https://urgentcomm.com/wp-content/themes/ucm_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Multimedia
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • Commentary
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • All Things IWCE
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • IWCE
    • Conference
    • Special Events
    • Exhibitor Listings
    • Premier Partners
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Register for IWCE
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
    • Cookie Policy
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • Mission Critical Technologies
    • TU-Auto
  • In the field
    • Back
    • In the field
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Internet of Things
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Call Center/Command
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Network Tech
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Operations
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Regulations
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • Organizations
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
Urgent Communications
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Video
    • Podcasts
    • Omdia Crit Comms Circle Podcast
    • Galleries
    • IWCE’s Video Showcase
    • Product Guides
  • Commentary
    • Back
    • All Things IWCE
    • Urgent Matters
    • View From The Top
    • Legal Matters
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • UC eZines
    • Sponsored content
  • IWCE
    • Back
    • Conference
    • Why Attend
    • Exhibitor Listing
    • Floor Plan
    • Exhibiting Information
    • Join the Event Mailing List
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Statement
  • Related Sites
    • Back
    • American City & County
    • IWCE
    • Light Reading
    • IOT World Today
    • TU-Auto
  • newsletter
  • In the field
    • Back
    • Internet of Things
    • Broadband Push-to-X
    • Project 25
    • Public-Safety Broadband/FirstNet
    • Virtual/Augmented Reality
    • Land Mobile Radio
    • Long Term Evolution (LTE)
    • Applications
    • Drones/Robots
    • IoT/Smart X
    • Software
    • Subscriber Devices
    • Video
  • Call Center/Command
    • Back
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • NG911
    • Alerting Systems
    • Analytics
    • Dispatch/Call-taking
    • Incident Command/Situational Awareness
    • Tracking, Monitoring & Control
  • Network Tech
    • Back
    • Cybersecurity
    • Interoperability
    • LMR 100
    • LMR 200
    • Backhaul
    • Deployables
    • Power
    • Tower & Site
    • Wireless Networks
    • Coverage/Interference
    • Security
    • System Design
    • System Installation
    • System Operation
    • Test & Measurement
  • Operations
    • Back
    • Critical Infrastructure
    • Enterprise
    • Federal Government/Military
    • Public Safety
    • State & Local Government
    • Training
  • Regulations
    • Back
    • Narrowbanding
    • T-Band
    • Rebanding
    • TV White Spaces
    • None
    • Funding
    • Policy
    • Regional Coordination
    • Standards
  • Organizations
    • Back
    • AASHTO
    • APCO
    • DHS
    • DMR Association
    • ETA
    • EWA
    • FCC
    • IWCE
    • NASEMSO
    • NATE
    • NXDN Forum
    • NENA
    • NIST/PSCR
    • NPSTC
    • NTIA/FirstNet
    • P25 TIG
    • TETRA + CCA
    • UTC
acc.com

Legal Matters


Commentary

Waste not, want not

Waste not, want not

Errors can be significant and could result in a license not being renewed by the FCC or in an authorization that might cause or receive interference.
  • Written by
  • 31st May 2011

The Federal Communication Commission recently sent narrowbanding reminder letters to 32,000 public-safety licensees that still have a wideband-emission designator on their UHF or VHF license. The fact that those 32,000 letters were sent only to public-safety licensees, and only to those that do not yet have a narrowband-emission designator, provides some insight into the huge number of licensees in the two bands.

Because of these letters, numerous licensees have been contacting their frequency coordinators or the FCC to ask how to cancel licenses that they no longer use. This would help clean up the database and show where there's spectrum availability.

A significant number of the letters has been returned to the FCC because the address on the license was erroneous. One could guess that a substantial number of letters did not reach their intended recipients because they had retired or left for other employment; those letters probably were tossed in the circular file.

Other typical license problems include:

The license shows interconnection with the PSTN, even though the system is not interconnected. For some private licensees, this means that the licensee is classified as a common carrier and has to comply with certain FCC rules regarding issues such as Customer Proprietary Network Information. Recently, the FCC fined numerous licensees for failing to make the necessary CPNI filings, even though the licensee should not have needed to do so. However, the telltale "C" classification on their license triggered the requirement.

The transmitter site is wrong. In fact, there are numerous licensees with coordinates in the Pacific Ocean. This often results in short-spacing of two systems.

The frequency is wrong. Before the advent of the Universal Licensing System (ULS), a frequency sometimes was typed onto a license incorrectly. Thus, instead of being licensed for 851.1125 MHz (for example), the licensee would up with an authorization for 851.1120 MHz (a non-existent channel center). The error was not recognized until a problem arose.

Over the past year, I have been traveling across the country giving all-day narrowbanding seminars for the National Transit Institute. I encourage attendees to bring their FCC licenses with them, and at the beginning of the session, I bet that I can find an error on one of the first two licenses I see. I haven't lost the bet yet.

Sometime, these errors are minor and fairly unimportant. However, in a large percentage of the cases, the errors are significant and could result in a license not being renewed or in an authorization that might cause or receive interference.

It's simple to review your licenses' information in the ULS database. Fixing errors in contact information is easy, for those who know their passwords. Once upon a time, the FCC routinely granted waivers to licensees and agreed to reinstate expired authorizations. However, the commission's records now are rife with examples of licensees — including public-safety entities — with expired authorizations that the commission refused to reinstate. If another entity has become licensed on those frequencies, the original licensee may have to take their system off the air (to say nothing of the potential fine for unlicensed authorization).

Some licensees rely on third-party licensing organizations to maintain their authorizations. If you choose to do so, make sure that the entity is insured. It may not cover the cost of replacing the system, but it's a start.

An FCC license is a terrible thing to waste. Check your authorizations today.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Alan Tilles is counsel to numerous entities in the private radio and Internet industries. He is a partner in the law firm of Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker and can be reached at [email protected].

Tags: Commentary FCC Narrowbanding Legal Matters Commentary

Most Recent


  • How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient
    It’s a scenario we’ve all experienced: an ambulance with a blaring siren racing against time to get a person in medical distress to a hospital through traffic. What we don’t see is 5G connectivity enabling paramedics to communicate with hospital staff via video conference and coordinate care in real-time before arriving at the emergency room. […]
  • T-Mobile failed to secure API in latest hack
    T-Mobile reported that a “bad actor” was able to obtain information on millions of its customers through an application programming interface (API) into its systems. Friday’s announcement follows almost half a dozen other hacks into T-Mobile’s systems over the past several years. The most recent, disclosed in 2021, cost T-Mobile at least $400 million and prompted the carrier to spend […]
  • FCC approves new 4.9 GHz rules for public safety, with secondary non-public-safety use
    FCC commissioners this week unanimously agreed on new rules for 50 MHz of 4.9 GHz spectrum, establishing a nationwide framework with a single band manager but one that is designed to let individual public-safety licensees retain local control over operations in the band, including support of 5G connectivity. Wednesday’s release of 4.9 GHz rules represent […]
  • NATE: Todd Schlekeway previews upcoming NATE UNITE 2023 event
      Todd Schlekeway, executive director of NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, outlines many features of the NATE UNITE 2023 event, which will be conducted Feb. 20-23 in Orlando.

Related Content

  • Private wireless networks in the US start going public
  • The battle over connected cars drags on
  • FCC approves stay order to halt leasing rules for 4.9 GHz spectrum
  • Lynk files with FCC, plans to offer LEO satellite-to-phone service next year

Commentary


How 5G is making cities safer, smarter, and more efficient

26th January 2023

3GPP moves Release 18 freeze date to March 2024

18th January 2023

Do smart cities make safer cities?

  • 1
6th January 2023
view all

Events


UC Ezines


IWCE 2019 Wrap Up

13th May 2019
view all

Twitter


UrgentComm

Cybercrime ecosystem spawns lucrative underground Gig Economy dlvr.it/ShkKbf

31st January 2023
UrgentComm

FAA approves beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights in North Dakota dlvr.it/ShgxHW

30th January 2023
UrgentComm

AT&T boasts of core ‘white box’ success in 5G, fiber push dlvr.it/Shgb4w

30th January 2023
UrgentComm

Spending American Rescue Plan Act funds: A primer for municipalities dlvr.it/ShgZ52

30th January 2023
UrgentComm

AT&T wireless growth keyed by FirstNet—now provides 24,000 agencies with 4.4 million connections dlvr.it/ShY5qH

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Report: Remote work causing offices to empty, but walkable cities still in high demand dlvr.it/ShXM7Z

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

AT&T FirstNet unleashes robotic dogs for emergency services dlvr.it/ShW7p8

27th January 2023
UrgentComm

Federal agencies infested by cyberattackers via legit remote-management systems dlvr.it/ShVhn3

26th January 2023

Newsletter

Sign up for UrgentComm’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about Communications and Technology.

Expert Commentary

Learn from experts about the latest technology in automation, machine-learning, big data and cybersecurity.

Business Media

Find the latest videos and media from the market leaders.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • American City & County
  • IWCE
  • Light Reading
  • IOT World Today
  • Mission Critical Technologies
  • TU-Auto

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Events
  • Careers

FOLLOW Urgent Comms ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.