Guess who's back?

May 1, 2003 12:00 PM, Alan Tilles

After a hiatus of about 12 years, I am pleased to have been invited back by MRT to become a regulatory consultant. Since that time, I have written for both Communications and Radio Resource magazines. I have nothing but the highest of praise and the utmost respect for the people I worked with on both publications. However, the opportunity for increased writing opportunities was something that was difficult to pass up.

The folks at MRT have offered me the “back page” every month, and I'd like to continue my commitment to writing honest, straight-forward columns about things that you care about, or need to know. In that light, I'd like to offer you the opportunity to set the topic agenda. Feel free to send me a note at atilles@srgpe.com, and let me know what topics you'd like to have expressed in this forum. Even if you don't think that it's worthy of a full column, I'll still try to get your questions answered in some format.

Having said that, it's now time to come back to one of those old topics, Refarming. There are two recent decisions which are important in the Refarming arena, one regarding mandatory narrowbanding and one regarding the “Low Power Pool” channels at 450 MHz.

In WT Docket No. 99-87, the FCC proposed to mandate narrowbanding by 150 MHz and 450 MHz Part 90 licensees. This was believed necessary because the conversion to narrowbanding through the equipment certification process has yet to yield significant results. In its March 2003 Report & Order, the FCC ruled that it will stop accepting applications for new “wide-band” facilities, or expanding existing facilities, in six months (October 2003).

In the Order, the FCC mandated that non-Public Safety licensees must convert to 12.5 kHz (or equivalent) bandwidth equipment by Jan. 1, 2008, and Jan. 1, 2008, for Public Safety licensees. The Commission also requested comments on a mandatory migration to 6.25 kHz or equivalent technology at some point.

Expect Petitions for Reconsideration on this item (which will probably be filed by the time that you read this), from public safety groups asking for additional time, and from some private land mobile groups asking for a faster conversion.

The FCC has also issued an Order in WT Docket No. 01-146. In this proceeding, the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) filed a Petition for Rule Making to group the 450 MHz former “offset” frequencies into groups of various power and operational limitations. For the most part, the Commission granted the LMCC Petition as filed. Here's a summary of the relevant decision:

The FCC Created Four Different Sets Of Low Power Frequencies
- “Middle Power” (20 Watt ERP Base/Fixed) Voice Or Non-Voice Channels (Group A)
- Low Power (6 Watt ERP) Non-Voice Channels (Group B)
- Itinerant Use, Non-Coordinated Channels (Group C)
- Central Station Alarm Channels (Group D)
- Low Power Public Safety Group (6 Watt ERP)

Group A Frequencies:

49 12.5 kHz Channel Pairs, 1 Unpaired Channel
Coordinated
Antenna Max 75 Feet Above Ground
Power Limitations
- 20 Watts ERP For Base/Fixed Stations
- 6 Watts ERP for Mobiles
- 2 Watts ERP For Portable
39 Of 49 Channels
- Outside Of 50 Miles - 500 Watts ERP
- Called Group 1A Channels
All Classes Of Data (Fixed, Base/Mobile, Mobile Only, Telemetry) Classified As Co-Primary To Voice
FCC Will Continue To Permit Low Power Licensees To License Multiple Fixed Sites As Mobile Units And Specify An Area Of Operation Instead Of Providing Fixed Coordinates
Fixed Operation Permitted On “High Side” Or “Low Side” Of Frequency Pair
- “High Side” Fixed Operation Limited To 6 Watts ERP

Group A1 Frequencies:

High Power Use Subject To Interference Contour Analysis
No Wide-Area Operation Permitted For Operations Which Exceed 6 Watts ERP

Group B Frequencies:

10 12.5 kHz Channel Pairs For Low Power, Non-Voice
Coordinated
Power/Antenna
- 20 Foot AGL
- 6 Watt ERP Mobiles, 2 Watt ERP Portables
Mobile-Only Data Systems Permitted
Voice Operations Permitted On Secondary Basis

Group C Frequencies:

21 12.5 kHz Channel Pairs And 4 Unpaired Channels For Low Power Use Nationwide
Non-Coordinated
6 Watt Mobiles, 2 Watt Portables
Co-Primary Voice And Data
10 Of The Channels Not Available Until End Of Medical Telemetry Migration Deadline (October 2003)
Fixed Operation Not Permitted, Although “Temporary” Fixed Operation Is Allowed With 20 Foot Max AGL

Group D Frequencies:

5 12.5 kHz Channel Pairs For Low Power Use
Coordinated
Reserved For Central Alarm Station Use

A handy Powerpoint presentation with details on both Orders (and the specific frequencies in each Group) can be found here: http://www.shulmanrogers.com/refarmingdocs.html