Expensive Light Bulbs
In a Notice of Apparent Liability and Forfeiture, CBS Communications Services, Inc., (CBS), Torrance, California was fined $10,000 for failing to exhibit the required red obstruction lighting from sunset to sunrise on its antenna. In addition, the Commission added that CBS did not accurately record the lighting outage in its station logs over a four day period. The Commission’s rules state that “antenna structure owners shall maintain the painting and lighting of antenna structures” in that “red obstruction lighting shall be exhibited from sunset to sunrise”.
Category: Enforcement CornerOne Second Shy of 21 Minutes
We’re not quite sure how the FCC knew that Tropicana Las Vegas, Inc. would be transmitting a continuous 1259-second digital transmission, but they did. As a result, the hotel received a Notice of Violation noting that it was “creating the potential for interference.” FCC rules state that “Except for stations that have been granted exclusive channels under this part of the rules, and are classified as commercial mobile radio service providers pursuant to Part 20 of this chapter, each licensee must restrict all transmissions to the minimum practical transmission time and must employee an efficient operating procedure designed to maximize the utilization of the spectrum.” Tropicana was given 20 days to advise the Commission what corrective steps would be implemented.
Category: Enforcement CornerTrusting the Public Safety Market
The leadership of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet has expressed its concern to Chairman Genachowski that the public safety equipment market lacks competition and innovation, which impacts equipment prices and, potentially, interoperability. In a letter, dated April 24, the Committee requested the FCC to respond to a series of questions about the vendor choices made by jurisdictions that have obtained waivers for early deployment of 700 MHz networks. Letter to Chairman Genachowski
Category:That Would Make Ten
How do you say “no thank you” to Microsoft? In April, Microsoft filed a request seeking to be designated by the FCC as a TV band white-space device database administrator under Part 15 of the rules. Previously, nine organizations had filed for such designation and apparently all nine met the minimum criteria as all were accepted. It would seem that Microsoft would also be able to meet the minimum data repository, device registration and query processes as well. FCC Public Notice
Category: In the newsFCC’s Attitude Toward Incumbents Disconcerting
As reported in past issues of Insider, the Commission is proposing to “repurpose” portions of the UHF and VHF TV spectrum (“U/V Bands”) in order to promote “flexible use by fixed and mobile wireless communications services, including mobile broadband.” The NPR acknowledged in a footnote that there are land mobile systems operating on channels 14-20 and states that the Commission “would address appropriate changes … in the event that we were to decide to recover spectrum now used by those services.” In March, the LMCC reminded the FCC of the important services provided by Part 90 licensees using T-band spectrum. The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) filed comments in April citing the LMCC comments and echoed its concern about the Commission’s seemingly cavalier attitude toward the impact of its proposal on shared land mobile use of T-band spectrum.
Category: In the newsTower Registration and Procedural Rights
A DC law firm has filed a Petition for Reconsideration in response to the March 25 Public Notice in which the FCC stated that its draft environmental notice requirements and interim procedures affecting the antenna structure registration program were procedural in nature and therefore exempt from the Notice and Comment rulemaking process. Although the Public Notice called for comments on the draft rules, it made no provision for reply comments. The firm argued that the draft rules are substantive since they confer on the general public rights it did not previously have. The new rules will require those needing ASRs to first provide notice to the “local community” through newspapers or the local zoning process, irrespective of the size of the tower. An “interested” party then has the right to submit a request for "Environmental Processing" which will trigger a procedural process at the FCC. The Petitioners argue that this establishes a new right, not simply a revised process, and requires conformance with the Administrative Procedures Act and with the FCC’s internal rules governing rulemaking proceedings.
Category: In the newsMore CPNI Forfeitures Stayed
Following up on recent reports within Insider, two more telecommunication entities have been spared FCC enforcement action for what was originally thought to be compliance violations with Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) policies. Specifically, $25,000 forfeitures issued to Advanza Telecom and G-Link Communications were withdrawn by the Commission. As is its custom in these CPNI matters, no detailed explanation for waiving the fines was provided by the FCC. FCC Order
Category: In the newsFee Exempt License Applications
EWA has been informed by the FCC that business/industrial license applications submitted for the single purpose of modifying the emission designator from wideband to narrowband analog operations are exempt from submitting the customary $60 filing fee. Narrowbanding applications that seek to change emission designators from wideband to narrowband digital operations do not qualify for the fee exemption. In order to secure the exemption, the applicant must indicate on the Form 601 application that the applicant is exempt from FCC application fees (Item No. 9) and regulatory fees (Item No. 10). Additionally, an explanatory form/exhibit is to be attached to the application in order to demonstrate that the application is fee exempt. Contact EWA for further information.
Category: In the newsTETRA in America
Apparently, introducing a digital technology that has had the pleasure of operating in spectrum where there are only 25 kHz exclusive channel assignments is viewed as progress by the FCC. Of course, in the 150-512 MHz bands, such exclusive channels are few and far between. In its recently released Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), the FCC appears to be proceeding on a fast track favorable to European manufacturers who have expressed an interest in selling TETRA systems within the utility market. EWA isn’t sure whether this technology is backward compatible with existing deployed systems, but we suspect that it isn’t. It appears that the prospect for long sales cycles is rather high.
The NPR asks for comment about TETRA technical issues, including whether its use should be subject to the same limitations on “high density cellular system” operation as is applicable to ESMR systems, and if its use should be permitted in the Public Safety pool. In particular, the NPR questions whether permitting public safety use would adversely impact interoperability since the FCC notes that many 800 MHz Public Safety licensees already have adopted or are adopting Phase I P25 technology.
Concurrent with the release of the NPRM, the FCC granted a waiver for early deployments noting that “the slight increase in authorized bandwidth and the de minimis area of non-compliance with the emission masks would not likely cause increased interference to adjacent channels users.” It further noted that TETRA’s four-slot TDMA operation in a 25 kHz bandwidth satisfies the efficiency equivalency standard for the upcoming January 1, 2013, narrowbanding deadline and so provides an alternative approach for certain users. For a limited number of users would be a more accurate statement.
There are a lot of technical issues associated with these FCC proposals that deserve careful due diligence by the industry and the Commission. The FCC’s pattern of relying exclusively on the good graces of the suppliers (recall the LightSquared decision) may not always prove to be the optimum approach. Expect coverage of this matter in future issues of Insider.
LMCC Annual Meeting News
During its April 26 Annual Meeting, the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) resolved a number of differences of opinion on how best to approach coordinating centralized trunked systems in the world of narrowbanded 12.5 kHz and 6.25 kHz digital systems. Specifically, the LMCC membership discussed proposed edits to FCC Rule Sections 90.7 and 90.187, and is now awaiting clarification of certain proposed revisions from its public safety members. It is anticipated that final rules will be submitted to the FCC by the end of May. In other business, the LMCC agreed to review industry comments in the FCC’s initiative to that would allow individuals and entities to operate signal boosters provided the devices comply with (1) RF exposure rules and (2) parameters intended to prevent interference and to resolve interference problems should they arise. During Board of Director elections, Mark Crosby was reelected as the LMCC’s Secretary/Treasurer.
Category: In the newsFCC Issues Narrowbanding Warning
Licensees should have no doubt that the FCC, especially the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), is quite serious about enforcing the January 1, 2013, narrowbanding deadline. The PSHSB recently mailed 32,000 letters to Public Safety licensees advising again of system narrowbanding requirements and advising of the consequences for non-compliance. The FCC letter notes that unauthorized wideband operation after the January 1, 2013, deadline will be in violation of the Commission’s rules, and licensees will be subject to enforcement action, including monetary forfeitures or license revocation. If an unauthorized wideband operation interferes with a newly authorized narrowband licensee, the Commission may require the wideband licensee to terminate operations. These are pretty direct agency warnings that are applicable not only to public safety licensees, but business/industrial licensees as well. Twenty months are left to comply. Contact Louise Hippolyte, Manager, Member Communications at 703.797.5106 to request a thorough evaluation of your licenses, or for wireless sales and service entities, all customer licenses.
Category: EWA On Your Side