**DA 05-3033**

**November 25, 2005**

## WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON REQUEST FOR WAIVER BY MILWAUKEE METROPOLITAN SEWERAGE DISTRICT TO EXPAND FIXED OPERATION ON A PRIMARY BASIS IN THE 450-470 MHz BAND

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

By this *Public Notice*, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau)
seeks comment on a waiver request filed by the Milwaukee Metropolitan
Sewerage District ("the District") in conjunction with two applications
to expand its fixed wireless Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) system. On November 3 and 30, 2004, the District filed FCC File
Nos. 0001923176 and 0001953696, respectively, requesting a total of
eight frequencies in the 450-470 MHz band, accompanied by a waiver
request. First, the District seeks to operate fixed stations on a
primary basis using land mobile frequencies. Second, the District
requests to utilize gain antennas. Third, the District requests to
operate hundreds of remote stations at temporary locations for more than
one year without individually licensing each unit. The District states
that grant of the requested waivers will not affect any incumbent
stations and will promote the public interest.

By way of background, the District operates and maintains a sewerage
system that serves most of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and parts of
four surrounding counties. The District relies on a fixed wireless
telemetry and control system to monitor and control water levels and
flow within the sewer system, in order to comply with environmental
regulations, protect the environment and public health, and mitigate
flooding. On February 11, 2004, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau,
Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division (Division) granted a
waiver request to the District to use four frequency pairs at four fixed
locations on a primary basis.[^1] As a result, the District now operates
on frequency pairs 453/458.475, 453/458.850, and 453/458.925 MHz under
Station WPZP631 and frequency pair 453/458.750 MHz under Station
WPZP657. The grant to the District was conditioned on noninterference to
the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Station KNJW977 on
frequency pairs 453/458.475 and 453/458.925 MHz. The District now
proposes to expand its radio system by adding frequency pair 453/458.100
MHz at four fixed locations and frequency pair 453/458.650 MHz at three
different fixed locations to serve remote facilities not sufficiently
served by the existing stations. In addition, the District proposes to
use frequencies 458.100 and 458.650 MHz for a total of 600 temporary
fixed, low power, remote stations. Finally, the District proposes to use
four frequencies from its previous grant, 458.475, 458.750, 458.850, and
458.925 MHz, for control stations.

Section 90.261(a) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 90.621(a),
permits fixed use in the 450-470 MHz band on a secondary basis to land
mobile operations. The District requests primary status because the
proposed system would not be able to tolerate excessive interference or
service interruptions that might accompany secondary status, and thus
requests a waiver. Section 90.261(c) of the Commission's Rules, 47
C.F.R. § 90.261(c), requires that fixed stations employ directional
antennas with a front-to-back ratio of 15 dB, except that
omnidirectional antennas with unity gain may be used under certain
conditions. The District requests a waiver of this rule section to
permit it to use omnidirectional antennas with gains ranging from 0 dB
to 20 dB in order to adequately serve the intended service area. In
support of its request, the District submitted contour overlap analyses
of incumbent co-channel and adjacent channel stations. Section 90.137(b)
of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 90.137(b), requires that when any
fixed or base station unit(s) authorized at temporary locations remains
in operation at the same location for more than one year, the user shall
file an application for a separate authorization specifying the fixed
location. The District requests a waiver of this rule because it
anticipates operating at least 600 remote monitoring or control stations
throughout its system. The District believes that individually licensing
these low power, low elevation stations would be overly burdensome to
both the District and the Commission.[^2]

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 District's Waiver Requests
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 Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's 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., Room TW-325, Washington, D.C. 20554.[^3]

The District's applications and waiver requests 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.
(BCPI), 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]: *See* Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, *Order*, 19 FCC
    Rcd 2623 (WTB PSCID 2004) (*Order*).

[^2]: We note that the Division granted a waiver of Sections 90.261(a)
    and (c) in the previous *Order* with respect to the frequencies that
    were the subject thereof.

[^3]: This address 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).