A Warning Here – Big Fines Elsewhere
L&W Supply, dba Building Specialties of Eugene, Oregon, was issued a warning for causing interference and operating radio transmitting equipment on 458.850 MHz for which it did not have an FCC License. L&W has ten days to reply and provide proof of their license to operate. Notice of Unlicensed Operation
Category: Enforcement CornerFCC Modernizes Antenna Structure Rules
The recent FCC Report and Order to simplify and eliminate outdated sections of the Part 17 Rules concerning the construction, marking, and lighting of antenna structures was completed with the assistance of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make the standards compatible with modern technological and industry standards for safety. The revised rules allow tower owners to register antenna structures electronically, and tower owners that employ continuous monitoring systems will no longer be subject to quarterly physical inspection of towers. In addition to reducing the regulatory burden on tower owners and licensees, the FCC states these reforms will “remove barriers to wireless deployment, reduce unnecessary costs, and encourage providers to continue to deploy advanced systems that facilitate safety.”
Category: In the newsToo Early to Release 800 MHz Expansion/Guard Band Channels
The LMCC’s recent ex parte letter to the FCC noted that the 800 MHz TA had notified the FCC that rebanding had been completed in NPSPAC Regions 12 (ID), 16 (KS), 24 (MO) and 25 (MT), but reminded the FCC that it should not make this spectrum available as the responsible FACs had not adopted an MOU establishing procedures to avoid mutual exclusive applications for those frequencies pending the outcome of the LMCC Petition. The letter was submitted as part of the open proceeding initiated by the LMCC’s submission of a Petition for Rulemaking asking the FCC to establish a 6-month period during which incumbents would be permitted to request 800 MHz EB/GB frequencies for system expansion after which the remaining spectrum would be available to all qualified applicants.
Category: EWA On Your SideFive Years is Not Enough Time
The FCC has proposed to create a Citizens Broadband Radio Service initially at 3550-3650 GHz, and then later potentially extending this service into the 3650-3700 GHz band where incumbents would be given but five years to change out their equipment investments in order to adapt to new technology rules. In response, EWA has stated in a filing to the Commission that “[L]icensees have invested heavily in the band (3650-3700 GHz) because it meets specific requirements that are not well-suited to other allocations. This is a success story for the Commission, for industry and for the public. Its proven utility should not be compromised, perhaps sacrificed entirely, to expand the scope of the highly complicated and as-yet-untested Citizens Broadband Radio Service regulatory scheme.” The Alliance supported entities such as API, UTC, SouthernLINC and Sprint who had previously objected to the FCC’s proposal.
Category: EWA On Your SideWhy 900 MHz for M2M Solution?
EWA submitted Reply Comments in response to Spectrum Network Groups/M2M Networks waiver request seeking access to 900 MHz B/ILT spectrum to provide commercial, third-party service to meet the machine-to-machine (“m2m”) communications needs of entities eligible to use 900 MHz Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (“B/ILT”). EWA noted that “a fundamental deficiency in the Waiver is the failure to even allege, much less substantiate, that the system SNG says it intends to deploy cannot be accommodated on spectrum that would not require a waiver of the FCC rules. Neither the Waiver nor any of SNG’s supplemental filings address whether the proposed system will be used for base-mobile communications, the primary authorized use of this 900 MHz spectrum, as opposed to fixed applications. Given the scope of the waiver relief needed, it is incumbent on SNG to explain why its system cannot be deployed, for example, in the 217-220 MHz band in which Raveon Technologies Corporation says it already has equipment, in the 3.65 GHz band, where SNG’s vision of nationwide service might actually be achievable, or in any number of unlicensed bands that the FCC has made available for such services.” EWA also urged the FCC to consider the issues and questions raised in the comments filed by the Utilities Telecom Council (“UTC”) and by Motorola Solutions, Inc. (“MSI”). UTC, like the Alliance, disputed SNG’s claim that it is “inefficient” to provide m2m services on broadband networks, “a claim that is so erroneous as to call into question SNG’s and M2M’s understanding of wireless technology.”
Category: EWA On Your Side