Enterprise Wireless Insider® Volume 6, Issue 17

Tesla Exploration Fined $66,000

In a Notice of Apparent Liability and Forfeiture, Telsa Exploration, Inc. was issued a forfeiture fine of $66,000 based on confirmed and unchallenged findings that Tesla was conducting geo-surveying activities on multiple, unlicensed VHF channels.  These transmissions caused harmful interference to the McKean County 911 Operations Center in Smethport, PA. 

1755-1780 Band Sharing Hailed as “Important Step Forward”

Chairman Julius Genachowski this week commented on the first authorization of testing in the 1755 to 1780 MHz band, stating, “Today, we take an important step forward in our effort to enable greater government-commercial spectrum sharing, a new tool that joins clearing and reallocation as part of an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy to address our nation’s spectrum challenges. By granting the first authorization of testing in the 1755-1780 MHz band, the Commission hopes to facilitate commercial mobile broadband services in that band, which would significantly benefit millions of U.S. wireless consumers and help drive the mobile innovation economy. As we move forward, we will continue to collaborate closely with key government agencies, including NTIA and the Department of Defense, as well as private sector partners, to gain greater spectrum efficiency and unlock the many potential benefits of government-commercial spectrum sharing.”  FCC Statement

220 MHz Assignments Issued

It took almost three years, but the FCC ruled August 10 in favor of the 220 MHz applications that assign eight 220 MHz licenses from Access 220, LLC to EWA's subsidiary Spectrum Equity, Inc. (SEI). The Mobility Division agreed with EWA’s position that certain petitioners lacked standing and rejected their petition accordingly.  The FCC granted the Access 220-Spectrum Equity assignment application, confirming that Access 220 and SEI met their disclosure requirements in the original assignment application.  It also granted the request for waiver allowing SEI to operate as a band manager for the licensed frequencies.    FCC Order

Microwave Order Will “Remove Regulatory Barriers and Lower Costs”

Actions intended to “remove regulatory barriers and lower costs” for wireless backhaul have been recently adopted by the FCC. Such actions included authorizing the use of smaller antennas in the 6, 18, and 23 GHz bands, updating efficiency standards, adopting a rural flexibility policy using waivers to facilitate the use of microwave backhaul in rural areas by allowing cost savings in deployment, allowing wider channels in the 6 and 11 GHz bands, and revising the waiver standard for coordination with satellite users.  

The Commission also adopted a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to consider permitting smaller antennas in the 13 GHz band, to revise antenna rules for the 11 GHz band, and to allow intermediate antenna upgrades.  Further, it initiated a Second Notice of Inquiry into additional changes to antenna standards in response to technical advances.  
 

Termination Date Set for 700 MHz PS Early Deployment

The FCC has established September 2, 2012, as the date certain for the termination of the 21 “early deployment” waivers it had granted to various jurisdictions, allowing them to begin construction of 700 MHz broadband facilities.  This corresponds to the date on which most jurisdictions’ spectrum leases with the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) would expire. The FCC adopted procedures for jurisdictions meeting certain criteria to request STAs to continue broadband deployment, granting interim approval of the interoperability showings from the City of Charlotte and the State of Texas, a necessary step in qualifying for an STA.  The FCC’s action was intended to preserve FirstNet’s options vis-à-vis early deployments when that authority is established later this month, while recognizing the FCC’s continued licensing authority over this spectrum and the benefits that could accrue from certain early deployments.  FCC Order

”Insufficient Grounds” Basis for First Waiver Denial

The City of South Lake Tahoe received the FCC’s first denial of a narrowbanding waiver request, which cited insufficient grounds. The Commission further stated that other cities and public safety entities have sufficiently planned ahead and have been able to obtain funding for their narrowband conversions, and that South Lake Tahoe had not indicated that it had taken any such measures, and had provided no valid explanation for the waiver extension request to July 2014. The request was denied “without prejudice,” so the City may attempt to respond to the FCC’s basis for denial.  FCC Order
 

Six More Narrowband Extensions Granted

The FCC recently granted Narrowband extension requests to King County, WA, First Student, Inc.,  and the New York City Transit Authority.  King County was given until December 31, 2013, to complete its migration to a new 700 MHz system, First Student was given until January 1, 2014, based on the many facilities involved and the work accomplished to date, and the Transit Authority was given until June 30, 2016, to complete the narrowbanding of its very extensive, largely underground VHF/UHF system.

Monterey County, CA was given until August 15, 2013, (and longer for certain call signs), University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics until December 31, 2013, and Pittsylvania County, Virginia until August 30, 2013.  In each case, the FCC determined that the licensee had demonstrated the necessary level of due diligence.  In particular, the University of Iowa had requested and obtained written confirmation from the FCC that neither of its paging channels was subject to the requirement only to be notified subsequently that one of its two channels did indeed require narrowbanding.
 

Agreement Executed to Initiate Adjacent Channel Analyses

A Memorandum of Agreement that has been executed by thirteen frequency advisory committees, all members of the LMCC, has been officially submitted to the FCC for its review and acknowledgement.  The MOA requires that the frequency advisory committees adhere to an adjacent channel affected party contour values table (ACCV) that was previously adopted and submitted to the FCC intended to both maximize the identification of exclusive use channels for use within 150-512 MHz trunked systems, while minimizing the potential for interference among adjacent channel licensees. Submitted to the FCC by the LMCC, it was requested that the FCC release a Public Notice “confirming that the Adjacent Channel Contour Values (ACCV) table be accepted and recognized as the agreed upon methodology used by all certified committees for evaluating trunked land mobile system applications.”

No and Heck No!

The FCC denied two waiver requests from public safety applicants who wished to expand currently licensed T-Band systems.  The Town of Sandwich, Massachusetts wanted to add a repeater outside the 50-mile radius of Boston at a site that met all co-channel and adjacent channel TV protection criteria. The FCC denial stated,”… Sandwich’s application would, if granted, increase the degree to which the T-Band is currently licensed because the application is for a new repeater that would expand Sandwich’s authorized interference contour. We deny Sandwich’s waiver of Section 90.305(a) because, as explained in the Suspension Notice, it is not in the public interest for us to expand further T-Band encumbrance, especially into areas where Part 90 of the Commission’s rules does not permit the requested T-Band operation. Section 1.934(d)(2) of the Commission’s rules provides that an application containing a waiver request is defective if the Commission denies the waiver request and the application does not contain an alternative proposal that fully complies with the rules. Because Sandwich submitted no such alternative proposal, we dismiss Sandwich’s application as defective.” Of note, this waiver request was filed a couple years prior to the passage of the recent Spectrum Reform Act which took back T-Band in exchange for public safety 10 MHz at 700 MHz.

The same justification was used to deny a request from Bedford County, Pennsylvania that sought T-Band spectrum outside the 50-mile radius of