end of the sunset period their 
authorizations will be limited to the 5.895-5.925 GHz band. These 
modifications will be effective 60 days after publication of this Order 
of Proposed Modification in the Federal Register; provided, however, 
that in the event that any ITS licensee, or any other licensee or 
permittee who believes that its license or permit would be modified by 
this action, seeks to protest these modifications, such license 
modifications specified herein and contested by the licensee or 
permittee shall not be made final as to such licensee or permittee 
unless and until the Commission orders otherwise. Pursuant to section 
316(a)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
316(a)(1), publication of this Order of Proposed Modification in the 
Federal Register shall constitute notification in writing of the 
Commission's Order proposing the modification of the ITS licenses, and 
of the grounds and reasons therefore, and those licensees and any other 
party seeking to file a protest pursuant to section 316 shall have 30 
days from the date of such publication to protest such Order.
    90. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this First Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification, 
including the Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to Congress and 
the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional 
Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 2

    Radio, Telecommunications.

47 CFR Parts 15, 90, and 95

    Communications equipment, Incorporation by Reference, Radio, 
Telecommunications.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR parts 2, 15, 90, and 95 as 
follows:

PART 2--FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS AND RADIO TREATY MATTERS; GENERAL 
RULES AND REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 2 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 302a, 303, and 336, unless otherwise 
noted.


[[Page 23295]]



0
2. Amend Sec.  2.106 by revising footnote ``NG160'' to read as follows:


Sec.  2.106   Table of Frequency Allocations.

* * * * *
Non-Federal Government (NG) Footnotes
* * * * *
    NG160 In the band 5895-5925 MHz, the use of the non-federal mobile 
service is limited to operations in the Intelligent Transportation 
Systems radio service.
* * * * *

PART 15--RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES

0
3. The authority citation for part 15 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 302a, 303, 304, 307, 336, 544a, and 
549.

Subpart E--Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure Devices

0
4. Revise Sec.  15.401 to read as follows:


Sec.  15.401   Scope.

    This subpart sets out the regulations for Unlicensed National 
Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices operating in the 5.15-5.35 
GHz, 5.47-5.895 GHz bands, and 5.925-7.125 GHz bands.

0
5. Amend Sec.  15.403 by revising the definitions for ``Indoor Access 
Point'', ``Subordinate Device'', and ``U-NII devices'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  15.403   Definitions.

* * * * *
    Indoor Access Point. For the purpose of this subpart, an access 
point that operates in the 5.850-5.895 GHz or the 5.925-7.125 GHz band, 
is supplied power from a wired connection, has an integrated antenna, 
is not battery powered, and does not have a weatherized enclosure. 
Indoor access point devices must bear the following statement in a 
conspicuous location on the device and in the user's manual: FCC 
regulations restrict operation of this device to indoor use only.
* * * * *
    Subordinate Device. For the purpose of this subpart, a device that 
operates in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band or in the 5.925-7.125 GHz band 
under the control of an Indoor Access Point, is supplied power from a 
wired connection, has an integrated antenna, is not battery powered, 
does not have a weatherized enclosure, and does not have a direct 
connection to the internet. Subordinate devices must not be used to 
connect devices between separate buildings or structures. Subordinate 
devices must be authorized under certification procedures in part 2 of 
this chapter. Modules may not be certified as subordinate devices.
* * * * *
    U-NII devices. Intentional radiators operating in the frequency 
bands 5.15-5.35 GHz, 5.47-5.895 GHz, and 5.925-7.125 GHz that use 
wideband digital modulation techniques and provide a wide array of high 
data rate mobile and fixed communications for individuals, businesses, 
and institutions.

0
6. Amend Sec.  15.407 by:
0
a. Revising paragraphs (a)(3), (12) and (b)(4) introductory text;
0
b. Redesignating paragraphs (b)(5) through (10) as paragraphs (b)(6) 
through (11);
0
c. Adding new paragraph (b)(5); and
0
d. Revising paragraph (e).
    The revisions and additions are as follows:


Sec.  15.407   General technical requirements.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) For the band 5.725-5.895 GHz: (i) For the band 5.725-5.850 GHz, 
the maximum conducted output power over the frequency band of operation 
shall not exceed 1 W. In addition, the maximum power spectral density 
shall not exceed 30 dBm in any 500-kHz band. If transmitting antennas 
of directional gain greater than 6 dBi are used, both the maximum 
conducted output power and the maximum power spectral density shall be 
reduced by the amount in dB that the directional gain of the antenna 
exceeds 6 dBi. However, fixed point-to-point U-NII devices operating in 
this band may employ transmitting antennas with directional gain 
greater than 6 dBi without any corresponding reduction in transmitter 
conducted power. Fixed, point-to-point operations exclude the use of 
point-to-multipoint systems, omnidirectional applications, and multiple 
collocated transmitters transmitting the same information. The operator 
of the U-NII device, or if the equipment is professionally installed, 
the installer, is responsible for ensuring that systems employing high 
gain directional antennas are used exclusively for fixed, point-to-
point operations.
    (ii) For an indoor access point operating in the 5.850-5.895 GHz 
band, the maximum power spectral density must not exceed 20 dBm 
e.i.r.p. in any 1-megahertz band. In addition, the maximum e.i.r.p. 
over the frequency band of operation must not exceed 36 dBm. Indoor 
access points operating on a channel that spans the 5.725-5.850 GHz and 
5.850-5.895 GHz bands must not exceed an e.i.r.p. of 36 dBm.
    (iii) For client devices operating under the control of an indoor 
access point in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band, the maximum power spectral 
density must not exceed 14 dBm e.i.r.p. in any 1-megahertz band, and 
the maximum e.i.r.p. over the frequency band of operation must not 
exceed 30 dBm. Client devices operating on a channel that spans the 
5.725-5.850 GHz and 5.850-5.895 GHz bands must not exceed an e.i.r.p. 
of 30 dBm.
    (iv) For a subordinate device operating under the control of an 
indoor access point in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band, the maximum power 
spectral density must not exceed 20 dBm e.i.r.p in any 1-megahertz 
band, and the maximum e.i.r.p. over the frequency band of operation 
must not exceed 36 dBm.
    (v) In the 5.850-5.895 GHz band, client devices must operate under 
the control of an indoor access point. In all cases, an exception 
exists for transmitting brief messages to an access point when 
attempting to join its network after detecting a signal that confirms 
that an access point is operating on a particular channel. Access 
points may connect to other access points. Client devices are 
prohibited from connecting directly to another client device.

    Note 1 to Paragraph (a)(3): The Commission strongly recommends 
that parties employing U-NII devices to provide critical 
communications services should determine if there are any nearby 
Government radar systems that could affect their operation.

* * * * *
    (12) Power spectral density measurement: The maximum power spectral 
density is measured as a conducted emission by direct connection of a 
calibrated test instrument to the equipment under test. If the device 
cannot be connected directly, alternative techniques acceptable to the 
Commission may be used. Measurements in the 5.725-5.895 GHz band are 
made over a reference bandwidth of 500 kHz or the 26 dB emission 
bandwidth of the device, whichever is less. Measurements in all other 
bands are made over a bandwidth of 1 MHz or the 26 dB emission 
bandwidth of the device, whichever is less. A narrower resolution 
bandwidth can be used, provided that the measured power is integrated 
over the full reference bandwidth.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (4) For transmitters operating solely in the 5.725-5.850 GHz band:
* * * * *

[[Page 23296]]

    (5) For transmitters operating solely in the 5.850-5.895 GHz band 
or operating on a channel that spans across 5.725-5.895 GHz:
    (i) For an indoor access point or subordinate device, all emissions 
at or above 5.895 GHz shall not exceed an e.i.r.p. of 15 dBm/MHz and 
shall decrease linearly to an e.i.r.p. of -7 dBm/MHz at or above 5.925 
GHz.
    (ii) For a client device, all emissions at or above 5.895 GHz shall 
not exceed an e.i.r.p. of -5 dBm/MHz and shall decrease linearly to an 
e.i.r.p. of -27 dBm/MHz at or above 5.925 GHz.
    (iii) For a client device or indoor access point or subordinate 
device, all emissions below 5.725 GHz shall not exceed an e.i.r.p. of -
27 dBm/MHz at 5.65 GHz increasing linearly to 10 dBm/MHz at 5.7 GHz, 
and from 5.7 GHz increasing linearly to a level of 15.6 dBm/MHz at 5.72 
GHz, and from 5.72 GHz increasing linearly to a level of 27 dBm/MHz at 
5.725 GHz.
* * * * *
    (e) Within the 5.725-5.850 GHz and 5.850-5.895 GHz bands, the 
minimum 6 dB bandwidth of U-NII devices shall be at least 500 kHz.
* * * * *

PART 90--PRIVATE LAND MOBILE RADIO SERVICES

0
7. The authority citation for part 90 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 161, 303(g), 303(r), 332(c)(7), 
1401-1473.

Subpart B--Public Safety Radio Pool

0
8. In Sec.  90.20 amend the table in paragraph (c)(3) by revising the 
table heading, removing the entry for ``5850-5925'' and adding in its 
place an entry for ``5895-5925'' to read as follows:


Sec.  90.20   Public Safety Pool.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) * * *

                           Table 1 to Sec.   90.20--Public Safety Pool Frequency Table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Frequency or band                 Class of station(s)       Limitations           Coordinator
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
5895-5925...............................  Base or mobile............              86  Not applicable.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

Subpart C--Industrial/Business Radio Pool

0
9. In Sec.  90.35 amend the table in paragraph (b)(3) by revising the 
table heading, removing the entry for ``5850-5925'' and adding in its 
place an entry for ``5895-5925'' to read as follows:


Sec.  90.35   Industrial/Business Pool.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (3) * * *

                        Table 1 to Sec.   90.35--Industrial/Business Pool Frequency Table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Frequency or band                 Class of station(s)       Limitations           Coordinator
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
5895-5925...............................  ......do..................          90, 91  Not applicable.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

Subpart G--Applications and Authorizations

0
10. Amend Sec.  90.149 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  90.149   License term.

* * * * *
    (b) Non-exclusive geographic area licenses for DSRCS Roadside Units 
(RSUs) under subpart M of this part in the 5895-5925 MHz band will be 
issued for a term not to exceed ten years from the date of original 
issuance or renewal. The registration dates of individual RSUs (see 
Sec.  90.375) will not change the overall renewal period of the single 
license.

0
11. Amend Sec.  90.155 by revising paragraph (i) to read as follows:


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

* * * * *
    (i) DSRCS Roadside Units (RSUs) under subpart M of this part in the 
5895-5925 MHz band must be placed in operation within 12 months from 
the effective date of registration (see Sec.  90.375) or the authority 
to operate the RSUs cancels automatically (see Sec.  1.955 of this 
chapter). Such registration date(s) do not change the overall renewal 
period of the single license. Licensees must notify the Commission in 
accordance with Sec.  1.946 of this chapter when registered units are 
placed in operation within their construction period.

Subpart H--Policies Governing the Assignment of Frequencies

0
12. Amend Sec.  90.175 by revising paragraph (j)(16) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  90.175   Frequency coordinator requirements.

* * * * *
    (j) * * *
    (16) Applications for DSRCS licenses (as well as registrations for 
Roadside Units) under subpart M of this part in the 5895-5925 MHz band.
* * * * *

[[Page 23297]]

Subpart I--General Technical Standards

0
13. Amend Sec.  90.203 by redesignating paragraph (a)(2) as paragraph 
(a)(3) and adding new paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  90.203   Certification Required.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (2) Effective July 5, 2022, an equipment approval may no longer be 
obtained for DSRCS equipment (RSUs and OBUs) operating under the 
provisions of this part.
* * * * *

0
14. Amend Sec.  90.205 by revising paragraph (q) to read as follows:


Sec.  90.205   Power and antenna height limits.

* * * * *
    (q) 5895-5925 MHz. Power and height limitations are specified in 
subpart M of this part.
* * * * *

0
15. In Sec.  90.210 amend table 1 to Sec.  90.210 by revising the entry 
for ``5850-5925'' and footnote 4 to read as follows:


Sec.  90.210   Emission masks.

* * * * *

           Table 1 to Sec.   90.210--Applicable Emission Masks
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Mask for equipment    Mask for equipment
  Applicable emission masks    with audio low pass    without audio low
    frequency band (MHz)             filter              pass filter
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
5895-5925 \4\...............
 
                              * * * * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 * * * * * * *
\4\ DSRCS Roadside Units in the 5895-5925 MHz band are governed under
  subpart M of this part.

* * * * *

0
16. In Sec.  90.213 amend table 1 to Sec.  90.213(a) by revising 
footnote 10 to read as follows:


Sec.  90.213   Frequency stability.

    (a) * * *

Table 1 to Sec.  90.213 (a) --Minimum Frequency Stability

* * * * *
    \10\ Frequency stability for DSRCS equipment in the 5895-5925 
MHz band is specified in subpart M of this part. For all other 
equipment, frequency stability is to be specified in the station 
authorization.
* * * * *

Subpart M--Intelligent Transportation Systems Radio Service

0
17. Amend subpart M by revising the undesignated center heading 
following Sec.  90.365 to read as follows:
* * * * *

Regulations Governing the Licensing and Use of Frequencies in the 5895-
5925 MHz Band for Dedicated Short-Range Communications Service (DSRCS)

* * * * *

0
18. Add Sec.  90.370 to subpart M to read as follows:


Sec.  90.370   Permitted frequencies.

    (a) Dedicated Short-Range Communications Service (DSRCS) systems 
are permitted to operate in the 5895-5925 MHz band.
    (b) DSRCS authorizations granted prior to the July 2, 2021 may 
remain on existing frequencies in the 5850-5895 MHz band until July 5, 
2022, at which time they may only operate in the 5895-5925 MHz band.
    (c) Frequencies in the 5895-5925 MHz band will not be assigned for 
the exclusive use of any licensee; Channels are available on a shared 
basis only for use in accordance with the Commission's rules. All 
licensees shall cooperate in the selection and use of channels in order 
to reduce interference. This includes monitoring for communications in 
progress and any other measures as may be necessary to minimize 
interference.
    (d) Licensees of Roadside Units (RSUs) suffering or causing harmful 
interference within a communications zone, as defined in Sec.  90.375 
of this part, are expected to cooperate and resolve this problem by 
mutually satisfactory arrangements. If the licensees are unable to do 
so, the Commission may impose restrictions including specifying the 
transmitter power, antenna height and direction, additional filtering, 
or area or hours of operation of the stations concerned. The use of any 
channel at a given geographical location may be denied when, in the 
judgment of the Commission, its use at that location is not in the 
public interest; use of any such channel may be restricted as to 
specified geographical areas, maximum power, or such other operating 
conditions, contained in this part or in the station authorization.

0
19. Amend Sec.  90.371 by revising paragraphs (b) and (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  90.371   Dedicated Short Range Communications Service.

* * * * *
    (b) DSRCS Roadside Units (RSUs) operating in the band 5850-5925 MHz 
shall not receive protection from Government Radiolocation services in 
operation prior to the establishment of the DSRCS station. Operation of 
DSRCS RSU stations within the radius centered on the locations listed 
in the table below must be coordinated through the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration.

                               Table 1 to Sec.   90.371(b)--Coordination Locations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                   Coordination
                            Location                                 Latitude        Longitude      zone radius
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anclote, Florida................................................        28-11-18        82-47-40              45
Cape Canaveral, Florida.........................................        28-28-54        80-34-35              47
Cape San Blas, Florida..........................................        29-40-31        85-20-48              47
Carabelle Field, Florida........................................        29-50-38        84-39-46              36
Charleston, South Carolina......................................        32-51-48        79-57-48              16
Edwards, California.............................................        34-56-43       117-54-50              53

[[Page 23298]]

 
Eglin, Florida..................................................        30-37-51        86-24-16             103
Fort Walton Beach, Florida......................................        30-24-53        86-39-58              41
Kennedy Space Center, Florida...................................        28-25-29        80-39-51              47
Key West, Florida...............................................        24-33-09        81-48-28              12
Kirtland AFB, New Mexico........................................        34-59-51       106-28-54              15
Kokeepark, Hawaii...............................................        22-07-35       159-40-06               5
MacDill, Florida................................................        27-50-37        82-30-04              47
NV Test Training Range, Nevada..................................        37-18-27       116-10-24             186
Patuxent River, Maryland........................................        38-16-55        76-25-12               6
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii............................................        21-21-17       157-57-51              16
Pillar Point, California........................................        37-29-52       122-29-59              36
Poker Flat, Alaska..............................................        65-07-36       147-29-21              13
Port Canaveral, Florida.........................................        28-24-42        80-36-17              19
Port Hueneme, California........................................        34-08-60       119-12-24              24
Point Mugu, California..........................................        34-07-17        119-09-1              18
Saddlebunch Keys, Florida.......................................        24-38-51        81-36-22              29
San Diego, California...........................................        32-43-00       117-11-00              11
San Nicolas Island, California..................................        33-14-47       119-31-07             195
Tonopah Test Range, Nevada......................................        37-44-00       116-43-00               2
Vandenberg, California..........................................        34-34-58       120-33-42              55
Venice, Florida.................................................        27-04-37        82-27-03              50
Wallops Island, Virginia........................................        37-51-23        75-30-41              48
White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico...........................        32-58-26       106-23-43             158
Yuma, Arizona...................................................        32-54-03       114-23-10               2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (c) NTIA may authorize additional station assignments in the 
federal radiolocation service and may amend, modify, or revoke existing 
or additional assignments for such service. Once a federal assignment 
action is taken, the Commission's Universal Licensing System database 
will be updated accordingly and the list in paragraph (b) of this 
section will be updated as soon as practicable.

0
20. Delayed indefinitely, add Sec.  90.372 to subpart M to read as 
follows:


Sec.  90.372   DSRCS notification requirement.

    (a) DSRCS licensees authorized pursuant to 90.370(b) must notify 
the Commission that as of the transition deadline of July 5, 2022, they 
have ceased operating in the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the band. This 
notification must be filed via ULS within 15 days of the expiration of 
the transition deadline.
    (b) Continued operation in the 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the band 
after the transition deadline, will result in automatic termination of 
that licensee's authorization without specific Commission action.

0
21. Amend Sec.  90.375 by revising paragraphs (a) and (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  90.375   RSU license areas, communication zones, and 
registrations.

    (a) Roadside Units (RSUs) in the 5895-5925 MHz band are licensed on 
the basis of non-exclusive geographic areas. Governmental applicants 
will be issued a geographic area license based on the geo-political 
area encompassing the legal jurisdiction of the entity. All other 
applicants will be issued a geographic area license for their proposed 
area of operation based on county(s), state(s) or nationwide.
* * * * *
    (c) Licensees must operate each RSU in accordance with the 
Commission's rules and the registration data posted on the ULS for such 
RSU. Licensees must register each RSU for the smallest communication 
zone needed for the intelligent transportation systems application 
using one of the following four communication zones:

            Table 1 to Sec.   90.375(c)--Communication Zones
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Maximum output    Communications
              RSU class               power  (dBm) \1\   zone  (meters)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A...................................                 0                15
B...................................                10               100
C...................................                20               400
D...................................              28.8              1000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ As described in the IEEE 802.11p-2010 (incorporated by reference,
  see Sec.   90.395).


0
22. Revise Sec.  90.379 to read as follows:


Sec.  90.379   Technical standards for Roadside Units.

    DSRCS Roadside Units (RSUs) operating in the 5895-5925 MHz band 
must comply with the technical standard Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11p-2010 (incorporated by reference, 
see Sec.  90.395).

0
23. Amend Sec.  90.383 by revising the introductory text and paragraph 
(b) to read as follows:


Sec.  90.383   RSU sites near the U.S./Canada or U.S./Mexico border.

    Until such time as agreements between the United States and Canada 
or the United States and Mexico, as applicable, become effective 
governing border area use of the 5895-5925 MHz band, authorizations to 
operate

[[Page 23299]]

Roadside Units (RSUs) are granted subject to the following conditions:
* * * * *
    (b) Authority to operate RSUs is subject to modifications and 
future agreements between the United States and Canada or the United 
States and Mexico, as applicable.

0
24. Add Sec.  90.395 to subpart M to read as follows:


Sec.  90.395   Incorporation by reference.

    Certain material required in this section is incorporated by 
reference into this subpart with the approval of the Director of the 
Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All approved 
material is available for inspection at the address of the FCC's main 
office indicated in 47 CFR 0.401(a) and is available from the sources 
indicated in this section. It is also available for inspection at the 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on 
the availability of this material at NARA, email [email protected] 
or go to www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html.
    (a) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 3025 
Boardwalk Drive, Suite 220, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, 1-855-999-9870, 
www.techstreet.com/ieee.
    (1) IEEE 802.11p-2010, IEEE Standard for Information technology--
Telecommunications and information exchange between systems--Local and 
metropolitan area networks--Specific requirements--Part 11: Wireless 
LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications 
Amendment 6: Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments, 15 July, 2010; 
into Sec. Sec.  90.375(c), 90.379.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (b) [Reserved]

PART 95--PERSONAL RADIO SERVICES

0
25. The authority citation for part 95 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  47 U.S.C. 154, 303, and 307.

Subpart L--DSRCS On-Board Units

0
26. Revise Sec.  95.3101 to read as follows:


Sec.  95.3101   Scope.

    This subpart contains rules that apply only to On-Board Units 
(OBUs) transmitting in the 5895-5925 MHz frequency band in the 
Dedicated Short-Range Communications Services (DSRCS) (see Sec.  90.371 
of this chapter).


Sec.  95.3159   [Removed and Reserved]

0
27. Remove and reserve Sec.  95.3159.

0
28. Revise Sec.  95.3163 to read as follows:


Sec.  95.3163   OBU frequencies.

    DSRCS On-Board Units (OBUs) are permitted to operate in the 5895-
5925 MHz band.

0
29. Revise Sec.  95.3167 to read as follows:


Sec.  95.3167   OBU transmit power limit.

    (a) The maximum output power for portable DSRCS On-Board Unit (OBU) 
transmitter types is 1.0 mW.
    (b) The power limits in paragraph (a) of this section may be 
referenced to the antenna input, so that cable losses are taken into 
account.
    (c) For purposes of this section, a portable unit is a transmitting 
device designed to be used so that the radiating structure(s) of the 
device is/are within 20 centimeters of the body of the user.

0
30. Revise Sec.  95.3189 to read as follows:


Sec.  95.3189   OBU technical standard.

    (a) DSRCS On-Board Unit (OBU) transmitter types operating in the 
5895-5925 MHz band must be designed to comply with the technical 
standard Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 
802.11p-2010.
    (b) 802.11p-2010, IEEE Standard for Information technology--Local 
and metropolitan area networks--Specific requirements--Part 11: 
Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) 
Specifications Amendment 6: Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments, 
15 July 2010 is incorporated by reference into this section with the 
approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) 
and 1 CFR part 51. All approved material is available for inspection at 
the address of the FCC's main office indicated in 47 CFR 0.401(a) and 
is available from Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 
(IEEE), 3025 Boardwalk Drive, Suite 220, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, 1-855-
999-9870, www.techstreet.com/ieee. It is also available for inspection 
at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For 
information on the availability of this material at NARA, email 
[email protected] or go to www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html.

Appendix A to Part 95 [Amended]

0
31. Amend the table in appendix A to part 95 by removing the entry for 
``95.1509--ASTM E2213-03 DSRC Standard''.

[FR Doc. 2021-08802 Filed 4-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P