EWA's 1998 Memorandum of Understanding with the FCC Enforcement Bureau requires EWA to respond to interference matters within Part 90 bands among Business/Industrial Land Transportation (B/ILT) licensees. To minimize the potential for interference, EWA periodically reviews applications certified by B/ILT frequency advisory committees within the 150-470 MHz bands to verify compliance with exclusive-use (FB8/MO8) certification protocols and FCC rules. In the event an application is certified incorrectly, EWA informs the affected B/ILT frequency advisory committee and will notify all affected incumbents that they may be harmed by the improper certification. The incumbents are also informed that EWA will pursue corrective measures. EWA processes these applications using its proprietary spectrum management system, at its own expense.
Resolution can be time consuming and difficult to achieve, especially if the other B/ILT frequency coordinator protests that it has conducted its work properly. For example, EWA recently identified an application that had been certified for shared operations, but the applicant’s interfering contour overlapped the exclusive-service contour of an incumbent licensee, violating FCC Rule Section 90.187. When the matter was brought to the attention of the B/ILT frequency coordinator, astonishingly the response was that the applicant had specifically requested the frequencies that did not comply with FCC rules. EWA responded that certified frequency coordinators have an obligation to process applications in compliance with the rules despite the applicant’s wishes. In this case, the application was modified by changing channels thus avoiding the certain opportunity for interference.