FCC announces more 800 MHz channels available for public safety
Public-safety entities seeking 800 MHz spectrum next month will be able to apply for interleaved frequencies being cleared by Sprint Nextel as part of the rebanding process, the FCC announced in a public notice released yesterday.
As part of 800 MHz rebanding, certain interleaved channels will be cleared by Sprint Nextel and dedicated for public-safety usage, based on rebanding progress in a given geographic area. Yesterday’s public notice represents the FCC’s second round of applications for such frequencies.
In this second stage, 30 channels in the 809.5–810.5/854.5–855.5 MHz block will be available for public-safety application in geographic regions where at least 25% of rebanding is completed. In addition, any channels that were not claimed in the January first-stage process are available for application, FCC spokesman Rob Kenny said. A list of available channels can be found at the FCC’s license search page.
The spectrum will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Officially, the FCC will begin accepting applications on Dec. 2, but frequency coordinators can begin notifying each other at 8 a.m. EST on Nov. 11 of applications in an attempt to prevent the FCC receiving mutually exclusive applications. If conflicts arise, frequency coordinators are expected to resolve the issues before applications are submitted to the FCC on Dec. 2.