**DA 05-3036**

**November 25, 2005**

**WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON REQUEST**

**FOR WAIVER BY MORGAN COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA**

**Comment Date: December 27, 2005 Reply Date: January 11, 2006**

By this *Public Notice*, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau)
seeks comment on a request by Morgan County, West Virginia (Morgan
County) for waiver of Sections 90.729 and 90.733(d) of the Commission's
Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 90.729, 90.733(d). On April 12, 2004, Morgan County
filed its waiver request in conjunction with its application, FCC File
No. 0001691866, for several frequencies in the 220 MHz band.
Specifically, it requests waivers of power, antenna height, and channel
bandwidth limitations.

By way of background, Morgan County is located in the northeast portion
of West Virginia, adjacent to Maryland and Virginia. Morgan County
states that it has recently upgraded its 911 center and is in the
process of installing a new multi-site, simulcast, radio dispatch
system. Morgan County seeks the use of Channels 161-170 and 181-185 in
the 220 MHz band to support its mobile command centers that will provide
on-scene emergency management capabilities and interoperability with
neighboring governmental entities. Channels 161-170 are designated for
mutual aid use. Channels 181-185 are designated for non-nationwide,
emergency medical use. Morgan County notes that it qualifies for use of
the channels as set forth in Sections 90.719(c), 90.719(d), and
90.720(a) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 90.719(c), 90.719(d),
90.720(a).

Morgan County requests a waiver of Section 90.729, which limits the
effective radiated power (ERP) of Morgan County's proposed base stations
to thirty watts, and limits 220 MHz mobile units to fifty watts ERP.
Morgan County states that the limits may be appropriate in areas of flat
terrain, but they are not sufficient to provide adequate coverage in the
county's very mountainous terrain. As a result, Morgan County seeks 150
watts ERP for both its base and mobile stations. In support of its
request, Morgan County provides a showing that it meets the 120
kilometer co-channel separation requirement of Section 90.723(k) of our
Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 90.723(k). It also notes that it provides the
requisite 10 dB contour protection to the nearest co-channel licensee,
which, according to Morgan County, is located 127.6 kilometers away. In
further support of the waiver request, Morgan County notes that it
previously received similar relief of applicable power limitations to
its Station WPTG353, Largent, West Virginia, operating in the 150 MHz
band.

Morgan County also seeks a waiver of Section 90.733(d) to permit the
combination of contiguous channels to form channels wider than five kHz.
Section 90.733(d) permits the combining of contiguous channels with the
exception of Channels 161-170 and 181-185, which Morgan County seeks.
Each of the channels has a bandwidth of five kHz. Morgan County states
that it seeks relief of the rule because there appears to be no
manufacturer producing new equipment capable of single sideband,
suppressed carrier, voice emissions in such a bandwidth. However, Morgan
County states that 12.5 kHz equipment and possibly 25 kHz equipment are
being manufactured in the 220 MHz band.

Section 1.925 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.925, provides
that a waiver of the Commission's Rules may be granted if it is shown
that the underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not be served or would
be frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of
the requested waiver would be in the public interest; or in view of the
unique or unusual circumstances of the instant case, application of the
rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the
public interest or if the applicant has no reasonable alternative.

Interested parties may file comments on the waiver request on or before
December 27, 2005. Parties interested in submitting reply comments must
do so on or before January 11, 2006. All comments should reference the
subject waiver request including the DA number of this *Public Notice*,
and should be filed with the Office of the Secretary, Federal
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., TW-A325, Washington,
D.C. 20554.[^1]

The application and waiver request can be accessed electronically via
the Commission's Universal Licensing System,
<http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls>. The full text of the waiver request,
comments and reply comments will be available for inspection and
duplication during regular business hours in the FCC Reference
Information Center (RIC) of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs
Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room
CY-A257, Washington, D.C. 20554. Copies also may be purchased from the
Commission's duplicating contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc.,
Portals II, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554.
Customers may contact BCPI through its web site,
[http://www.bcpiweb.com](http://www.bcpiweb.com/), by email at
<fcc@bcpiweb.com>, by phone at (202) 488-5300 or (800) 378-3160, or by
facsimile at (202) 488-5563. For further information regarding the
public reference file for this waiver request, contact Maria Ringold,
Chief, Wireless Branch, RIC, (202) 418-1355.

Unless otherwise provided, requests for waiver of the Commission's Rules
are subject to treatment by the Commission as restricted proceedings for
*ex parte* purposes under Section 1.1208 of the Commission's Rules, 47
C.F.R. § 1.1208. Because of the policy implications and potential impact
of this proceeding on persons not parties to the waiver request, we
believe it would be in the public interest to treat this case as a
permit-but-disclose proceeding under the *ex parte* rules. *See*
Sections 1.1200(a), 1.1206 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§
1.1200(a), 1.1206. Therefore, subsequent to the release of this *Public
Notice*, *ex parte* presentations that are made with respect to the
issues involved in the subject waiver request will be allowed but must
be disclosed in accordance with the requirements of Section 1.1206(b) of
the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b).

For further information, contact Mr. Tom Eng of the Public Safety and
Critical Infrastructure Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at
(202) 418-0019, TTY (202) 418-7233, or via e-mail to
<Thomas.Eng@fcc.gov>.

By the Chief, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division,
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

\- FCC -

[^1]: The address for FCC locations should be used only for documents
    filed by United States Postal Service first-class mail, Express
    Mail, and Priority Mail. Hand-delivered or messenger-delivered
    documents for the Commission\'s Secretary are accepted only at 236
    Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20002. Other
    messenger-delivered documents, including documents sent by overnight
    mail (other than United States Postal Service Express Mail and
    Priority Mail) should be addressed for delivery to 9300 East Hampton
    Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. *See* FCC Announces a New Filing
    Location for Paper Documents and a New Fax Number for General
    Correspondence, *Public Notice*, 16 FCC Rcd 22165 (2001).