# Before the

# Federal Communications Commission

# Washington, D.C. 20554

)

In the Matter of )

)

TMI Communications and Company, L.P. ) File No. SES-MOD-20000307-00345

)

For Modification of its Blanket )

Authorization to operate up to 100,000 )

Mobile-satellite earth terminals (METs) )

Through Canadian --licensed satellite )

MSAT-1 at 106.5 degrees W.L., in )

Frequency bands 1646.5-1660 MHz )

(transmit) and 1545-1558.5 MHz (receive) )

## ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION

**Adopted: December 8, 2000 Released: December 11, 2000**

**By the Chief, Satellite and Radiocommunication Division:**

## INTRODUCTION

1.  By this Order, we modify the blanket license held by TMI
    Communications and Company, L.P. (TMI). The license permits TMI to
    operate up to 100,000 mobile earth terminals (METs) to provide
    mobile satellite service (MSS) in the United States via the
    Canadian-licensed MSAT-1 satellite.[^1] This modification permits
    TMI to operate a new type of MET, a half-duplex, packet-data
    terminal manufactured by EMS Technologies, Inc. (EMS). This will, in
    turn, lead to increased competition in the MSS market by making
    increased service options available to U.S. consumers.

# BACKGROUND

2.  TMI holds a blanket license to operate up to 100,000 full-duplex
    METs in portions of the 1545-1558.5 MHz and 1646.5-1660 MHz
    frequency bands ("the upper L-band")[^2] via the Canadian-licensed
    MSAT-1 satellite.[^3] A portion of these bands is shared on a
    co-primary basis[^4] between commercial MSS and the Federal
    Government aeronautical mobile satellite service (AMS\[R\]S). [^5]
    According to Footnote US308 in the Table of Frequency Allocations,
    MSS operators must be able to provide priority access with
    "real-time preemption" to provide AMS\[R\]S.[^6] To date, only
    full-duplex METs have been able to meet this requirement.[^7]

3.  On March 7, 2000, TMI applied to modify its license by adding a
    half-duplex MET manufactured by EMS to provide services.[^8] The new
    METs will operate in a packet-data mode with packet-switched service
    connections, in which a physical path is not dedicated to a
    particular connection during a call. Since the connection is based
    on packet-switching, TMI states that the Data Hub (DH) can order the
    mobile terminal to cease transmitting at any time by using an
    appropriate command to accommodate AMS\[R\]S.[^9]

4.  According to TMI, the proposed half-duplex METs meet the priority
    access and real-time preemption requirements since they can be
    preempted for AMS\[R\]S spectrum requirements in less than one
    second.[^10] The National Telecommunications and Information
    Administration (NTIA), which overseas the frequency bands in which
    Federal Government services may be provided, and the Federal
    Aviation Administration have indicated that the priority and
    preemption capabilities of the proposed EMS METs are
    acceptable.[^11] Norcom Networks Corporation (Norcom) filed a
    petition to deny TMI's application.[^12]

**III. DISCUSSION**

III. 

5\. We grant TMI's request to modify its blanket license to operate
100,000 METs in the upper L-band to include the half-duplex packet data
terminals manufactured by EMS. As discussed below, we find these METs
meet the priority access and real-time preemption requirement set forth
in Footnote US308 to the Table of Frequency Allocations.

6.  In a letter to the Commission dated August 25, 2000, NTIA, after
    consultation with the FAA and the U.S. Coast Guard, stated that
    half-duplex METs would satisfy Footnote US308's priority access and
    real-time preemption requirements under the following conditions:
    [^13]

> a\. All operating MESs[^14] must be capable of ceasing transmission
> and inhibiting any further transmissions within one second of a
> command from the network LES, or by cessation of a command signal
> under all circumstances

b.  Each MES, as a minimum, must be capable of selectively operating on
    a number of discrete channels within the operating band in order to
    accommodate the need to possibly modify frequency use due to traffic
    growth and ongoing intersystem frequency coordination; and

c.  All other requirements for full-duplex operation will apply to
    half-duplex METs.

7\. NTIA and FAA agree that the EMS-manufactured METs meet these
requirements.[^15] First, the packet-switching technology used by TMI
allows TMI to order the mobile terminal to cease transmitting at any
time to accommodate AMS\[R\]S. Second, as TMI states, and NTIA concurs,
MSS transmissions on these METs can be preempted for AMS\[R\]S spectrum
requirements in less than one second. Finally, the half-duplex METs
otherwise meet the priority access and real-time preemption requirements
applied to full-duplex terminals. NTIA states that it has reviewed the
TMI application and concludes that the proposed half-duplex terminals
meet these criteria.[^16]

8\. Norcom argues that TMI's application requires a waiver before it can
be granted because, for the last seven years, the Commission has
consistently applied a policy of requiring holders of blanket MSS MET
authorizations to operate full-duplex METs in the upper L-band
exclusively. Norcom objects to any waiver of this policy in this case
because it contends that TMI has failed to justify special circumstances
in support of its waiver request. Norcom also argues that a rulemaking
proceeding is required to ensure that any change in policy will be
equally applicable to all METs operating in the upper L-band and not
just to TMI's. Finally, Norcom states that TMI's modification
application should not be granted until all of the EMS-manufactured
half-duplex terminals have been type accepted.[^17]

9\. We conclude that a waiver is not required. The Commission has never
prohibited the use of half-duplex METs in the upper L-band. Rather, the
Commission has denied applications to operate half-duplex METs in the
upper L-band because the half-duplex terminals at issue could not
provide priority access and real-time preemption to provide for
AMS\[R\]S. [^18] In denying applications for the half-duplex terminals,
we have not made any finding that half-duplex terminals could not, under
any circumstances, satisfy the priority access and real-time preemption
requirements of US308. Indeed, recent technological advances have begun
to blur the distinction between full and half-duplex terminals. As NTIA
recognizes, there are "new approaches for half-duplex METs" that include
"shorter transmission bursts and improved protocols that can simulate
full-duplex MES operation." [^19]

10. We also conclude that a rulemaking is not required to grant TMI's
    modification request. As set forth above, we generally obtain NTIA
    concurrence on applications involving shared spectrum. Since NTIA
    concurs that TMI's half-duplex METs meet the priority access and
    real-time preemption requirement of US308, there is no need to delay
    a grant of TMI's application pending a potential rulemaking. If
    Norcom seeks to have the Commission establish technical rules to
    govern the determination of priority access and real-time
    preemption, it is free to petition the Commission to do so.

**IV. CONCLUSION**

IV. 

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11. For the reasons set forth above, we find that TMI's operation of the
    EMS-manufactured, half-duplex METs in the upper L-band complies with
    priority access and real-time preemption requirements set forth in
    US Footnote 308. Accordingly, we find that a grant of TMI's
    application will serve the public interest.

**V. ORDERING CLAUSES**

12\. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Application File No.
SES-MOD-20000307-00345 IS GRANTED and blanket earth station license of
TMI Communications and Company, L.P. to operate up to 100,000
full-duplex METs in the upper L-band via the Canadian licensed MSAT-1
satellite (Call Sign E980179) IS MODIFIED to add the EMS-manufactured
half-duplex packet data METs.

13\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that TMI's operation of the half-duplex METs
authorized herein shall be in accordance with the technical
specifications set forth in its blanket Radio Station Authorization, and
the Commission's rules. All other terms and conditions of TMI's blanket
MET authorization remain the same.

14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the total number of METs that TMI may
    operate under its blanket authorization, as modified herein, shall
    not exceed the 100,000 total initially authorized.

15\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the TMI Communications and Company, L.P.
authorization and the license related thereto are subject to compliance
with the provisions of the Agreement between TMI and the Department of
Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, dated September 10,
1999, which is designed to address national security, law enforcement,
and public safety concerns of the Department of Justice and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation regarding the modified license granted herein.
Nothing in the Agreement of the Implementation Plan is intended to limit
any obligation imposed by Federal law or regulation including, but not
limited to, 47 U.S. 222(a) and (c)(a) and the Commission's implementing
regulations.

16\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the following requirements will apply to
half-duplex METs operating in the 1646.5-1660 MHz and 1545-1558.5 MHz
band:

> a\. All operating METs must be capable of ceasing transmission and
> inhibiting any further transmissions within one second of a command
> from the network LES, or by cessation of a command signal under all
> circumstances;

b.  Each MET, as a minimum, must be capable of selectively operating on
    a number of discrete channels within the operating band in order to
    accommodate the need to possibly modify frequency use due to traffic
    growth and ongoing intersystem frequency coordination; and

c.  All other requirements for full-duplex operation will apply to
    half-duplex METs.

17\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, in addition to the requirements set
forth in paragraph 16, the METs operated by TMI Communications and
Company, L.P. under its existing authorization as modified herein must
have the following minimum set of capabilities to ensure compliance with
US Footnote 308 to Section 2.106 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.
2.106:

a.  All MET transmission shall have a priority assigned to them that
    preserves the priority and preemptive access given to aeronautical
    distress and safety-related communications sharing the band;

b.  Each MET shall be assigned access to a unique technical
    identification number that will be transmitted upon any attempt to
    gain access to a system;

c.  After a MET has gained access to a system the mobile terminal shall
    be under the control of a Land Earth Station and shall obtain all
    channel assignments from it;

d.  All METs that do not continuously monitor a separate signaling
    channel shall have provisions for signaling within the
    communications channel;

e.  Each MET shall automatically inhibit its transmissions if it is not
    correctly receiving a separate signaling channel or signaling within
    the communications channel from its associated Land Earth Station;
    and

f.  Each MET shall automatically inhibit its transmission on any or all
    channels upon receiving a channel-shut-off command on a signaling or
    communications channel it is receiving from its associated Land
    Earth Station.

18\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, in accordance with US Footnote 308, the
operation of TMI Communications and Company, L.P.'s METs in the
1545-1558.5 and 1646.5-1660 MHz, is on a secondary basis to U.S.
AMS\[R\]S requirements of other U.S.-authorized MSS providers operating
in the 1545-1559 and 1646.5-1660 MHz bands.

19\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that TMI Communications and Company, L.P.
will be subject to any applicable out-of-band emission standards
subsequently incorporated in the Commission's rules for protection of
the Global Navigation Satellite Service.

20\. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Petition to Deny of Norcom Networks
Corporation IS DENIED.

21\. The Order is issued pursuant to Section 0.261 of the Commission\'s
rules on delegated authority, 47 C.F.R. § 0.261, and is effective upon
adoption. Petitions for reconsideration under Section 1.106 or
applications for review under Section 1.115 of the Commission\'s rules,
47 C.F.R. §§ 1.106, 1.115, may be filed within 30 days of the date of
the release of this Order ([see]{.underline} 47 C.F.R. § 1.4(b)(2)).

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Thomas S. Tycz

Chief

Satellite and Radiocommunication Division

[^1]: *TMI Communications and Company, L.P.*, 14 FCC Rcd 20798 (1999).

[^2]: TMI's operation in the upper L-band is limited to those portions
    of the 1545-1558.5 and 1646.5-1660 MHz band coordinated for the TMI
    satellite network in the most recent annual L-band
    operator-to-operator coordination agreement. In the absence of a
    continuing annual operator-to-operator coordination agreement, TMI's
    operation in the 1545-1558.5 and 1646.5-1660 MHz band will be on a
    non-interference basis until a future operator-to-operator agreement
    is concluded. TMI would then have to notify the other four operators
    in these bands that it will be operating on a non-interference basis
    and also notify its customers in the United States that its
    operations are on a non-interference basis.

[^3]: The Commission has previously found that TMI's operations in the
    United States satisfy the criteria set forth in *Amendment of the
    Commission's Regulatory Policies to Allow Non-U.S. Licensed Space
    Stations to Provide Domestic and International Service in the United
    States,* Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 24094 (1997). *See SatCom
    Systems,* 14 FCC Rcd 20798 (1999), *aff'd sub nom, AMSC v. FCC,* No
    99-1513 (D.C. Cir. July 11, 2000).

[^4]: AMS\[R\]S is a mobile satellite service using mobile terminals on
    board aircraft. This service can be used to support domestic and
    international traffic, including air traffic control. The \[R\]
    indicates that the spectrum is used for aeronautical communications
    related to the safety and regularity of flights primarily along
    national and international civil air routes.

[^5]: Allocation of a given frequency band for a particular service on a
    primary basis entitles operators to protection against harmful
    interference from other services. Any use of that frequency band for
    service not allocated requires that the operator not cause harmful
    interference to authorized users operating in accordance with the
    Allocation Table and to accept any interference from such authorized
    users. Services operating on a co-primary basis have equal rights.
    However, MSS operations in the upper L-band are subject to Footnote
    US308.

[^6]: Section 2.106 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 2.106,
    contains the Table of Frequency Allocations. The Table includes
    footnotes which denote stipulations applicable to both U.S
    Government and non---Government stations. Footnote US308 states that
    in the 1549.5-1558.5/1651-1660 MHz band the AMS\[R\]S requirements
    that cannot be accommodated in the 1545-1549.5 MHz, 1558.5-1559 MHz,
    1646.5-1651 MHz and 1660-1660.5 MHz bands shall have priority access
    with real-time preemptive capability with respect to communications
    in the MSS. Note 729A states generally that, notwithstanding other
    provisions of the Radio Regulations relating to restriction in the
    use of the bands allocated to AMS\[R\]S for public correspondence,
    the bands 1545-1555 MHz and 1646.5-1656.5 MHz may be authorized by
    administrations for public use with aircraft earth stations.

[^7]: Full-duplex METs allow data messages to be received and
    transmitted simultaneously. Thus, a full-duplex MET can receive a
    signal to shut down to accommodate AMS\[R\]S when it is
    transmitting. In contrast, half-duplex METs must finish transmitting
    before they can receive an incoming message. As a result, the amount
    of time necessary to preempt service to provide AMS\[R\]S is longer.

[^8]: ^?^ TMI states that it is not seeking to increase the 100,000 unit
    "cap" in its existing license, but merely is seeking to add the
    EMS-manufactured METs to its existing blanket license.

[^9]: TMI application, Exhibit 5.

[^10]: TMI application, Exhibit 3.

[^11]: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concurred with NTIA.
    *See* Letter from William T. Hatch, Associate Administrator, Office
    of Spectrum Management, Department of Commerce, National
    Telecommunication and Information Administration to Donald Abelson,
    Chief, International Bureau, FCC (August 25, 2000).

[^12]: Norcom states that it is a direct competitor of TMI for the
    provision of packet data MSS in the United States. Norcom owns and
    operates a ground-based data transport system that provides
    value-added packet data MSS in the United States and also holds a
    blanket MET authorization to provide MSS in the upper L-band.
    Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Narrowband Telecommunications
    Research, Inc. Norcom designs and manufactures full-duplex METs for
    use in the upper L-band.

[^13]: *See* note 11, *supra.*

[^14]: NTIA refers to METs as "MESs", i.e. mobile earth stations. These
    terms are used interchangeably throughout this Order.

[^15]: To the extent deemed necessary, TMI requested a waiver of the
    Footnote US 308. In light of NTIA's August 25, 2000, letter and our
    finding that TMI's half-duplex terminals satisfy NTIA's
    requirements, no waiver of Footnote US308 is necessary.

[^16]: *See* note 11, *supra.*

[^17]: TMI's blanket license contains conditions regarding the need for
    type acceptance under Part 87 of the Commission's rules for
    aeronautical service. 47 C.F.R. Part 87. For other than aeronautical
    service, type acceptance is a voluntary procedure pending the
    outcome of the proceeding in IB Docket No. 99-67. *In the Matter of
    Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 to Implement the Global Mobile Personal
    Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) Memorandum of Understanding and
    Arrangements; Petition of the National Telecommunications and
    Information Administration to Amend Part 25 of the Commission\'s
    Rules to Establish Emissions Limits for Mobile and Portable Earth
    Stations Operating in the 1610-1660.5 MHz Band*, 14 FCC Rcd 5871
    (1999).

[^18]: *See e.g., AMSC Subsidiary Corporation*, 10 FCC Rcd 10458 (1995)
    \[AMSC denied authority to operate half-duplex METs because it could
    take the METs several seconds or more to shut down to accommodate
    AMS\[R\]S transmissions\]; *Rockwell International Corporation,* 10
    FCC Rcd 10952 (1995) \[Rockwell denied use of half-duplex METs in
    upper L-band where maximum time need to shutdown the message channel
    ranged from 41 to 61 seconds\].

[^19]: See note 11, *supra*.