# DA 05-1782

# 

# Released: June 28, 2005

**WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON**

**LOJACK CORPORATION\'S REQUEST FOR A WAIVER OF 47 C.F.R. §
90.20(e)(6)**

**Comment Date: July 13, 2005**

On May 13, 2005, LoJack Corporation ("LoJack") filed a request for
waiver of certain provisions of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §
90.20(e)(6). As discussed in greater detail below, LoJack requests (1)
authorization by rule, rather than by license, of the mobile
transceivers used as part of LoJack's stolen vehicle recovery system;
(2) use of emissions other than the currently authorized F1D and F2D
emissions; (3) a waiver of the duty cycle limits; and (4) a waiver to
allow LoJack's system to be used for tracking and recovery of cargo and
hazardous materials.

In 1989, the Commission adopted 47 C.F.R. § 90.20(e)(6), designating
frequency 173.075 MHz for Stolen Vehicle Recovery System (SVRS)
operations. Such frequency use is authorized on a shared basis with the
Federal Government. LoJack is the only current SVRS operator. LoJack's
system assists public safety entities equipped with the company's
technology to locate and ultimately recover stolen vehicles. When a
vehicle owner subscribing to LoJack's service notifies the police that
his or her vehicle has been stolen, the police department can wirelessly
activate in the vehicle a mobile transceiver known as a vehicle location
unit ("VLU"). Once the VLU is activated, a police car equipped with
LoJack's location-finding apparatus can then "home in" on the location
of the stolen vehicle. The Commission licenses state and local public
safety entities to operate LoJack\'s SVRS base station equipment, and
the base station authorization also covers LoJack's mobile units served
by the base station.

In 2002, the Commission amended the Section 90.20(e)(6). The rule's duty
cycle limitation of 200 milliseconds per 10 seconds was increased to
1800 milliseconds for every 300 seconds (with a maximum of six messages
in any thirty-minute period). The longer duty cycle allows SVRS
operations to incorporate an early warning feature that minimizes lag
time, thus assisting in the recovery of a stolen vehicle.

LoJack is required to migrate its operations from 25 kHz bandwidth to
12.5 kHz by 2019.[^1] In conjunction with the redesign of its system to
comply with the narrowbanding requirements, LoJack filed a petition for
a rulemaking on October 25, 2004 seeking changes to the Commission's
SVRS rules. In its petition for rulemaking, LoJack seeks rule changes to
facilitate narrowbanding and greater technical and operational
flexibility for SVRS operations.[^2] On May 13, 2005, LoJack filed a
related waiver request to implement certain of the changes proposed in
its rulemaking petition, pending the Commission's disposition of the
petition. Specifically, LoJack requests waiver of Section 90.20(e)(6) of
the Commission's Rules as follows:

(1) **License by Rule:** LoJack requests that VLUs be authorized on a
    license-by-rule basis. LoJack plans to incorporate cellular
    technology to activate and deactivate the VHF transponders in its
    VLU even in areas not covered by existing base stations. Commission
    rules currently authorize the operation of the VLUs only pursuant to
    the base station license.

(2) **Additional Permitted Emissions:** LoJack requests that the
    Commission waive the analog emission limits (F1D and F2D) on an
    interim basis to permit LoJack to implement digital technology in
    its SVRS system.

(3) **Duty Cycle Limitations:** LoJack requests an "interim waiver of
    the \[rule's\] duty cycle limits" contending that waiver is
    warranted to enable LoJack to expand the scope of its public safety
    and security offerings.

(4) **Service Expansion:** LoJack requests expanded permissible use of
    its system to allow tracking and recovery of cargo and hazardous
    materials. Currently SVRS is limited to vehicle recovery.[^3]

The full text of the waiver request and 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.

Interested parties may file comments on the waiver request on or before
July 13, 2005. 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. 20054. This 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 by the Commission's contractor, Natek, Inc.,
at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite 110, Washington, D.C. 20002.
The filing hours at this location are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand
deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any
envelopes must be disposed of before entering 236 Massachusetts Avenue,
N.E. 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. All filings must be addressed to the
Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications
Commission. *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).

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 requests 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, please contact Mr. Rodney Conway of the Public
Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division, Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau at (202) 418-2904, TTY (202) 418-7233, or via e-mail at
Rodney.Conway@fcc.gov.

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

\- FCC -

[^1]: *See* Amendment of Parts 2 and 90 of the Commission\'s Rules to
    Provide for Narrowband Private Land Mobile Radio Channels in the
    150.05-150.8 MHz, 162-174 MHz, and 406.1-420 MHz Bands that are
    Allocated for Federal Government Use, ET Docket No. 04-243, *Report
    and* Order, 20 FCC Rcd 5793 (2005); *Erratum*, DA 05-1523 (OET rel.
    May 25, 2005).

[^2]: The petition for rulemaking was placed on *Public Notice* on
    January 5, 2005. *See PN* Report No. 2868 (rel. Jan. 5, 2005).
    Comments were due February 4, 2005. The present *Public Notice*
    seeks comment only on LoJack's waiver request, not on the pending
    petition for rulemaking.

[^3]: Section 90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules states, "The
    frequency 173.075 MHz is available for stolen vehicle recovery
    systems. . . . Stolen vehicle recovery systems are limited to
    recovering stolen vehicles and are not authorized for general
    purpose vehicle tracking or monitoring."