700 / 800 MHz Regional Planning

Status Update and

Regulatory UpdatePresented by Jeannie Benfaida and John Evanoff, Esq.

Policy and Licensing Division, PSHSB

NRPC Workshop and CAPRAD Training April 24-25, 2012

Tampa, Florida

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Policy Division

Background – regional planning purpose, authority, and Commission expectations

Status Updates 700 MHz 800 MHz – Rebanding Amendments

Overview of regional plan amendment process Plan development and implementation issues Regionally oriented licensing issues Bureau support for regional planning committees

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Commission’s role in relation to the RPCs is limited to:

(1) defining regional boundaries, (2) requiring fair and open procedures, i.e., requiring notice,

opportunity for comment, and reasonable consideration, (3) specifying the elements that all regional plans must

include, and

(4) reviewing and accepting proposed plans (or amendments to approved plans) or rejecting them with an explanation.

NPSPAC 806-809/851-854 MHz

47 C.F.R. § 90.16 – The Public Safety National Planis contained in Report and Order, General DocketNo. 87-112

No assignments will be made until a regional plan has been accepted by the Commission.

Policy statements in Report and Order direct regional planning Memorandum Opinion and Order, 3 FCC Rcd 2113 (1988) -

establishing the 55 regions by modifying regional boundaries for Texas (Regions 40, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53; and Great Lakes Area (now Region 54)

Rebanding Plan Amendments - Public Notice, DA 09-212 (rel. 2/10/2009) established requirement for regions in Waves 1, 2 and 3 to submit amendments. Streamlined due April 13, 2009, Non-streamlined due June 10, 2009.

Plans were amended to reflect the 15 megahertz shift in the NPSPAC band from 821-824/866-869 MHz to 806-809/851-854 MHz

41 Approved Rebanding Plan Amendments - Region 48 (US Virgin Islands) – no response.

US/Canada and US/Mexico border areas

WAVE 4 REGIONS

Region 2 Alaska

Region 3 Arizona

Region 5 Southern California

Region 19 New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island & Vermont)

Region 21 Michigan

Region 29 New Mexico

Region 30 New York-Albany

Wave 4 Regions – continued

Region 33 Ohio

Region 36 Western Pennsylvania

Region 43 Washington

Region 50 Texas-El Paso

Region 53 Texas-San Antonio

Region 55 New York-Buffalo

Wave 4 Plan Amendments filing requirements to be announced - Negotiations with US/Canada and US/Mexico ongoing.

800 MHz NPSPACRebanding Plan Amendments Status

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700 MHz Regional PlanningAdministration of regional planning is defined in the Commission’s First Report and Order and Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WT Docket No. 96-86, 14 FCC Rcd 152 (1998) – describes the planning process for General Use channels

Authorizes RPCs to prioritize “highest and best use” to make such determinations - Second Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 16844 (2000) – addressed digital modulation, technical requirements, efficiency and receiver standards, and further outlined RPC authority and responsibilities

Consolidation of NB frequencies Second Report and Order, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 96-86 22 FCC Rcd 15289 (2007).

Plan Requirements

47 C.F.R § 90.527 - Regional plan requirements - each plan must contain certain “common elements”

Comprehensive Plans will also contain: Procedures for requesting spectrum allotments Initial “county” pool allotments, varies by region Application requirements and RPC evaluation/approval criteria Procedure for frequency coordination System Design/Efficiency Requirements System Implementation Adjacent region coordination procedures

47 C.F.R § 90.531 Band Plan

Sets forth the band plan for the 763-775 MHz and 793-805 MHz bands.

Base and mobile use. The 763-775 MHz band may be used for base, mobile or fixed (repeater) transmissions. The 793-805 MHz band may be used only for mobile or fixed (control) transmissions.

Narrowband segments - divided by designated purpose: General Use, Interoperability, Secondary Trunking, State License, Low Power, and Reserve channels.

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Plan development and implementation issues

Flexibility in Allotment pools – ex: By county geographic political boundary plus, 5+ 10+ miles, where possible. Region 5 (Southern California) is an exception.

Applicants failing to provide sufficient information to the RPC in order to complete their due diligence evaluation and frequency recommendation.

Resolve within the Region or through the NRPC, if necessary escalate to the Policy and Licensing Division and PSHS Bureau for resolution.

RPC established Loading requirements. There is no FCC requirement under 700 MHz rules. However, a RPC 700 MHz Plan may include suggested loading requirements, which the RPC will use in evaluating applications on a case by case basis.

RPC Interoperability responsibilities: State SIEC and SWICs. Identify the body with responsibility (RPC, SIEC, etc.)

Frequency Give-backs – generally. See also recent VHF waiver re Missouri counties

RPC letters of support for STAs, and applications for licensure

RPC approval letters must be filed with every application

Specific frequency recommendations, as approved by the RPC, must be identified in the RPC letter of support to the public safety applicant

700 MHz Regional Plan Status 44 Plans Submitted – See Docket history in WT Docket No. 02-378 in ECFS

(repository for plans, plan amendments and comments submitted) Electronic Comment Filing System: http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/

42 Plans Approved, See FCC EDOCs for Comment and Approval Public Notices (PNs) Commission’s Electronic Documents: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public

1 Plan Pending: Region 44 (West Virginia) – Comment PN rel. 4/17/2012. Comments due May 7, reply comments due May 17.

1 Plan ON HOLD: Region 47 Puerto Rico, awaiting request for waiver for unformed region, no adjacent region coordination provided

11 Regions remaining

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700 MHz Regional Planning Map – April 2012

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Comment Public Notice Plan and Plan Amendments are reviewed, and if

accepted, placed on public notice for comment.

If found deficient, i.e., rejected -- Division staff will notify RPC Chair of discrepancy,

resolve staff-to-staff where possible. Deficiencies must be resolved before deemed

sufficiently compliant to be place on public notice for comment.

FCC Daily Digest (DD) – Public notices are published in the Commission’s DD with a comment cycle: 20 days for comments, 10 for replies

Plan, or Plan Amendment approvals are announced by Public Notice EDOCs – Commission’s Electronic Document database contains all

FCC issued documents, PNs, Orders, NPRMs, News Releases, etc.

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Plan Administration: Jeannie Benfaida, Policy Analyst at (202) 418-2313 John Evanoff, Attorney, John.Evanoff@fcc.gov (202) 418-0848 Zenji Nakazawa, Deputy Chief, Policy Division,

Zenji.Nakazawa@fcc.gov (202) 418-7949

Requests for Meeting Announcement PNs: Staff assistants: Michele Woodfork,

Michele.Woodfork@fcc.gov (202) 418-7058 or Jose Edwards, Jose.Edwards@fcc.gov (202) 418-2264

Cc: John Evanoff, and/or Jeannie Benfaida

Rebanding: Brian Marenco, Sr. Engineer Brian.Marenco@fcc.gov (202) 418-0838, Roberto Mussenden, Attorney Advisor Roberto.Mussenden@fcc.gov

(202) 418-1428, or John Evanoff, Attorney Advisor John.Evanoff@fcc.gov 202-418-0848

US Canada and US Mexico Border agreements: Brian Marenco

Narrowbanding: Roberto Mussenden

Licensing: Tracy Simmons, Chief, Licensing Branch, Policy and Licensing Division,

Gettysburg (717) 338-2657, or Mike Regiec, Engineer, (717) 338-2603

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REGULATORY UPDATE

REGULATORY UPDATE 700 MHz Broadband and Narrowband 700 MHz D Block and FirstNet 700 MHz Pending Issues T-Band VHF-UHF Narrowbanding 800 MHz Rebanding 800 MHz Pending Issues

700 MHz BROADBAND AND NARROWBAND

Currently, the lower half of the 700 MHz Public Safety Band (763-768/793-798 MHz) is allocated for broadband.

The upper half of the 700 MHz Public SafetyBand (769-775/799-805 MHz) is allocated for narrowband.

A one megahertz guard band (768-769/798-799 MHz) separates the broadband and narrowband segments.

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AMultiple

Licensees

BAT&T

(most of US)

CAT&T

(most of US)

DAT&T

(acquired from

Qualcomm)

EMultiple

Licensees

AMultiple

Licensees

BAT&T

(most of US)

CAT&T

(most of US)

CVerizon

746 768 798 806769 775757 776758 799787

698 704 710 716 722 728 734 740 746

Ch 52 Ch 53 Ch 54 Ch 55 Ch 56 Ch 57 Ch 58 Ch 59

Ch 60 Ch 61 Ch 62 Ch 63 Ch 64 Ch 65 Ch 66 Ch 67 Ch 68 Ch 69

PSBB PSNB CVerizon

PSBB PSNB

746 752 758 764 770 776 782 788 794 800 806

805788

NBNB NB NBWB WB

Pre-2007 PS Band Plan

A Block Guard Band (Access Spectrum,

Pegasus, etc.)

B Block Guard Band (Vacant)

DTV

800 MHz

700 MHz Band – 2012 Update

Lower 700 MHz Band

Upper 700 MHz Band

A AC D BB C D

First Net License

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D BLOCK AND FIRSTNET

In the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 Congress reallocated the D-Block (758-763 MHz/ 788-793 MHz) to deploy a nationwide LTE wireless broadband network for emergency responders across the D-Block and public safety broadband spectrum.

Congress established the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) — a new entity within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). NTIA has until August 22, to name the FirstNet Board.

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INTEROPERABILITY BOARD

The Act required the establishment of the Technical Advisory Board for First Responder Interoperability.

The Commission named the Board’s members including representatives of public safety, state and local governments, manufacturers, and wireless service providers.

14 Voting Members Appointed by the FCC (DA 12-455).

Steve Proctor, Executive Director, Utah Communications Agency Network Colonel Kenneth C. Hughes, Jr., (Ret), Regional Communications Coordinator, New Orleans Urban Area

Security Initiative Brian Shepherd, Deputy Director, Adams County (Colorado) Communication Center Todd Bianchi, Firefighter Paramedic, Washington, District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department Jim Kohler, Deputy Director, Enterprise Technology Services, Alaska Department of Administration, State of

Alaska Brenda L. Decker, Chief Information Officer, State of Nebraska Charles L. K. Robinson, Director, Business Support Services, City of Charlotte, North Carolina Bob Azzi, Senior Vice President, Network, Sprint Nextel Corporation Diane C. Wesche, Director, Government Network & Technology, Verizon Wireless Ed Chao, Senior Vice President, Corporate Engineering and Network Operations, MetroPCS

Communications, Inc. Ron Strecker, Chief Executive Officer, Panhandle Telephone Cooperative, Inc., and Panhandle

Telecommunications Systems, Inc. Kenneth C. Budka, Senior Director, Advanced Mission-Critical Communications, Bell Labs Chief Technology

Office, Alcatel-Lucent Dennis Martinez, Chief Technology Officer, RF Communications Division, Harris Corporation Paul Steinberg, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Motorola Solutions, Inc.

1 Non-Voting Member Appointed by the NTIA

Dereck Orr of the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST)

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INTEROPERABILITY BOARD

First public workshop held on April 23, 2012.

The Interoperability Board has until May 22, 2012 to submit its recommendations to the Commission, who must then transmit them with possible revisions to FirstNet within thirty days of submission (e.g., June 21, 2012). The Board terminates on July 6, 2012.

FirstNet will incorporate the recommended requirements, without material change, into its Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for construction and operation of the network.

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NARROWBAND FLEXIBLE USE

The legislation also permits “flexible use” of the narrowband segments, including broadband usage.

700 MHz PENDING ISSUES

The Commission is considering a number of requests for waiver of the 700 MHz narrowband deadline.

PSHSB sought comment on the State of Maryland waiver request to operate air-to-ground operations on the 700 MHz secondary trunking channels. Comments due April 27, 2012 and Replies due May 2, 2012.

DA 12-602.

700 MHz PENDING ISSUES

On April 6, 2012, the Commission sought comment on transition issues relating to broadband waiver recipients. Comments filed on April 20, 2012. DA 12-555.

T-BAND

“T-Band” is the 470-512 MHz band (TV Channels 14-20)

In thirteen major metropolitan markets, channel blocks within the T-Band are allocated for LMR use (including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Washington DC).

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T-BAND

The Commission must reallocate the spectrum “used by public safety eligibles” in the 470-512 MHz band in no more than nine years, and

begin a system of competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 to grant new initial licenses for the use of this spectrum.

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T-BAND

NTIA shall administer grants from the auction proceeds to cover costs for the relocation of public safety licensees from the T-Band, and

T-Band relocation must “be completed not later than two years after the date on which the system of competitive bidding is completed.”

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VHF and UHF NARROWBANDING PLMR licensees in the 150-174 MHz and 450-470 MHz

bands must operate using channel bandwidth of no more than 12.5 kHz or equivalent efficiency by January 1, 2013.

PSHSB granted several Missouri counties a conditional waiver until Dec. 31, 2013 of the VHF/UHF narrowbanding deadline. DA 12-245.

Within 90 days of the release date of the Order, those counties must submit a letter confirming that they will transition to 800 MHz and, upon doing so, relinquish any VHF/UHF spectrum.

VHF and UHF NARROWBANDING

The Missouri counties should ensure that their submissions include: (1) a list of the frequencies for which they are seeking

a waiver, (2) a list of frequencies that will be relinquished (if

applicable), and (3) representations from all licensees covered by the

waiver request that they have committed to take any actions that form the basis for the waiver justification.

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VHF and UHF NARROWBANDING WTB, PSHSB and OET issued a Public Notice listing

recommended factors that waiver requests should address and emphasized that narrowbanding waiver requests “will be subject to a high level of scrutiny.” DA 11-1189.

Licensees should seek to demonstrate that “(i) they have worked diligently and in good faith to narrowband their systems expeditiously; (ii) their specific circumstances warrant a temporary extension of the deadline; and (iii) the amount of time for which a waiver is requested is no more than is reasonably necessary to complete the narrowbanding process.”

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800 MHz REBANDING

Sprint Nextel Corp. (Sprint), vacated its non-border spectrum holdings in the “Interleaved Band” (809-815/854-860 MHz).

Public safety licensees will have exclusive access to Sprint vacated channels for 3 years, public safety and Critical Infrastructure Industries for the next 2 years. Thereafter, the channels revert to their pre-rebanding categories.

800 MHz REBANDING

The Commission maintains an application freeze in the Mexico border regions and has an agreement in principle with Mexico that has not yet been formalized.

The Commission has reached agreement with Canada and has established a waiver process for licensees that require additional time to complete rebanding.

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800 MHz PENDING ISSUES

On April 26, 2011, the Commission sought comment on whether use of TETRA technology should be permitted in the UHF and 800 MHz bands.

The Commission also waived the rules to permit TETRA technology in the ESMR and UHF bands.

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800 MHz PENDING ISSUES

In March 2012 the Commission sought comment on whether to permit CDMA technology in the ESMR band.

The WTB is also seeking comment on Sprint’s waiver to deploy CDMA in 11 EA markets.

In 2009 EWA filed a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to establish full-power interstitial channels in the 800 MHz Mid-Band between NPSPAC and ESMR bands.