Title 47—Telecommunication--Volume 1
PART 1—PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
§ 1.773   Petitions for suspension or rejection of new tariff filings.
(a) Petition —(1) Content. Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing or any provision thereof shall specify the filing's Federal Communications Commission tariff number and carrier transmittal number, the items against which protest is made, and the specific reasons why the protested tariff filing warrants investigation, suspension, or rejection under the Communications Act. No petition shall include a prayer that it also be considered a formal complaint. Any formal complaint shall be filed as a separate pleading as provided in § 1.721.
(i) Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing or any provision of such a publication, must specify the pertinent Federal Communications Commission tariff number and carrier transmittal number; the matters protested; and the specific reasons why the tariff warrants investigation, suspension, or rejection. When a single petition asks for more than one form of relief, it must separately and distinctly plead and support each form of relief. However, no petition may ask that it also be considered a formal complaint. Formal complaints must be separately lodged, as provided in § 1.721.
(ii) For purposes of this section, tariff filings by nondominant carriers will be considered prima facie lawful, and will not be suspended by the Commission unless the petition requesting suspension shows:
(A) That there is a high probability the tariff would be found unlawful after investigation;
(B) That the harm alleged to competition would be more substantial than the injury to the public arising from the unavailability of the service pursuant to the rates and conditions proposed in the tariff filing;
(C) That irreparable injury will result if the tariff filing is not suspended; and
(D) That the suspension would not otherwise be contrary to the public interest.
(iii) For the purpose of this section, any tariff filing by a local exchange carrier filed pursuant to the requirements of § 61.39 will be considered prima facie lawful and will not be suspended by the Commission unless the petition requesting suspension shows that the cost and demand studies or average schedule information was not provided upon reasonable request. If such a showing is not made, then the filing will be considered prima facie lawful and will not be suspended by the Commission unless the petition requesting suspension shows each of the following:
(A) That there is a high probability the tariff would be found unlawful after investigation;
(B) That any unreasonable rate would not be corrected in a subsequent filing;
(C) That irreparable injury will result if the tariff filing is not suspended; and
(D) That the suspension would not otherwise be contrary to the public interest.
(iv) For the purposes of this section, tariff filings made pursuant to § 61.49(b) by carriers subject to price cap regulation will be considered prima facie lawful, and will not be suspended by the Commission unless the petition shows that the support information required in § 61.49(b) was not provided, or unless the petition requesting suspension shows each of the following:
(A) That there is a high probability the tariff would be found unlawful after investigation;
(B) That the suspension would not substantially harm other interested parties;
(C) That irreparable injury will result if the tariff filing is not suspended; and
(D) That the suspension would not otherwise be contrary to the public interest.
(v) For the purposes of this section, any tariff filing by a price cap LEC filed pursuant to the requirements of § 61.42(d)(4)(ii) of this chapter will be considered prima facie lawful, and will not be suspended by the Commission unless the petition requesting suspension shows each of the following:
(A) That there is a high probability the tariff would be found unlawful after investigation;
(B) That any unreasonable rate would not be corrected in a subsequent filing;
(C) That irreparable injury will result if the tariff filing is not suspended; and
(D) That the suspension would not otherwise be contrary to the public interest.
(2) When filed. All petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing shall meet the filing requirements of this paragraph. In case of emergency and within the time limits provided, a telegraphic request for such relief may be sent to the Commission setting forth succinctly the substance of the matters required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section. A copy of any such telegraphic request shall be sent simultaneously to the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, the Chief, Pricing Policy Division, and the publishing carrier. Thereafter, the request shall be confirmed by petition filed and served in accordance with § 1.773(a)(4).
(i) Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filed pursuant to section 204(a)(3) of the Communications Act made on 7 days notice shall be filed and served within 3 calendar days after the date of the tariff filing.
(ii) Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on less than 15 days notice shall be filed and served within 6 days after the date of the tariff filing.
(iii) Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on at least 15 but less than 30 days notice shall be filed and served within 7 days after the date of the tariff filing.
(iv) Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on at least 30 but less than 90 days notice shall be filed and served within 15 days after the date of the tariff filing.
(v) Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing mode on 90 or more days notice shall be filed and served within 25 days after the date of the tariff filing.
(3) Computation of time. Intermediate holidays shall be counted in determining the above filing dates. If the date for filing the petition falls on a holiday, the petition shall be filed on the next succeeding business day.
(4) Copies, service. An original and four copies of each petition shall be filed with the Commission as follows: the original and three copies of each petition shall be filed with the Secretary at the FCC's main office, located at the address indicated in 47 CFR 0.401(a). Additional, separate copies shall be served simultaneously upon the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau; and the Chief, Pricing Policy Division. Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff made on 15 days or less notice shall be served either personally or via facsimile on the filing carrier. If a petition is served via facsimile, a copy of the petition must also be sent to the filing carrier via first class mail on the same day of the facsimile transmission. Petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on more than 15 days notice may be served on the filing carrier by mail.
(b) Reply —(1) When filed. A publishing carrier's reply to a petition for relief from a tariff filing shall be filed in accordance with the following periods:
(i) Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filed pursuant to section 204(a)(3) of the Act made on 7 days notice shall be filed and served within 2 days after the date the petition is filed with the Commission.
(ii) Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on less than 15 days notice shall be filed and served within 3 days after the date the petition is due to be filed with the Commission.
(iii) Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on at least 15 but less than 30 days notice shall be filed and served within 4 days after service of the petition.
(iv) Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on at least 30 but less than 90 days notice shall be filed and served within 5 days after service of the petition.
(v) Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on 90 or more days notice shall be filed and served within 8 days after service of the petition.
(vi) Where all petitions against a tariff filing have not been filed on the same day, the publishing carrier may file a consolidated reply to all the petitions. The time for filing such a consolidated reply will begin to run on the last date for timely filed petitions, as fixed by paragraphs (a)(2) (i) through (iv) of this section, and the date on which the consolidated reply is due will be governed by paragraphs (b)(1) (i) through (iv) of this section.
(2) Computation of time. Intermediate holidays shall be counted in determining the 3-day filing date for replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on less than 15 days notice. Intermediate holidays shall not be counted in determining filing dates for replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff filing made on 15 or more days notice. When a petition is permitted to be served upon the filing carrier by mail, an additional 3 days (counting holidays) may be allowed for filing the reply. If the date for filing the reply falls on a holiday, the reply may be filed on the next succeeding business day.
(3) Copies, service. An original and four copies of each reply shall be filed with the Commission as follows: the original and three copies must be filed with the Secretary at the FCC's main office, located at the address indicated in 47 CFR 0.401(a). Additional separate copies shall be served simultaneously upon the Chief, Wireline Competition Bureau, the Chief, Pricing Policy Division and the petitioner. Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff made on 15 days or less notice shall be served on petitioners personally or via facsimile. Replies to petitions seeking investigation, suspension, or rejection of a new or revised tariff made on more than 15 days notice may be served upon petitioner personally, by mail or via facsimile.
§ 1.774   [Reserved]
§ 1.776   Pricing flexibility limited grandfathering.
Special access contract-based tariffs that were in effect on or before August 1, 2017 are grandfathered. Such contract-based tariffs may not be extended, renewed or revised, except that any extension or renewal expressly provided for by the contract-based tariff may be exercised pursuant to the terms thereof. During the period between August 1, 2017 and the deadline to institute mandatory detariffing under § 61.201(b), upon mutual agreement, parties to a grandfathered contract-based tariff may replace it at any time with a new contract-based tariff or with a new or amended contract that is not filed as a contract-based tariff.
§ 1.781   Requests for extension of filing time.
Requests for extension of time within which to file contracts, reports, and requests referred to in §§ 1.783 through 1.814 shall be made in writing and may be granted for good cause shown.
§ 1.783   Filing.
Copies of carrier contracts, agreements, concessions, licenses, authorizations or other arrangements, shall be filed as required by part 43 of this chapter.
§ 1.785   Annual financial reports.
(a) An annual financial report shall be filed by telephone carriers and affiliates as required by part 43 of this chapter on form M.
(b) Verified copies of annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on its Form 10-K, Form 1-MD, or such other form as may be prescribed by that Commission for filing of equivalent information, shall be filed annually with this Commission by each person directly or indirectly controlling any communications common carrier in accordance with part 43 of this chapter.
(c) Carriers having separate departments or divisions for carrier and noncarrier operations shall file separate supplemental annual reports with respect to such carrier and non-carrier operations in accordance with part 43 of this chapter.
§ 1.786   [Reserved]
§ 1.787   Reports of proposed changes in depreciation rates.
Carriers shall file reports regarding proposed changes in depreciation rates as required by part 43 of this chapter.
§ 1.789   Reports regarding division of international telegraph communication charges.
Carriers engaging in international telegraph communication shall file reports in regard to the division of communication charges as required by part 43 of this chapter.
§ 1.790   Reports relating to traffic by international carriers.
Carriers shall file periodic reports regarding international point-to-point traffic as required by part 43 of this chapter.
§ 1.791   Reports and requests to be filed under part 32 of this chapter.
Reports and requests shall be filed either periodically, upon the happening of specified events, or for specific approval by telephone companies in accordance with and subject to the provisions of part 32 of this chapter.
§ 1.795   Reports regarding interstate rates of return.
Carriers shall file reports regarding interstate rates of return on FCC Form 492 as required by part 65 of this chapter.
§ 1.802   Reports relating to continuing authority to supplement facilities or to provide temporary or emergency service.
Carriers receiving authority under part 63 of this chapter shall file quarterly or semiannual reports as required therein.
§ 1.803   Reports relating to reduction in temporary experimental service.
As required in part 63 of this chapter, carriers shall report reductions in service which had previously been expanded on an experimental basis for a temporary period.
§ 1.814   Reports regarding free service rendered the Government for national defense.
Carriers rendering free service in connection with the national defense to any agency of the United States Government shall file reports in accordance with part 2 of this chapter.
§ 1.815   Reports of annual employment.
(a) Each common carrier licensee or permittee with 16 or more full time employees shall file with the Commission, on or before May 31 of each year, on FCC Form 395, an annual employment report.
(b) A copy of every annual employment report filed by the licensee or permittee pursuant to the provisions herein; and copies of all exhibits, letters, and other documents filed as part thereof, all amendments thereto, all correspondence between the permittee or licensee and the Commission pertaining to the reports after they have been filed and all documents incorporated herein by reference are open for public inspection at the offices of the Commission.
(c) Cross references— (1) [Reserved]
(2) Applicability of cable television EEO reporting requirements for FSS facilities, see § 25.601 of this chapter.
§ 1.901   Basis and purpose.
The rules in this subpart are issued pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. The purpose of the rules in this subpart is to establish the requirements and conditions under which entities may be licensed in the Wireless Radio Services as described in this part and in parts 13, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, 74, 80, 87, 88, 90, 95, 96, 97, and 101 of this chapter.
§ 1.902   Scope.
In case of any conflict between the rules set forth in this subpart and the rules set forth in parts 13, 20, 22, 24, 27, 30, 74, 80, 87, 88, 90, 95, 96, 97, and 101 of title 47, chapter I of the Code of Federal Regulations, the rules in this part shall govern.
§ 1.903   Authorization required.
(a) General rule. Stations in the Wireless Radio Services must be used and operated only in accordance with the rules applicable to their particular service as set forth in this title and with a valid authorization granted by the Commission under the provisions of this part, except as specified in paragraph (b) of this section.
(b) Restrictions. The holding of an authorization does not create any rights beyond the terms, conditions and period specified in the authorization. Authorizations may be granted upon proper application, provided that the Commission finds that the applicant is qualified in regard to citizenship, character, financial, technical and other criteria, and that the public interest, convenience and necessity will be served. See §§ 301, 308, and 309, 310 of this chapter.
(c) Subscribers. Authority for subscribers to operate mobile or fixed stations in the Wireless Radio Services, except for certain stations in the Rural Radiotelephone Service, is included in the authorization held by the licensee providing service to them. Subscribers are not required to apply for, and the Commission does not accept, applications from subscribers for individual mobile or fixed station authorizations in the Wireless Radio Services. Individual authorizations are required to operate rural subscriber stations in the Rural Radiotelephone Service, except as provided in § 22.703 of this chapter. Individual authorizations are required for end users of certain Specialized Mobile Radio Systems as provided in § 90.655 of this chapter. In addition, certain ships and aircraft are required to be individually licensed under parts 80 and 87 of this chapter. See §§ 80.13, 87.18 of this chapter.
§ 1.907   Definitions.
Antenna structure. The term antenna structure includes the radiating and receiving elements, its supporting structures, towers, and all appurtenances mounted thereon.
Application. A request on a standard form for a station license as defined in § 3(b) of the Communications Act, signed in accordance with § 1.917 of this part, or a similar request to amend a pending application or to modify or renew an authorization. The term also encompasses requests to assign rights granted by the authorization or to transfer control of entities holding authorizations.
Auctionable license. A Wireless Radio Service license identified in § 1.2102 of this part for which competitive bidding is used to select from among mutually exclusive applications.
Auctionable license application. A Wireless Radio Service license application identified in § 1.2102 of this part for which competitive bidding is used if the application is subject to mutually exclusive applications.
Authorization. A written instrument or oral statement issued by the FCC conveying authority to operate, for a specified term, to a station in the Wireless Telecommunications Services.
Authorized bandwidth. The maximum bandwidth permitted to be used by a station as specified in the station license. See § 2.202 of this chapter.
Authorized power. The maximum power a station is permitted to use. This power is specified by the Commission in the station's authorization or rules.
Control station. A fixed station, the transmissions of which are used to control automatically the emissions or operations of a radio station, or a remote base station transmitter.
Covered geographic licenses. Covered geographic licenses consist of the following services: 1.4 GHz Service (part 27, subpart I, of this chapter); 1.6 GHz Service (part 27, subpart J); 24 GHz Service and Digital Electronic Message Services (part 101, subpart G, of this chapter); 218-219 MHz Service (part 95, subpart F, of this chapter); 220-222 MHz Service, excluding public safety licenses (part 90, subpart T, of this chapter); 600 MHz Service (part 27, subpart N); 700 MHz Commercial Services (part 27, subparts F and H); 700 MHz Guard Band Service (part 27, subpart G); 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Service (part 90, subpart S); 900 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Service (part 90, subpart S); 900 MHz Broadband Service (part 27, subpart P); 3.45 GHz Service (part 27, subpart Q); 3.7 GHz Service (part 27, subpart O); Advanced Wireless Services (part 27, subparts K and L); Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service (Commercial Aviation) (part 22, subpart G, of this chapter); Broadband Personal Communications Service (part 24, subpart E, of this chapter); Broadband Radio Service (part 27, subpart M); Cellular Radiotelephone Service (part 22, subpart H); Citizens Broadband Radio Service (part 96, subpart C, of this chapter); Intelligent Transportation Systems Radio Service in the 5895-5925 MHz band, excluding public safety licenses (part 90, subpart M); Educational Broadband Service (part 27, subpart M); H Block Service (part 27, subpart K); Local Multipoint Distribution Service (part 101, subpart L); Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (part 101, subpart P); Multilateration Location and Monitoring Service (part 90, subpart M); Multiple Address Systems (EAs) (part 101, subpart O); Narrowband Personal Communications Service (part 24, subpart D); Paging and Radiotelephone Service (part 22, subpart E; part 90, subpart P); VHF Public Coast Stations, including Automated Maritime Telecommunications Systems (part 80, subpart J, of this chapter); Space Launch Services (part 26 of this chapter); Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (part 30 of this chapter); and Wireless Communications Service (part 27, subpart D).
Covered Site-based Licenses. Covered site-based licenses consist of the following services: 220-222 MHz Service (site-based), excluding public safety licenses (part 90, subpart T of this chapter); 800/900 MHz (SMR and Business and Industrial Land Transportation Pool) (part 90, subpart S); Aeronautical Advisory Stations (Unicoms) (part 87, subpart G); Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service (General Aviation) (part 22, subpart G); Alaska-Public Fixed Stations (part 80, subpart O); Broadcast Auxiliary Service (part 74, subparts D, E, F, and H); Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point, Microwave Service (part 101, subpart I); Industrial/Business Radio Pool (part 90, subpart C); Local Television Transmission Service (part 101, subpart J); Multiple Address Systems (site-based), excluding public safety licenses (part 101, subpart H); Non-Multilateration Location and Monitoring Service (part 90, subpart M); Offshore Radiotelephone Service (part 22, subpart I); Paging and Radiotelephone Service (site-based) (part 22, subpart E); Private Carrier Paging (part 90, subpart P); Private Operational Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service, excluding public safety licenses (part 101, subpart H); Public Coast Stations (site-based) (part 80, subpart J); Radiodetermination Service Stations (Radionavigation Land Stations) (part 87, subpart Q); Radiolocation Service (part 90, subpart F); and Rural Radiotelephone Service (including Basic Exchange Telephone Radio Service) (part 22, subpart F).
Effective radiated power (ERP). The product of the power supplied to the antenna multiplied by the gain of the antenna referenced to a half-wave dipole.
Equivalent Isotopically Radiated Power (EIRP). The product of the power supplied to the antenna multiplied by the antenna gain referenced to an isotropic antenna.
Fixed station. A station operating at a fixed location.
Harmful interference. Interference that endangers the functioning of a radionavigation service or of other safety services or seriously degrades, obstructs, or repeatedly interrupts a radio communications service operating in accordance with the Radio Regulations.
Mobile relay station. A fixed transmitter used to facilitate the transmission of communications between mobile units.
Mobile station. A radio communication station capable of being moved and which ordinarily does move.
Non-auctionable license. A Wireless Radio Service license identified in § 1.2102 of this part for which competitive bidding is not used to select from among mutually exclusive applications.
Non-auctionable license application. A Wireless Radio Service license application for which § 1.2102 of this part precludes the use of competitive bidding if the application is subject to mutually exclusive applications.
Private Wireless Services. Wireless Radio Services authorized by parts 80, 87, 88, 90, 95, 96, 97, and 101 of this chapter that are not Wireless Telecommunications Services, as defined in this part.
Radio station. A separate transmitter or a group of transmitters under simultaneous common control, including the accessory equipment required for carrying on a radio communications service.
Receipt date. The date an electronic application is received at the appropriate location at the Commission.
Spectrum leasing arrangement. An arrangement between a licensed entity and a third-party entity in which the licensee leases certain of its spectrum usage rights to a spectrum lessee, as set forth in subpart X of this part (47 CFR 1.9001 et seq. ). Spectrum leasing arrangement is defined in § 1.9003.
Spectrum lessee. Any third party entity that leases, pursuant to the spectrum leasing rules set forth in subpart X of this part (47 CFR 1.9001 et seq. ), certain spectrum usage rights held by a licensee. Spectrum lessee is defined in § 1.9003.
Universal Licensing System. The Universal Licensing System (ULS) is the consolidated database, application filing system, and processing system for all Wireless Radio Services. ULS supports electronic filing of all applications and related documents by applicants and licensees in the Wireless Radio Services, and provides public access to licensing information.
Wireless Radio Services. All radio services authorized in parts 13, 20, 22, 24, 26, 27, 30, 74, 80, 87, 88, 90, 95, 96, 97 and 101 of this chapter, whether commercial or private in nature.
Wireless Telecommunications Services. Wireless Radio Services, whether fixed or mobile, that meet the definition of “telecommunications service” as defined by 47 U.S.C. 153, as amended, and are therefore subject to regulation on a common carrier basis.
§ 1.911   Station files.
Applications, notifications, correspondence, electronic filings and other material, and copies of authorizations, comprising technical, legal, and administrative data relating to each station in the Wireless Radio Services are maintained by the Commission in ULS. These files constitute the official records for these stations and supersede any other records, database or lists from the Commission or other sources.
§ 1.913   Application and notification forms; electronic filing.
(a) Application and notification forms. Applicants, licensees, and spectrum lessees (see § 1.9003) shall use the following forms and associated schedules for all applications and notifications:
(1) FCC Form 601, Application for Authorization in the Wireless Radio Services. FCC Form 601 and associated schedules are used to apply for initial authorizations, modifications to existing authorizations, amendments to pending applications, renewals of station authorizations, special temporary authority, notifications, requests for extension of time, and administrative updates.
(2) FCC Form 602, Wireless Radio Services Ownership Form. FCC Form 602 is used by applicants and licensees in auctionable services to provide and update ownership information as required by §§ 1.919, 1.948, 1.2112, and any other section that requires the submission of such information.
(3) FCC Form 603, Application for Assignment of Authorization or Transfer of Control. FCC Form 603 is used by applicants and licensees to apply for Commission consent to assignments of existing authorizations, to apply for Commission consent to transfer control of entities holding authorizations, to notify the Commission of the consummation of assignments or transfers, and to request extensions of time for consummation of assignments or transfers. It is also used for Commission consent to partial assignments of authorization, including partitioning and disaggregation.
(4) FCC Form 605, Quick-form Application for Authorization for Wireless Radio Services. FCC Form 605 is used to apply for Amateur, Ship, Aircraft, and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) authorizations, as well as Commercial Radio Operator Licenses.
(5) FCC Form 608, Notification or Application for Spectrum Leasing Arrangement. FCC Form 608 is used by licensees and spectrum lessees ( see § 1.9003) to notify the Commission regarding spectrum manager leasing arrangements and to apply for Commission consent for de facto transfer leasing arrangements pursuant to the rules set forth in part 1, subpart X. It is also used to notify the Commission if a licensee or spectrum lessee establishes a private commons ( see § 1.9080).
(6) FCC Form 609, Application to Report Eligibility Event. FCC Form 609 is used by licensees to apply for Commission approval of reportable eligibility events, as defined in § 1.2114.
(b) Electronic filing. Except as specified in paragraph (d) of this section or elsewhere in this chapter, all applications and other filings using the application and notification forms listed in this section or associated schedules must be filed electronically in accordance with the electronic filing instructions provided by ULS. For each Wireless Radio Service that is subject to mandatory electronic filing, this paragraph is effective on July 1, 1999, or six months after the Commission begins use of ULS to process applications in the service, whichever is later. The Commission will announce by public notice the deployment date of each service in ULS.
(1) Attachments to applications and notifications should be uploaded along with the electronically filed applications and notifications whenever possible. The files, other than the ASCII table of contents, should be in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) whenever possible.
(2) Any associated documents submitted with an application or notification must be uploaded as attachments to the application or notification whenever possible. The attachment should be uploaded via ULS in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) whenever possible.
(c) Auctioned license applications. Auctioned license applications, as defined in § 1.907 of this part, shall also comply with the requirements of subpart Q of this part and the applicable Commission orders and public notices issued with respect to each auction for a particular service and spectrum.
(d) [Reserved]
(e) Applications requiring prior coordination. Parties filing applications that require frequency coordination shall, prior to filing, complete all applicable frequency coordination requirements in service-specific rules contained within this chapter. After appropriate frequency coordination, such applications must be electronically filed via ULS. Applications filed by the frequency coordinator on behalf of the applicant must be filed electronically.
(f) Applications for amateur licenses. Each candidate for an amateur radio operator license which requires the applicant to pass one or more examination elements must present the administering Volunteer Examiners (VE) with all information required by this section prior to the examination. The VEs may collect the information required by this section in any manner of their choosing, including creating their own forms. Upon completion of the examination, the administering VEs will immediately grade the test papers and will then issue a certificate for successful completion of an amateur radio operator examination (CSCE) if the applicant is successful. The VEs will send all necessary information regarding a candidate to the Volunteer-Examiner Coordinator (VEC) coordinating the examination session. Applications filed with the Commission by VECs and all other applications for amateur service licenses must be filed electronically via ULS. Feeable requests for vanity call signs must be filed in accordance with § 0.401 of this chapter or electronically filed via ULS.
(g) Section 337 Requests. Applications to provide public safety services submitted pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 337 must be filed on the same form and in the same manner as other applications for the requested frequency(ies), except that applicants must select the service code reflective of the type of service the applicant intends to provide.
2. At 78 FR 23152, Apr. 18, 2013, § 1.913(d)(1)(vi) was revised. This paragraph contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
§ 1.915   General application requirements.
(a) General requirement. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, for all Wireless Radio Services, station licenses, as defined in section 308(a) of the Communications Act, as amended, operator licenses, modifications or renewals of licenses, assignments or transfers of control of station licenses or any rights thereunder, and waiver requests associated with any of the foregoing shall be granted only upon an application filed pursuant to §§ 1.913 through 1.917 of this part.
(b)(1) Exception for emergency filings. The Commission may grant station licenses, or modifications or renewals thereof, without the filing of a formal application in the following cases:
(i) an emergency found by the Commission to involve danger to life or property or to be due to damage to equipment;
(ii) a national emergency proclaimed by the President or declared by the Congress and during the continuance of any war in which the United States is engaged, when such action is necessary for the national defense or security or otherwise in furtherance of the war effort; or
(iii) an emergency where the Commission finds that it would not be feasible to secure renewal applications from existing licensees or otherwise to follow normal licensing procedures.
(2) No such authorization shall be granted for or continue in effect beyond the period of the emergency or war requiring it. The procedures to be followed for emergency requests submitted under this subparagraph are the same as for seeking special temporary authority under § 1.931 of this part. After the end of the period of emergency, the party must submit its request by filing the appropriate FCC form in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section.
§ 1.917   Who may sign applications.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, applications, amendments, and related statements of fact required by the Commission must be signed as follows (either electronically or manually, see paragraph (d) of this section): (1) By the applicant, if the applicant is an individual; (2) by one of the partners if the applicant is a partnership; (3) by an officer, director, or duly authorized employee, if the applicant is a corporation; (4) by a member who is an officer, if the applicant is an unincorporated association; or (5) by the trustee if the applicant is an amateur radio service club. Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact filed on behalf of eligible government entities such as states and territories of the United States, their political subdivisions, the District of Columbia, and units of local government, including unincorporated municipalities, must be signed by a duly elected or appointed official who is authorized to do so under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction.
(b) Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact required by the Commission may be signed by the applicant's attorney in case of the applicant's physical disability or absence from the United States, or by applicant's designated vessel master when a temporary permit is requested for a vessel. The attorney shall, when applicable, separately set forth the reason why the application is not signed by the applicant. In addition, if any matter is stated on the basis of the attorney's or master's belief only (rather than knowledge), the attorney or master shall separately set forth the reasons for believing that such statements are true. Only the original of applications, amendments, and related statements of fact need be signed.
(c) Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact need not be signed under oath. Willful false statements made therein, however, are punishable by fine and imprisonment, 18 U.S.C. 1001, and by appropriate administrative sanctions, including revocation of station license pursuant to 312(a)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
(d) “Signed,” as used in this section, means, for manually filed applications only, an original hand-written signature or, for electronically filed applications only, an electronic signature. An electronic signature shall consist of the name of the applicant transmitted electronically via ULS or any other electronic filing interface the Commission may designate and entered on the application as a signature.
§ 1.919   Ownership information.
(a) Applicants or licensees in Wireless Radio Services that are subject to the ownership reporting requirements of § 1.2112 shall use FCC Form 602 to provide all ownership information required by the chapter.
(b) Any applicant or licensee that is subject to the reporting requirements of § 1.2112 or § 1.2114 shall file an FCC Form 602, or file an updated form if the ownership information on a previously filed FCC Form 602 is not current, at the time it submits:
(1) An initial application for authorization (FCC Form 601);
(2) An application for license renewal (FCC Form 601);
(3) An application for assignment of authorization or transfer of control (FCC Form 603); or
(4) A notification of consummation of a pro forma assignment of authorization or transfer of control (FCC Form 603) under the Commission's forbearance procedures (see § 1.948(c) of this part).
(5) An application reporting any reportable eligibility event, as defined in § 1.2114.
(c) [Reserved]
(d) A single FCC Form 602 may be associated with multiple applications filed by the same applicant or licensee. If an applicant or licensee already has a current FCC Form 602 on file when it files an initial application, renewal application, application for assignment or transfer of control, or notification of a pro forma assignment or transfer, it may certify that it has a current FCC Form 602 on file.
(e) No filing fee is required to submit or update FCC Form 602.
(f) Applicants or licensees in Wireless Radio Services that are not subject to the ownership reporting requirements of § 1.2112 are not required to file FCC Form 602. However, such applicants and licensees may be required by the rules applicable to such services to disclose the real party (or parties) in interest to the application, including (as required) a complete disclosure of the identity and relationship of those persons or entities directly or indirectly owning or controlling (or both) the applicant or licensee.
§ 1.923   Content of applications.
(a) General. Applications must contain all information requested on the applicable form and any additional information required by the rules in this chapter and any rules pertaining to the specific service for which the application is filed.
(b) Reference to material on file. Questions on application forms that call for specific technical data, or that can be answered yes or no or with another short answer, must be answered on the form. Otherwise, if documents, exhibits, or other lengthy showings already on file with the FCC contain information required in an application, the application may incorporate such information by reference, provided that:
(1) The referenced information has been filed in ULS or, if manually filed outside of ULS, the information comprises more than one “8 1/2 × 11” page.
(2) The referenced information is current and accurate in all material respects; and
(3) The application states specifically where the referenced information can actually be found, including:
(i) The station call sign or application file number and its location if the reference is to station files or previously filed applications;
(ii) The title of the proceeding, the docket number, and any legal citations, if the reference is to a docketed proceeding.
(c) Antenna locations. Applications for stations at fixed locations must describe each transmitting antenna site by its geographical coordinates and also by its street address, or by reference to a nearby landmark. Geographical coordinates, referenced to NAD83, must be specified in degrees, minutes, and seconds to the nearest second of latitude and longitude.
(d) Antenna structure registration. Owners of certain antenna structures must notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register with the Commission as required by part 17 of this chapter. Applications proposing the use of one or more new or existing antenna structures must contain the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number(s) of each structure for which registration is required. To facilitate frequency coordination or for other purposes, the Bureau shall accept for filing an application that does not contain the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number so long as;
(1) The antenna structure owner has filed an antenna structure registration application (FCC Form 854);
(2) The antenna structure owner has provided local notice and the Commission has posted notification of the proposed construction on its Web site pursuant to § 17.4(c)(3) and (4) of this chapter; and
(3) The antenna structure owner has obtained a Determination of No Hazard to Aircraft Navigation from the Federal Aviation Administration. In such instances, the applicant shall provide the FCC Form 854 File Number on its application. Once the antenna structure owner has obtained the Antenna Structure Registration Number, the applicant shall amend its application to provide the Antenna Structure Registration Number, and the Commission shall not grant the application before the Antenna Structure Registration Number has been provided. If registration is not required, the applicant must provide information in its application sufficient for the Commission to verify this fact.
(e) Environmental concerns. (1) Environmental processing shall be completed pursuant to the process set forth in § 17.4(c) of this chapter for any facilities that use one or more new or existing antenna structures for which a new or amended registration is required by part 17 of this chapter. Environmental review by the Commission must be completed prior to construction.
(2) For applications that propose any facilities that are not subject to the process set forth in § 17.4(c) of this chapter, the applicant is required to indicate at the time its application is filed whether or not a Commission grant of the application for those facilities may have a significant environmental effect as defined by § 1.1307. If the applicant answers affirmatively, an Environmental Assessment, required by § 1.1311 must be filed with the application and environmental review by the Commission must be completed prior to construction.
(f) International coordination. Channel assignments and/or usage under this part are subject to the applicable provisions and requirements of treaties and other international agreements between the United States government and the governments of Canada and Mexico.
(g) Quiet zones. Each applicant is required to comply with the “Quiet Zone” rule (see § 1.924).
(h) Taxpayer Identification Number (TINs). Wireless applicants and licensees, including all attributable owners of auctionable licenses as defined by § 1.2112 of this part, are required to provide their Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINS) (as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6109) to the Commission, pursuant to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA). Under the DCIA, the FCC may use an applicant or licensee's TIN for purposes of collecting and reporting to the Department of the Treasury any delinquent amounts arising out of such person's relationship with the Government. The Commission will not publicly disclose applicant or licensee TINs unless authorized by law, but will assign a “public identification number” to each applicant or licensee registering a TIN. This public identification number will be used for agency purposes other than debt collection.
(i) Email address. Unless an exception is set forth elsewhere in this chapter, each applicant must specify an email address where the applicant can receive electronic correspondence. This email address will be used by the Commission to serve documents or direct correspondence to the applicant. Any correspondence sent to the email address currently on file shall be deemed to have been served on the applicant. Each applicant should also provide a United States Postal Service address.
§ 1.924   Quiet zones.
Areas implicated by this paragraph are those in which it is necessary to restrict radiation so as to minimize possible impact on the operations of radio astronomy or other facilities that are highly sensitive to interference. Consent throughout this paragraph means written consent from the quiet zone, radio astronomy, research, and receiving installation entity. The areas involved and procedures required are as follows:
(a) NRAO, NRRO. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize possible interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and at the Naval Radio Research Observatory site at Sugar Grove, Pendleton County, West Virginia.
(1) Applicants and licensees planning to construct and operate a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location within the area bounded by N 39°15′0.4″ on the north, W 78°29′59.0″ on the east, N 37°30′0.4″ on the south, and W 80°29′59.2″ on the west must notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, West Virginia 24944, in writing, of the technical details of the proposed operation. The notification must include the geographical coordinates of the antenna location, the antenna height, antenna directivity (if any), the channel, the emission type and power.
(2) When an application for authority to operate a station is filed with the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (a)(1) of this section may be made prior to, or simultaneously with the application. The application must state the date that notification in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section was made. After receipt of such applications, the FCC will allow a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the notifications indicated. If an applicant submits written consent from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory, the FCC will process the application without awaiting the conclusion of the 20-day period. For services that do not require individual station authorization, entities that have obtained written consent from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory may begin to operate new or modified facilities prior to the end of the 20-day period. In instances in which notification has been made to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory prior to application filing, the applicant must also provide notice to the quiet zone entity upon actual filing of the application with the FCC. Such notice will be made simultaneous with the filing of the application and shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(3) If an objection is received during the 20-day period from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory, the FCC will, after consideration of the record, take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
(4) Parties subject to subpart B of part 88 of this chapter shall follow the requirements of § 88.35 of this chapter instead of the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.
(b) Table Mountain. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize possible interference at the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone of the Research Laboratories of the Department of Commerce located in Boulder County, Colorado.
(1) Licensees and applicants planning to construct and operate a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location in the vicinity of Boulder County, Colorado are advised to give consideration, prior to filing applications, to the need to protect the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone from interference. To prevent degradation of the present ambient radio signal level at the site, the Department of Commerce seeks to ensure that the field strengths of any radiated signals (excluding reflected signals) received on this 1800 acre site (in the vicinity of coordinates 40°07′49.9″ North Latitude, 105°14′42.0″ West Longitude) resulting from new assignments (other than mobile stations) or from the modification or relocation of existing facilities do not exceed the values given in the following table:
Field Strength Limits for Table Mountain 1
1 Note: Equivalent values of power flux density are calculated assuming free space characteristic impedance of 376.7Ω (120πΩ).
(2) Advance consultation is recommended, particularly for applicants that have no reliable data to indicate whether the field strength or power flux density figures in the above table would be exceeded by their proposed radio facilities. In general, coordination is recommended for:
(i) Stations located within 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(ii) Stations located within 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) transmitting with 50 watts or more effective radiated power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(iii) Stations located with 16 kilometers (10 miles) transmitting with 1 kW or more ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(iv) Stations located within 80 kilometers (50 miles) transmitting with 25 kW or more ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of Table Mountain Receiving Zone.
(3) Applicants concerned are urged to communicate with the Radio Frequency Manager, Department of Commerce, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305; Telephone: 303-497-4619, Fax: 303-497-6982, E-mail: frequencymanager@its.bldrdoc.gov, in advance of filing their applications with the Commission.
(4) The FCC will not screen applications to determine whether advance consultation has taken place. However, such consultation may avoid the filing of objections from the Department of Commerce or institution of proceedings to modify the authorizations of stations that radiate signals with a field strength or power flux density at the site in excess of those specified herein.
(c) Federal Communications Commission protected field offices. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize possible interference to FCC monitoring activities.
(1) Licensees and applicants planning to construct and operate a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location in the vicinity of an FCC protected field office are advised to give consideration, prior to filing applications, to the need to avoid interfering with the monitoring activities of that office. FCC protected field offices are listed in § 0.121 of this chapter.
(2) Applications for stations (except mobile stations) that could produce on any channel a direct wave fundamental field strength of greater than 10 mV/m (−65.8 dBW/m 2 power flux density assuming a free space characteristic impedance of 120π Ω) in the authorized bandwidth at the protected field office may be examined to determine the potential for interference with monitoring activities. After consideration of the effects of the predicted field strength of the proposed station, including the cumulative effects of the signal from the proposed station with other ambient radio field strength levels at the protected field office, the FCC may add a condition restricting radiation toward the protected field office to the station authorization.
(3) In the event that the calculated field strength exceeds 10 mV/m at the protected field office site, or if there is any question whether field strength levels might exceed that level, advance consultation with the FCC to discuss possible measures to avoid interference to monitoring activities should be considered. Prospective applicants may communicate with: Chief, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554.
(4) Advance consultation is recommended for applicants that have no reliable data to indicate whether the field strength or power flux density figure indicated would be exceeded by their proposed radio facilities. In general, coordination is recommended for:
(i) Stations located within 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the protected field office;
(ii) Stations located within 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) with 50 watts or more average effective radiated power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the protected field offices.
(iii) Stations located within 16 kilometers (10 miles) with 1 kw or more average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the protected field office;
(iv) Stations located within 80 kilometers (50 miles) with 25 kw or more average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the protected field office;
(v) Advance coordination for stations transmitting on channels above 1000 MHz is recommended only if the proposed station is in the vicinity of a protected field office designated as a satellite monitoring facility in § 0.121 of this chapter.
(vi) The FCC will not screen applications to determine whether advance consultation has taken place. However, such consultation may serve to avoid the need for later modification of the authorizations of stations that interfere with monitoring activities at protected field offices.
(d) Notification to the Arecibo Observatory. The requirements in this section are intended to minimize possible interference at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Licensees must make reasonable efforts to protect the Observatory from interference. Licensees planning to construct and operate a new station at a permanent fixed location on the islands of Puerto Rico, Desecheo, Mona, Vieques or Culebra in services in which individual station licenses are issued by the FCC; planning to construct and operate a new station at a permanent fixed location on these islands that may cause interference to the operations of the Arecibo Observatory in services in which individual station licenses are not issued by the FCC; or planning a modification of any existing station at a permanent fixed location on these islands that would increase the likelihood of causing interference to the operations of the Arecibo Observatory must notify the Interference Office, Arecibo Observatory, HC3 Box 53995, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612, in writing or electronically (e-mail address: prcz@naic.edu ), of the technical parameters of the planned operation. Carriers may wish to use the interference guidelines provided by Cornell University as guidance in designing facilities to avoid interference to the Observatory. The notification must include identification of the geographical coordinates of the antenna location (NAD-83 datum), the antenna height, antenna directivity (if any), proposed channel and FCC Rule Part, type of emission, and effective isotropic radiated power.
(1) In the Amateur radio service:
(i) The provisions of paragraph (d) of this section do not apply to repeaters that transmit on the 1.2 cm or shorter wavelength bands; and
(ii) The coordination provision of paragraph (d) of this section does not apply to repeaters that are located 16 km or more from the Arecibo observatory.
(2) In services in which individual station licenses are issued by the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (d) of this section may be made prior to, or simultaneously with, the filing of the application with the FCC, and at least 20 days in advance of the applicant's planned operation. The application must state the date that notification in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section was made. In services in which individual station licenses are not issued by the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (d) of this section should be sent at least 45 days in advance of the applicant's planned operation. In the latter services, the Interference Office must inform the FCC of a notification by an applicant within 20 days if the Office plans to file comments or objections to the notification. After the FCC receives an application from a service applicant or is informed by the Interference Office of a notification from a service applicant, the FCC will allow the Interference Office a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the application or notification. If an applicant submits written consent from the Interference Office, the FCC will process the application without awaiting the conclusion of the 20-day period. For services that do not require individual station authorization, entities that have obtained written consent from the Interference Office may begin to operate new or modified facilities prior to the end of the 20-day period. In instances in which notification has been made to the Interference Office prior to application filing, the applicant must also provide notice to the Interference Office upon actual filing of the application with the FCC. Such notice will be made simultaneous with the filing of the application and shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section.
(3) If an objection to any planned service operation is received during the 20-day period from the Interference Office, the FCC will take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
(4) The provisions of paragraph (d) of this section do not apply to operations that transmit on frequencies above 15 GHz.
(e) 420-450 MHz band. Applicants for pulse-ranging radiolocation systems operating in the 420-450 MHz band along the shoreline of the conterminous United States and Alaska, and for spread spectrum radiolocation systems operating in the 420-435 MHz sub-band within the conterminous United States and Alaska, should not expect to be accommodated if their area of service is within:
(1) Arizona, Florida, or New Mexico;
(2) Those portions of California and Nevada that are south of latitude 37°10′ N.;
(3) That portion of Texas that is west of longitude 104° W.; or
(4) The following circular areas:
(i) 322 kilometers (km) of 30°30′ N., 86°30′ W.
(ii) 322 km of 28°21′ N., 80°43′ W.
(iii) 322 km of 34°09′ N., 119°11′ W.
(iv) 240 km of 39°08′ N., 121°26′ W.
(v) 200 km of 31°25′ N., 100°24′ W.
(vi) 200 km of 32°38′ N., 83°35′ W.
(vii) 160 km of 64°17′ N., 149°10′ W.
(viii) 160 km of 48°43′ N., 97°54′ W.
(ix) 160 km of 41°45′ N., 70°32′ W.
(f) 17.7-19.7 GHz band. The following exclusion areas and coordination areas are established to minimize or avoid harmful interference to Federal Government earth stations receiving in the 17.7-19.7 GHz band:
(1) No application seeking authority for fixed stations, under parts 74, 78, or 101 of this chapter, supporting the operations of Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPD) in the 17.7-17.8 GHz band or to operate in the 17.8-19.7 GHz band for any service will be accepted for filing if the proposed station is located within 20 km (or within 55 km if the modification application is for an outdoor low power operation pursuant to § 101.147(r)(14) of this chapter) of Denver, CO (39°43′ N., 104°46′ W.) or Washington, DC (38°48′ N., 76°52′ W.).
(2) Any application for a new station license to provide MVPD operations in the 17.7-17.8 GHz band or to operate in the 17.8-19.7 GHz band for any service, or for modification of an existing station license in these bands which would change the frequency, power, emission, modulation, polarization, antenna height or directivity, or location of such a station, must be coordinated with the Federal Government by the Commission before an authorization will be issued, if the station or proposed station is located in whole or in part within any of the following areas:
(i) Denver, CO area:
(A) Between latitudes 41°30′ N. and 38°30′ N. and between longitudes 103°10′ W. and 106°30′ W.
(B) Between latitudes 38°30′ N. and 37°30′ N. and between longitudes 105°00′ W. and 105°50′ W.
(C) Between latitudes 40°08′ N. and 39°56′ N. and between longitudes 107°00′ W. and 107°15′ W.
(ii) Washington, DC area:
(A) Between latitudes 38°40′ N. and 38°10′ N. and between longitudes 78°50′ W. and 79°20′ W.
(B) Within 178 km of 38°48′ N., 76°52′ W.
(iii) San Miguel, CA area:
(A) Between latitudes 34°39′ N. and 34°00′ N. and between longitudes 118°52′ W. and 119°24′ W.
(B) Within 200 km of 35°44′ N., 120°45′ W.
(iv) Guam area: Within 100 km of 13°35′ N., 144°51′ E.
Note to § 1.924(f): The coordinates cited in this section are specified in terms of the “North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).”
(g) GOES. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize harmful interference to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite earth stations receiving in the band 1670-1675 MHz, which are located at Wallops Island, Virginia; Fairbanks, Alaska; and Greenbelt, Maryland.
(1) Applicants and licensees planning to construct and operate a new or modified station within the area bounded by a circle with a radius of 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) that is centered on 37°56′44″ N, 75°27′37″ W (Wallops Island) or 64°58′22″ N, 147°30′04″ W (Fairbanks) or within the area bounded by a circle with a radius of 65 kilometers (40.4 miles) that is centered on 39°00′02″ N, 76°50′29″ W (Greenbelt) must notify the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the proposed operation. For this purpose, NOAA maintains the GOES coordination Web page at http://www.osd.noaa.gov/radio/frequency.htm, which provides the technical parameters of the earth stations and the point-of-contact for the notification. The notification shall include the following information: Requested frequency, geographical coordinates of the antenna location, antenna height above mean sea level, antenna directivity, emission type, equivalent isotropically radiated power, antenna make and model, and transmitter make and model.
(2) Protection. (i) Wallops Island and Fairbanks. Licensees are required to protect the Wallops Island and Fairbanks sites at all times.
(ii) Greenbelt. Licensees are required to protect the Greenbelt site only when it is active. Licensees should coordinate appropriate procedures directly with NOAA for receiving notification of times when this site is active.
(3) When an application for authority to operate a station is filed with the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (f)(1) of this section should be sent at the same time. The application must state the date that notification in accordance with paragraph (f)(1) of this section was made. After receipt of such an application, the FCC will allow a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the notification.
(4) If an objection is received during the 20-day period from NOAA, the FCC will, after consideration of the record, take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
Unless otherwise noted, all coordinates cited in this section are specified in terms of the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
§ 1.925   Waivers.
(a) Waiver requests generally. The Commission may waive specific requirements of the rules on its own motion or upon request. The fees for such waiver requests are set forth in § 1.1102 of this part.
(b) Procedure and format for filing waiver requests. (1) Requests for waiver of rules associated with licenses or applications in the Wireless Radio Services must be filed on FCC Form 601, 603, or 605.
(2) Requests for waiver must contain a complete explanation as to why the waiver is desired. If the information necessary to support a waiver request is already on file, the applicant may cross-reference the specific filing where the information may be found.
(3) The Commission may grant a request for waiver if it is shown that:
(i) 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
(ii) In view of unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, or the applicant has no reasonable alternative.
(4) Applicants requiring expedited processing of their request for waiver shall clearly caption their request for waiver with the words “WAIVER—EXPEDITED ACTION REQUESTED.”
(c) Action on Waiver Requests. (i) The Commission, in its discretion, may give public notice of the filing of a waiver request and seek comment from the public or affected parties.
(ii) Denial of a rule waiver request associated with an application renders that application defective unless it contains an alternative proposal that fully complies with the rules, in which event, the application will be processed using the alternative proposal as if the waiver had not been requested. Applications rendered defective may be dismissed without prejudice.
§ 1.926   Application processing; initial procedures.
Applications are assigned file numbers and service codes in order to facilitate processing. Assignment of a file number to an application is for administrative convenience and does not constitute a determination that the application is acceptable for filing. Purpose and service codes appear on the Commission forms.
§ 1.927   Amendment of applications.
(a) Pending applications may be amended as a matter of right if they have not been designated for hearing or listed in a public notice as accepted for filing for competitive bidding, except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section.
(b) Applicants for an initial license in auctionable services may amend such applications only in accordance with Subpart Q of this part.
(c) Amendments to non-auction applications that are applied for under Part 101 or that resolve mutual exclusivity may be filed at any time, subject to the requirements of § 1.945 of this part.
(d) Any amendment to an application for modification must be consistent with, and must not conflict with, any other application for modification regarding that same station.
(e) Amendments to applications designated for hearing may be allowed by the presiding officer or, when a proceeding is stayed or otherwise pending before the full Commission, may be allowed by the Commission for good cause shown. In such instances, a written petition demonstrating good cause must be submitted and served upon the parties of record.
(f) Amendments to applications are also subject to the service-specific rules in applicable parts of this chapter.
(g) Where an amendment to an application specifies a substantial change in beneficial ownership or control ( de jure or de facto ) of an applicant, the applicant must provide an exhibit with the amendment application containing an affirmative, factual showing as set forth in § 1.948(i)(2).
(h) Where an amendment to an application constitutes a major change, as defined in § 1.929, the amendment shall be treated as a new application for determination of filing date, public notice, and petition to deny purposes.
(i) If a petition to deny or other informal objection has been filed, a copy of any amendment (or other filing) must be served on the petitioner. If the FCC has issued a public notice stating that the application appears to be mutually exclusive with another application (or applications), a copy of any amendment (or other filing) must be served on any such mutually exclusive applicant (or applicants).
§ 1.928   Frequency coordination, Canada.
(a) As a result of mutual agreements, the Commission has, since May 1950 had an arrangement with the Canadian Department of Communications for the exchange of frequency assignment information and engineering comments on proposed assignments along the Canada-United States borders in certain bands above 30 MHz. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this arrangement involves assignments in the following frequency bands.
(b) The following frequencies are not involved in this arrangement because of the nature of the services:
(c) Assignments proposed in accordance with the railroad industry radio frequency allotment plan along the United States-Canada borders utilized by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Transport, respectively, may be excepted from this arrangement at the discretion of the referring agency.
(d) Assignments proposed in any radio service in frequency bands below 470 MHz appropriate to this arrangement, other than those for stations in the Domestic Public (land mobile or fixed) category, may be excepted from this arrangement at the discretion of the referring agency if a base station assignment has been made previously under the terms of this arrangement or prior to its adoption in the same radio service and on the same frequency and in the local area, and provided the basic characteristics of the additional station are sufficiently similar technically to the original assignment to preclude harmful interference to existing stations across the border.
(e) For bands below 470 MHz, the areas which are involved lie between Lines A and B and between Lines C and D, which are described as follows:
Line A—Begins at Aberdeen, Wash., running by great circle arc to the intersection of 48 deg. N., 120 deg. W., thence along parallel 48 deg. N., to the intersection of 95 deg. W., thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Duluth, Minn., thence by great circle arc to 45 deg. N., 85 deg. W., thence southward along meridian 85 deg. W., to its intersection with parallel 41 deg. N., thence along parallel 41 deg. N., to its intersection with meridian 82 deg. W., thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Bangor, Maine, thence by great circle arc through the southern-most point of Searsport, Maine, at which point it terminates; and
Line B—Begins at Tofino, B.C., running by great circle arc to the intersection of 50 deg. N., 125 deg. W., thence along parallel 50 deg. N., to the intersection of 90 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 45 deg. N., 79 deg. 30′ W., thence by great circle arc through the northernmost point of Drummondville, Quebec (lat: 45 deg. 52′ N., long: 72 deg. 30′ W.), thence by great circle arc to 48 deg. 30′ N., 70 deg. W., thence by great circle arc through the northernmost point of Campbellton, N.B., thence by great circle arc through the northernmost point of Liverpool, N.S., at which point it terminates.
Line C—Begins at the intersection of 70 deg. N., 144 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 60 deg. N., 143 deg. W., thence by great circle arc so as to include all of the Alaskan Panhandle; and
Line D—Begins at the intersection of 70 deg. N., 138 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 61 deg. 20′ N., 139 deg. W., (Burwash Landing), thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 60 deg. 45′ N., 135 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 56 deg. N., 128 deg. W., thence south along 128 deg. meridian to Lat. 55 deg. N., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 54 deg. N., 130 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to Port Clements, thence to the Pacific Ocean where it ends.
(f) For all stations using bands between 470 MHz and 1000 MHz; and for any station of a terrestrial service using a band above 1000 MHz, the areas which are involved are as follows:
(1) For a station the antenna of which looks within the 200 deg. sector toward the Canada-United States borders, that area in each country within 35 miles of the borders;
(2) For a station the antenna of which looks within the 160 deg. sector away from the Canada-United States borders, that area in each country within 5 miles of the borders; and
(3) The area in either country within coordination distance as described in Recommendation 1A of the Final Acts of the EARC, Geneva, 1963 of a receiving earth station in the other country which uses the same band.
(g) Proposed assignments in the space radiocommunication services and proposed assignments to stations in frequency bands allocated coequally to space and terrestrial services above 1 GHz are not treated by these arrangements. Such proposed assignments are subject to the regulatory provisions of the International Radio Regulations.
(h) Assignments proposed in the frequency band 806-890 MHz shall be in accordance with the Canada-United States agreement, dated April 7, 1982.
§ 1.929   Classification of filings as major or minor.
Applications and amendments to applications for stations in the wireless radio services are classified as major or minor (see § 1.947). Categories of major and minor filings are listed in § 309 of the Communications Act of 1934.
(a) For all stations in all Wireless Radio Services, whether licensed geographically or on a site-specific basis, the following actions are classified as major:
(1) Application for initial authorization;
(2) Any substantial change in ownership or control, including requests for partitioning and disaggregation;
(3) Application for renewal of authorization;
(4) Application or amendment requesting authorization for a facility that may have a significant environmental effect as defined in § 1.1307, unless the facility has been determined not to have a significant environmental effect through the process set forth in § 17.4(c) of this chapter.
(5) Application or amendment requiring frequency coordination pursuant to the Commission's rules or international treaty or agreement;
(6) Application or amendment requesting to add a frequency or frequency block for which the applicant is not currently authorized, excluding removing a frequency.
(b) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes in the Cellular Radiotelephone Service:
(1) Application requesting authorization to expand the Cellular Geographic Service Area (CGSA) of an existing Cellular system or, in the case of an amendment, as previously proposed in an application to expand the CGSA; or
(2) Application or amendment requesting that a CGSA boundary or portion of a CGSA boundary be determined using an alternative method.
(3) [Reserved]
(c) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) in this section, the following are major changes applicable to stations licensed to provide base-to-mobile, mobile-to-base, mobile-to-mobile on a site-specific basis:
(1) In the Paging and Radiotelephone Service, Rural Radiotelephone Service and 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Service (SMR), any change that would increase or expand the applicant's existing composite interference contour.
(2) In the 900 MHz SMR and 220 MHz Service, any change that would increase or expand the applicant's service area as defined in the rule parts governing the particular radio service.
(3) In the Paging and Radiotelephone Service, Rural Radiotelephone Service, Offshore Radiotelephone Service, and Specialized Mobile Radio Service:
(i) Request an authorization or an amendment to a pending application that would establish for the filer a new fixed transmission path;
(ii) Request an authorization or an amendment to a pending application for a fixed station ( i.e. , control, repeater, central office, rural subscriber, or inter-office station) that would increase the effective radiated power, antenna height above average terrain in any azimuth, or relocate an existing transmitter;
(4) In the Private Land Mobile Radio Services (PLMRS), the remote pickup broadcast auxiliary service, and GMRS systems licensed to non-individuals;
(i) Change in frequency or modification of channel pairs, except the deletion of one or more frequencies from an authorization;
(ii) Change in the type of emission;
(iii) Change in effective radiated power from that authorized or, for GMRS systems licensed to non-individuals, an increase in the transmitter power of a station;
(iv) Change in antenna height from that authorized;
(v) Change in the authorized location or number of base stations, fixed, control, except for deletions of one or more such stations or, for systems operating on non-exclusive assignments in GMRS or the 470-512 MHz, 800 MHz or 900 MHz bands, a change in the number of mobile transmitters, or a change in the area of mobile transmitters, or a change in the area of mobile operations from that authorized;
(vi) Change in the class of a land station, including changing from multiple licensed to cooperative use, and from shared to unshared use.
(d) In the microwave, aural broadcast auxiliary, and television broadcast auxiliary services:
(1) Except as specified in paragraph (d)(2) and (d)(3) of this section, the following, in addition to those filings listed in paragraph (a) of this section, are major actions that apply to stations licensed to provide fixed point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, or multipoint-to-point, communications on a site-specific basis, or fixed or mobile communications on an area-specific basis under part 101 of this chapter:
(i) Any change in transmit antenna location by more than 5 seconds in latitude or longitude for fixed point-to-point facilities (e.g., a 5 second change in latitude, longitude, or both would be minor); any change in coordinates of the center of operation or increase in radius of a circular area of operation, or any expansion in any direction in the latitude or longitude limits of a rectangular area of operation, or any change in any other kind of area operation;
(ii) Any increase in frequency tolerance;
(iii) Any increase in bandwidth;
(iv) Any change in emission type;
(v) Any increase in EIRP greater than 3 dB;
(vi) Any increase in transmit antenna height (above mean sea level) more than 3 meters, except as specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section;
(vii) Any increase in transmit antenna beamwidth, except as specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section;
(viii) Any change in transmit antenna polarization;
(ix) Any change in transmit antenna azimuth greater than 1 degree, except as specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section ; or,
(x) Any change which together with all minor modifications or amendments since the last major modification or amendment produces a cumulative effect exceeding any of the above major criteria.
(2) Changes to transmit antenna location of Multiple Address System (MAS) Remote Units and Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS) User Units are not major.
(3) Changes in accordance with paragraphs (d)(1)(vi), (d)(1)(vii) and (d)(1)(ix) of this section are not major for the following:
(i) Fixed Two-Way MAS on the remote to master path,
(ii) Fixed One-Way Inbound MAS on the remote to master path,
(iii) Multiple Two-Way MAS on the remote to master and master to remote paths,
(iv) Multiple One-Way Outbound MAS on the master to remote path,
(v) Mobile MAS Master,
(vi) Fixed Two-Way DEMS on the user to nodal path, and
(vii) Multiple Two-Way DEMS on the nodal to user and user to nodal paths.
For the systems and path types described in paragraph (d)(3) of this section, the data provided by applicants is either a typical value for a certain parameter or a fixed value given in the Form instructions.
(e) In addition to those filings listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major actions that apply to stations licensed to provide service in the Air-ground Radiotelephone Service:
(1) Request an authorization to relocate an existing General Aviation ground station; or,
(2) Request the first authorization for a new Commercial Aviation ground station at a location other than those listed in § 22.859 of this chapter.
(f) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a), the following are major changes that apply to stations licensed in the industrial radiopositioning stations for which frequencies are assigned on an exclusive basis, Maritime and Aviation services, except Maritime Public Coast VHF (CMRS), Ship and Aircraft stations:
(1) Any change in antenna azimuth;
(2) Any change in beamwidth;
(3) Any change in antenna location;
(4) Any change in emission type;
(5) Any increase in antenna height;
(6) Any increase in authorized power;
(7) Any increase in emission bandwidth.
(g) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a), any change requiring international coordination in the Maritime Public Coast VHF (CMRS) Service is major.
(h) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes that apply to ship stations:
(1) Any request for additional equipment;
(2) A change in ship category;
(3) A request for assignment of a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number; or
(4) A request to increase the number of ships on an existing fleet license.
(i) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes that apply to aircraft stations:
(1) A request to increase the number of aircraft on an existing fleet license; or
(2) A request to change the type of aircraft (private or air carrier).
(j) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes that apply to amateur licenses:
(1) An upgrade of an existing license; or
(2) A change of call sign.
(k) Any change not specifically listed above as major is considered minor ( see § 1.947(b). This includes but is not limited to:
(1) Any pro forma assignment or transfer of control;
(2) Any name change not involving change in ownership or control of the license;
(3) Any email or physical mailing address and/or telephone number changes;
(4) Any changes in contact person;
(5) Any change to vessel name on a ship station license;
(6) Any change to a site-specific license, except a PLMRS license under part 90, or a license under part 101, where the licensee's interference contours are not extended and co-channel separation criteria are met, except those modifications defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section; or
(7) Any conversion of multiple site-specific licenses into a single wide-area license, except a PLMRS license under part 90 or a license under part 101 of this chapter, where there is no change in the licensee's composite interference contour or service area as defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
§ 1.931   Application for special temporary authority.
(a) Wireless Telecommunications Services. (1) In circumstances requiring immediate or temporary use of station in the Wireless Telecommunications Services, carriers may request special temporary authority (STA) to operate new or modified equipment. Such requests must be filed electronically using FCC Form 601 and must contain complete details about the proposed operation and the circumstances that fully justify and necessitate the grant of STA. Such requests should be filed in time to be received by the Commission at least 10 days prior to the date of proposed operation or, where an extension is sought, 10 days prior to the expiration date of the existing STA. Requests received less than 10 days prior to the desired date of operation may be given expedited consideration only if compelling reasons are given for the delay in submitting the request. Otherwise, such late-filed requests are considered in turn, but action might not be taken prior to the desired date of operation. Requests for STA for operation of a station used in a Contraband Interdiction System, as defined in § 1.9003, will be afforded expedited consideration if filed at least one day prior to the desired date of operation. Requests for STA must be accompanied by the proper filing fee.
(2) Grant without Public Notice. STA may be granted without being listed in a Public Notice, or prior to 30 days after such listing, if:
(i) The STA is to be valid for 30 days or less and the applicant does not plan to file an application for regular authorization of the subject operation;
(ii) The STA is to be valid for 60 days or less, pending the filing of an application for regular authorization of the subject operation;
(iii) The STA is to allow interim operation to facilitate completion of authorized construction or to provide substantially the same service as previously authorized;
(iv) The STA is made upon a finding that there are extraordinary circumstances requiring operation in the public interest and that delay in the institution of such service would seriously prejudice the public interest; or
(v) The STA is for operation of a station used in a Contraband Interdiction System, as defined in § 1.9003.
(3) Limit on STA term. The Commission may grant STA for a period not to exceed 180 days under the provisions of section 309(f) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 309(f)) if extraordinary circumstances so require, and pending the filing of an application for regular operation. The Commission may grant extensions of STA for a period of 180 days, but the applicant must show that extraordinary circumstances warrant such an extension.
(b) Private Wireless Services. (1) A licensee of, or an applicant for, a station in the Private Wireless Services may request STA not to exceed 180 days for operation of a new station or operation of a licensed station in a manner which is beyond the scope of that authorized by the existing license. See §§ 1.933(d)(6) and 1.939. Where the applicant, seeking a waiver of the 180 day limit, requests STA to operate as a private mobile radio service provider for a period exceeding 180 days, evidence of frequency coordination is required. Requests for shorter periods do not require coordination and, if granted, will be authorized on a secondary, non-interference basis.
(2) STA may be granted in the following circumstances:
(i) In emergency situations;
(ii) To permit restoration or relocation of existing facilities to continue communication service;
(iii) To conduct tests to determine necessary data for the preparation of an application for regular authorization;
(iv) For a temporary, non-recurring service where a regular authorization is not appropriate;
(v) In other situations involving circumstances which are of such extraordinary nature that delay in the institution of temporary operation would seriously prejudice the public interest.
(3) The nature of the circumstance which, in the opinion of the applicant justifies issuance of STA, must be fully described in the request. Applications for STA must be filed at least 10 days prior to the proposed operation. Applications filed less than 10 days prior to the proposed operation date will be accepted only upon a showing of good cause.
(4) The Commission may grant extensions of STA for a period of 180 days, but the applicant must show that extraordinary circumstances warrant such an extension.
(5) In special situations defined in § 1.915(b)(1), a request for STA may be made by telephone or telegraph provided a properly signed application is filed within 10 days of such request.
(6) An applicant for an Aircraft Radio Station License may operate the radio station pending issuance of an Aircraft Radio Station License by the Commission for a period of 90 days under temporary operating authority, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 605.
(7) Unless the Commission otherwise prescribes, a person who has been granted an operator license of Novice, Technician, Technician Plus, General, or Advanced class and who has properly submitted to the administering VEs an application document for an operator license of a higher class, and who holds a CSCE indicating that he/she has completed the necessary examinations within the previous 365 days, is authorized to exercise the rights and privileges of the higher operator class until final disposition of the application or until 365 days following the passing of the examination, whichever comes first.
(8) An applicant for a Ship Radio station license may operate the radio station pending issuance of the ship station authorization by the Commission for a period of 90 days, under a temporary operating authority, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 605.
(9) An applicant for a station license in the Industrial/Business pool (other than an applicant who seeks to provide commercial mobile radio service as defined in Part 20 of this chapter) utilizing an already authorized facility may operate the station for a period of 180 days, under a temporary permit, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 601, after filing an application for a station license together with evidence of frequency coordination, if required, with the Commission. The temporary operation of stations, other than mobile stations, within the Canadian coordination zone will be limited to stations with a maximum of 5 watts effective radiated power and a maximum antenna height of 20 feet (6.1 meters) above average terrain.
(10) An applicant for a radio station license under Part 90, Subpart S, of this chapter (other than an applicant who seeks to provide commercial mobile radio service as defined in part 20 of this chapter) to utilize an already existing Specialized Mobile Radio System (SMR) facility or to utilize an already licensed transmitter may operate the radio station for a period of up to 180 days, under a temporary permit. Such request must be evidenced by a properly executed certification of FCC Form 601 after the filing of an application for station license, provided that the antenna employed by the control station is a maximum of 20 feet (6.1 meters) above a man-made structure (other than an antenna tower) to which it is affixed.
(11) An applicant for an itinerant station license, an applicant for a new private land mobile radio station license in the frequency bands below 470 MHz or in the 769-775/799-805 MHz, the 806-824/851-866 MHz band, or the one-way paging 929-930 MHz band (other than a commercial mobile radio service applicant or licensee on these bands) or an applicant seeking to modify or acquire through assignment or transfer an existing station below 470 MHz or in the 769-775/799-805 MHz, the 806-824/851-866 MHz band, or the one-way paging 929-930 MHz band may operate the proposed station during the pendency of its application for a period of up to 180 days under a conditional permit. Conditional operations may commence upon the filing of a properly completed application that complies with § 90.127 if the application, when frequency coordination is required, is accompanied by evidence of frequency coordination in accordance with § 90.175 of this chapter. Operation under such a permit is evidenced by the properly executed Form 601 with certifications that satisfy the requirements of § 90.159(b).
(12) An applicant for a General Mobile Radio Service system license, sharing a multiple-licensed or cooperative shared base station used as a mobile relay station, may operate the system for a period of 180 days, under a Temporary Permit, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 605.
§ 1.933   Public notices.
(a) Generally. Periodically, the Commission issues Public Notices in the Wireless Radio Services listing information of public significance. Categories of Public Notice listings are as follows:
(1) Accepted for filing. Acceptance for filing of applications and major amendments thereto.
(2) Actions. Commission actions on pending applications previously listed as accepted for filing.
(3) Environmental considerations. Special environmental considerations as required by Part 1 of this chapter.
(4) Informative listings. Information that the Commission, in its discretion, believes to be of public significance. Such listings do not create any rights to file petitions to deny or other pleadings.
(b) Accepted for filing public notices. The Commission will issue at regular intervals public notices listing applications that have been received by the Commission in a condition acceptable for filing, or which have been returned to an applicant for correction. Any application that has been listed in a public notice as acceptable for filing and is (1) subject to a major amendment, or (2) has been returned as defective or incomplete and resubmitted to the Commission, shall be listed in a subsequent public notice. Acceptance for filing shall not preclude the subsequent dismissal of an application as defective.
(c) Public notice prior to grant. Applications for authorizations, major modifications, major amendments to applications, and substantial assignment or transfer applications for the following categories of stations and services shall be placed on Public Notice as accepted for filing prior to grant:
(1) Wireless Telecommunications Services.
(2) Industrial radiopositioning stations for which frequencies are assigned on an exclusive basis.
(3) Aeronautical enroute stations.
(4) Aeronautical advisory stations.
(5) Airport control tower stations.
(6) Aeronautical fixed stations.
(7) Alaska public fixed stations.
(8) Broadband Radio Service; and
(9) Educational Broadband Service.
(d) No public notice prior to grant. The following types of applications, notices, and other filings need not be placed on Public Notice as accepted for filing prior to grant:
(1) Applications or notifications concerning minor modifications to authorizations or minor amendments to applications.
(2) Applications or notifications concerning non-substantial ( pro forma ) assignments and transfers.
(3) Consent to an involuntary assignment or transfer under section 310(b) of the Communications Act.
(4) Applications for licenses under section 319(c) of the Communications Act.
(5) Requests for extensions of time to complete construction of authorized facilities.
(6) Requests for special temporary authorization not to exceed 30 days where the applicant does not contemplate the filing of an application for regular operation, or not to exceed 60 days pending or after the filing of an application for regular operation.
(7) Requests for emergency authorizations under section 308(a) of the Communications Act.
(8) Any application for temporary authorization under section 101.31(a) of this chapter.
(9) Any application for authorization in the Private Wireless Services.
§ 1.934   Defective applications and dismissal.
(a) Dismissal of applications. The Commission may dismiss any application in the Wireless Radio Services at the request of the applicant; if the application is mutually exclusive with another application that is selected or granted in accordance with the rules in this part; for failure to prosecute or if the application is found to be defective; if the requested spectrum is not available; or if the application is untimely filed. Such dismissal may be “without prejudice,” meaning that the Commission may accept from the applicant another application for the same purpose at a later time, provided that the application is otherwise timely. Dismissal “with prejudice” means that the Commission will not accept another application from the applicant for the same purpose for a period of one year. Unless otherwise provided in this part, a dismissed application will not be returned to the applicant.
(1) Dismissal at request of applicant. Any applicant may request that its application be withdrawn or dismissed. A request for the withdrawal of an application after it has been listed on Public Notice as tentatively accepted for filing is considered to be a request for dismissal of that application without prejudice.
(i) If the applicant requests dismissal of its application with prejudice, the Commission will dismiss that application with prejudice.
(ii) If the applicant requests dismissal of its application without prejudice, the Commission will dismiss that application without prejudice, unless it is an application for which the applicant submitted the winning bid in a competitive bidding process.
(2) If an applicant who is a winning bidder for a license in a competitive bidding process requests dismissal of its short-form or long-form application, the Commission will dismiss that application with prejudice. The applicant will also be subject to default payments under Subpart Q of this part.
(b) Dismissal of mutually exclusive applications not granted. The Commission may dismiss mutually exclusive applications for which the applicant did not submit the winning bid in a competitive bidding process.
(c) Dismissal for failure to prosecute. The Commission may dismiss applications for failure of the applicant to prosecute or for failure of the applicant to respond substantially within a specified time period to official correspondence or requests for additional information. Such dismissal may be with prejudice in cases of non-compliance with § 1.945. The Commission may dismiss applications with prejudice for failure of the applicant to comply with requirements related to a competitive bidding process.
(d) Dismissal as defective. The Commission may dismiss without prejudice an application that it finds to be defective. An application is defective if:
(1) It is unsigned or incomplete with respect to required answers to questions, informational showings, or other matters of a formal character;
(2) It requests an authorization that would not comply with one or more of the Commission's rules and does not contain a request for waiver of these rule(s), or in the event the Commission denies such a waiver request, does not contain an alternative proposal that fully complies with the rules;
(3) The appropriate filing fee has not been paid; or
(4) The FCC Registration Number (FRN) has not been provided.
(5) It requests a vanity call sign and the applicant has pending another vanity call sign application with the same receipt date.
(e) Dismissal because spectrum not available. The Commission may dismiss applications that request spectrum which is unavailable because:
(1) It is not allocated for assignment in the specific service requested;
(2) It was previously assigned to another licensee on an exclusive basis or cannot be assigned to the applicant without causing harmful interference; or
(3) Reasonable efforts have been made to coordinate the proposed facility with foreign administrations under applicable international agreements, and an unfavorable response (harmful interference anticipated) has been received.
(f) Dismissal as untimely. The Commission may dismiss without prejudice applications that are premature or late filed, including applications filed prior to the opening date or after the closing date of a filing window, or after the cut-off date for a mutually exclusive application filing group.
(g) Dismissal for failure to pursue environmental review. The Commission may dismiss license applications (FCC Form 601) associated with proposed antenna structure(s) subject to § 17.4(c) of this chapter, if pending more than 60 days and awaiting submission of an Environmental Assessment or other environmental information from the applicant, unless the applicant has provided an affirmative statement reflecting active pursuit during the previous 60 days of environmental review for the proposed antenna structure(s). To avoid potential dismissal of its license application, the license applicant must provide updates every 60 days unless or until the applicant has submitted the material requested by the Bureau.
§ 1.935   Agreements to dismiss applications, amendments or pleadings.
Parties that have filed applications that are mutually exclusive with one or more other applications, and then enter into an agreement to resolve the mutual exclusivity by withdrawing or requesting dismissal of the application(s), specific frequencies on the application or an amendment thereto, must obtain the approval of the Commission. Parties that have filed or threatened to file a petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading against an application and then seek to withdraw or request dismissal of, or refrain from filing, the petition, either unilaterally or in exchange for a financial consideration, must obtain the approval of the Commission.
(a) The party withdrawing or requesting dismissal of its application (or specific frequencies on the application), petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading or refraining from filing a pleading must submit to the Commission a request for approval of the withdrawal or dismissal, a copy of any written agreement related to the withdrawal or dismissal, and an affidavit setting forth:
(1) A certification that neither the party nor its principals has received or will receive any money or other consideration in excess of the legitimate and prudent expenses incurred in preparing and prosecuting the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading in exchange for the withdrawal or dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading, or threat to file a pleading, except that this provision does not apply to dismissal or withdrawal of applications pursuant to bona fide merger agreements;
(2) The exact nature and amount of any consideration received or promised;
(3) An itemized accounting of the expenses for which it seeks reimbursement; and
(4) The terms of any oral agreement related to the withdrawal or dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading, or threat to file a pleading.
(b) In addition, within 5 days of the filing date of the applicant's or petitioner's request for approval, each remaining party to any written or oral agreement must submit an affidavit setting forth:
(1) A certification that neither the applicant nor its principals has paid or will pay money or other consideration in excess of the legitimate and prudent expenses of the petitioner in exchange for withdrawing or dismissing the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading; and
(2) The terms of any oral agreement relating to the withdrawal or dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading.
(c) No person shall make or receive any payments in exchange for withdrawing a threat to file or refraining from filing a petition to deny, informal objection, or any other pleading against an application. For the purposes of this section, reimbursement by an applicant of the legitimate and prudent expenses of a potential petitioner or objector, incurred reasonably and directly in preparing to file a petition to deny, will not be considered to be payment for refraining from filing a petition to deny or an informal objection. Payments made directly to a potential petitioner or objector, or a person related to a potential petitioner or objector, to implement non-financial promises are prohibited unless specifically approved by the Commission.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) Affidavits filed pursuant to this section must be executed by the filing party, if an individual; a partner having personal knowledge of the facts, if a partnership; or an officer having personal knowledge of the facts, if a corporation or association.
(2) Each application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading is deemed to be pending before the Commission from the time the petition to deny is filed with the Commission until such time as an order or correspondence of the Commission granting, denying or dismissing it is no longer subject to reconsideration by the Commission or to review by any court.
(3) “Legitimate and prudent expenses” are those expenses reasonably incurred by a party in preparing to file, filing, prosecuting and/or settling its application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading for which reimbursement is sought.
(4) “Other consideration” consists of financial concessions, including, but not limited to, the transfer of assets or the provision of tangible pecuniary benefit, as well as non-financial concessions that confer any type of benefit on the recipient.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any payments made or received in exchange for withdrawing a short-form application for a Commission authorization awarded through competitive bidding shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in § 1.2105(c) of this chapter.
§ 1.937   Repetitious or conflicting applications.
(a) Where the Commission has, for any reason, dismissed with prejudice or denied any license application in the Wireless Radio Services, or revoked any such license, the Commission will not consider a like or new application involving service of the same kind to substantially the same area by substantially the same applicant, its successor or assignee, or on behalf of or for the benefit of the original parties in interest, until after the lapse of 12 months from the effective date of final Commission action.
(b) [Reserved]
(c) If an appeal has been taken from the action of the Commission dismissing with prejudice or denying any application in the Wireless Radio Services, or if the application is subsequently designated for hearing, a like application for service of the same type to the same area, in whole or in part, filed by that applicant or by its successor or assignee, or on behalf or for the benefit of the parties in interest to the original application, will not be considered until the final disposition of such appeal.
(d) While an application is pending, any subsequent inconsistent or conflicting application submitted by, on behalf of, or for the benefit of the same applicant, its successor or assignee will not be accepted for filing.
§ 1.939   Petitions to deny.
(a) Who may file. Any party in interest may file with the Commission a petition to deny any application listed in a Public Notice as accepted for filing, whether as filed originally or upon major amendment as defined in § 1.929 of this part.
(1) For auctionable license applications, petitions to deny and related pleadings are governed by the procedures set forth in § 1.2108 of this part.
(2) Petitions to deny for non-auctionable applications that are subject to petitions under § 309(d) of the Communications Act must comply with the provisions of this section and must be filed no later than 30 days after the date of the Public Notice listing the application or major amendment to the application as accepted for filing.
(b) Filing of petitions. Petitions to deny and related pleadings must be filed electronically via ULS. Petitions to deny and related pleadings must reference the file number of the pending application that is the subject of the petition.
(c) Service. A petitioner shall serve a copy of its petition to deny on the applicant and on all other interested parties pursuant to § 1.47. Oppositions and replies shall be served on the petitioner and all other interested parties.
(d) Content. A petition to deny must contain specific allegations of fact sufficient to make a prima facie showing that the petitioner is a party in interest and that a grant of the application would be inconsistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. Such allegations of fact, except for those of which official notice may be taken, shall be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof.
(e) Petitions to deny amended applications. Petitions to deny a major amendment to an application may raise only matters directly related to the major amendment that could not have been raised in connection with the application as originally filed. This paragraph does not apply to petitioners who gain standing because of the major amendment.
(f) Oppositions and replies. The applicant and any other interested party may file an opposition to any petition to deny and the petitioner may file a reply thereto in which allegations of fact or denials thereof, except for those of which official notice may be taken, shall be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof. Time for filing of oppositions and replies is governed by § 1.45 of this part for non-auctionable services and § 1.2108 of this part for auctionable services.
(g) Dismissal of petition. The Commission may dismiss any petition to deny that does not comply with the requirements of this section if the issues raised become moot, or if the petitioner or his/her attorney fails to appear at a settlement conference pursuant to § 1.956 of this part. The reasons for the dismissal will be stated in the dismissal letter or order. When a petition to deny is dismissed, any related responsive pleadings are also dismissed
(h) Grant of petitioned application. If a petition to deny has been filed and the Commission grants the application, the Commission will dismiss or deny the petition by issuing a concise statement of the reason(s) for dismissing or denying the petition, disposing of all substantive issues raised in the petition.
§ 1.945   License grants.
(a) License grants—auctionable license applications. Procedures for grant of licenses that are subject to competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications Act are set forth in §§ 1.2108 and 1.2109 of this part.
(b) License grants—non-auctionable license applications. No application that is not subject to competitive bidding under § 309(j) of the Communications Act will be granted by the Commission prior to the 31st day following the issuance of a Public Notice of the acceptance for filing of such application or of any substantial amendment thereof, unless the application is not subject to § 309(b) of the Communications Act.
(c) Grant without hearing. In the case of both auctionable license applications and non-mutually exclusive non-auctionable license applications, the Commission will grant the application without a hearing if it is proper upon its face and if the Commission finds from an examination of such application and supporting data, any pleading filed, or other matters which it may officially notice, that:
(1) There are no substantial and material questions of fact;
(2) The applicant is legally, technically, financially, and otherwise qualified;
(3) A grant of the application would not involve modification, revocation, or non-renewal of any other existing license;
(4) A grant of the application would not preclude the grant of any mutually exclusive application; and
(5) A grant of the application would serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity.
(d) Grant of petitioned applications. The FCC may grant, without a formal hearing, an application against which petition(s) to deny have been filed. If any petition(s) to deny are pending ( i.e. , have not been dismissed or withdrawn by the petitioner) when an application is granted, the FCC will deny the petition(s) and issue a concise statement of the reason(s) for the denial, disposing of all substantive issues raised in the petitions.
(e) Partial and conditional grants. The FCC may grant applications in part, and/or subject to conditions other than those normally applied to authorizations of the same type. When the FCC does this, it will inform the applicant of the reasons therefor. Such partial or conditional grants are final unless the FCC revises its action in response to a petition for reconsideration. Such petitions for reconsideration must be filed by the applicant within thirty days after the date of the letter or order stating the reasons for the partial or conditional grant, and must reject the partial or conditional grant and return the instrument of authorization.
(f) Designation for hearing. If the Commission is unable to make the findings prescribed in subparagraph (c), it will formally designate the application for hearing on the grounds or reasons then obtaining and will notify the applicant and all other known parties in interest of such action.
(1) Orders designating applications for hearing will specify with particularity the matters in issue.
(2) Parties in interest, if any, who are not notified by the Commission of its action in designating a particular application for hearing may acquire the status of a party to the proceeding by filing a petition for intervention showing the basis of their interest not more than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register of the hearing issues or any substantial amendment thereto.
(3) The applicant and all other parties in interest shall be permitted to participate in any hearing subsequently held upon such applications. Hearings may be conducted by the Commission or by the Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, or, in the case of a question which requires oral testimony for its resolution, an Administrative Law Judge. The burden of proceeding with the introduction of evidence and burden of proof shall be upon the applicant, except that with respect to any issue presented by a petition to deny or a petition to enlarge the issues, such burdens shall be as determined by the Commission or the Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
§ 1.946   Construction and coverage requirements.
(a) Construction and commencement of service requirements. For each of the Wireless Radio Services, requirements for construction and commencement of service or commencement of operations are set forth in the rule part governing the specific service. For purposes of this section, the period between the date of grant of an authorization and the date of required commencement of service or operations is referred to as the construction period.
(b) Coverage and substantial service requirements. In certain Wireless Radio Services, licensees must comply with geographic coverage requirements or substantial service requirements within a specified time period. These requirements are set forth in the rule part governing each specific service. For purposes of this section, the period between the date of grant of an authorization and the date that a particular degree of coverage or substantial service is required is referred to as the coverage period.
(c) Termination of authorizations. If a licensee fails to commence service or operations by the expiration of its construction period or to meet its coverage or substantial service obligations by the expiration of its coverage period, its authorization terminates automatically (in whole or in part as set forth in the service rules), without specific Commission action, on the date the construction or coverage period expires.
(d) Licensee notification of compliance. A licensee who commences service or operations within the construction period or meets its coverage or substantial services obligations within the coverage period must notify the Commission by filing FCC Form 601. The notification must be filed within 15 days of the expiration of the applicable construction or coverage period. Where the authorization is site-specific, if service or operations have begun using some, but not all, of the authorized transmitters, the notification must show to which specific transmitters it applies.
(e) Requests for extension of time. Licensees may request to extend a construction period or coverage period by filing FCC Form 601. The request must be filed before the expiration of the construction or coverage period.
(1) An extension request may be granted if the licensee shows that failure to meet the construction or coverage deadline is due to involuntary loss of site or other causes beyond its control.
(2) Extension requests will not be granted for failure to meet a construction or coverage deadline due to delays caused by a failure to obtain financing, to obtain an antenna site, or to order equipment in a timely manner. If the licensee orders equipment within 90 days of its initial license grant, a presumption of diligence is established.
(3) Extension requests will not be granted for failure to meet a construction or coverage deadline because the licensee undergoes a transfer of control or because the licensee intends to assign the authorization. The Commission will not grant extension requests solely to allow a transferee or assignee to complete facilities that the transferor or assignor failed to construct.
(4) The filing of an extension request does not automatically extend the construction or coverage period unless the request is based on involuntary loss of site or other circumstances beyond the licensee's control, in which case the construction period is automatically extended pending disposition of the extension request.
(5) A request for extension of time to construct a particular transmitter or other facility does not extend the construction period for other transmitters and facilities under the same authorization.
§ 1.947   Modification of licenses.
(a) All major modifications, as defined in § 1.929 of this part, require prior Commission approval. Applications for major modifications also shall be treated as new applications for determination of filing date, Public Notice, and petition to deny purposes.
(b) Licensees may make minor modifications to station authorizations, as defined in § 1.929 (other than pro forma transfers and assignments), as a matter of right without prior Commission approval. Where other rules in this part permit licensees to make permissive changes to technical parameters without notifying the Commission ( e.g., adding, modifying, or deleting internal sites), no notification is required. For all other types of minor modifications ( e.g., name, email or physical mailing address, point of contact changes), licensees must notify the Commission by filing FCC Form 601 within thirty (30) days of implementing any such changes.
(c) Multiple pending modification applications requesting changes to the same or related technical parameters on an authorization are not permitted. If a modification application is pending, any additional changes to the same or related technical parameters may be requested only in an amendment to the pending modification application.
(d) Any proposed modification that requires a fee as set forth at part 1, subpart G, of this chapter must be filed in accordance with § 1.913.
§ 1.948   Assignment of authorization or transfer of control, notification of consummation.
(a) General. Except as provided in this section, authorizations in the Wireless Radio Services may be assigned by the licensee to another party, voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, or the control of a licensee holding such authorizations may be transferred, only upon application to and approval by the Commission.
(b) Limitations on transfers and assignments. (1) A change from less than 50% ownership to 50% or more ownership shall always be considered a transfer of control.
(2) In other situations a controlling interest shall be determined on a case-by-case basis considering the distribution of ownership, and the relationships of the owners, including family relationships.
(3) Designated Entities, as defined in § 1.2110(a) of this part, must comply with §§ 1.2110 and 1.2111 of this part when seeking to assign or transfer control of an authorization.
(4) Stations must meet all applicable requirements regarding transfers and assignments contained in the rules pertaining to the specific service in which the station is licensed.
(5) Licenses, permits, and authorizations for stations in the Amateur, Commercial Operator and Personal Radio Services (except 218-219 MHz Service) may not be assigned or transferred, unless otherwise stated.
(c) Application required. In the case of an assignment of authorization or transfer of control, the assignor must file an application for approval of the assignment on FCC Form 603. If the assignee or transferee is subject to the ownership reporting requirements of § 1.2112, the assignee or transferee must also file an updated FCC Form 602 or certify that a current FCC Form 602 is on file.
(1) In the case of a non-substantial ( pro forma ) transfer or assignment involving a telecommunications carrier, as defined in § 153(44) of the Communications Act, filing of the Form 603 and Commission approval in advance of the proposed transaction is not required, provided that:
(i) the affected license is not subject to unjust enrichment provisions under subpart Q of this part;
(ii) the transfer or assignment does not involve a proxy contest; and
(iii) the transferee or assignee provides notice of the transaction by filing FCC Form 603 within 30 days of its completion, and provides any necessary updates of ownership information on FCC Form 602.
(2) In the case of an involuntary assignment or transfer, FCC Form 603 must be filed no later than 30 days after the event causing the involuntary assignment or transfer.
(d) Notification of consummation. In all Wireless Radio Services, licensees are required to notify the Commission of consummation of an approved transfer or assignment using FCC Form 603. The assignee or transferee is responsible for providing this notification, including the date the transaction was consummated. For transfers and assignments that require prior Commission approval, the transaction must be consummated and notification provided to the Commission within 180 days of public notice of approval, and notification of consummation must occur no later than 30 days after actual consummation, unless a request for an extension of time to consummate is filed on FCC Form 603 prior to the expiration of this 180-day period. For transfers and assignments that do not require prior Commission approval, notification of consummation must be provided on FCC Form 603 no later than 30 days after consummation, along with any necessary updates of ownership information on FCC Form 602.
(e) Partial assignment of authorization. If the authorization for some, but not all, of the facilities of a radio station in the Wireless Radio Services is assigned to another party, voluntarily or involuntarily, such action is a partial assignment of authorization. To request Commission approval of a partial assignment of authorization, the assignor must notify the Commission on FCC Form 603 of the facilities that will be deleted from its authorization upon consummation of the assignment.
(f) Partitioning and disaggregation. Where a licensee proposes to partition or disaggregate a portion of its authorization to another party, the application will be treated as a request for partial assignment of authorization. The assignor must notify the Commission on FCC Form 603 of the geographic area or spectrum that will be deleted from its authorization upon consummation of the assignment.
(g) Involuntary transfer and assignment. In the event of the death or legal disability of a permittee or licensee, a member of a partnership, or a person directly or indirectly in control of a corporation which is a permittee or licensee, the Commission shall be notified promptly of the occurrence of such death or legal disability. Within 30 days after the occurrence of such death or legal disability (except in the case of a ship or amateur station), an application shall be filed for consent to involuntary assignment of such permit or license, or for involuntary transfer of control of such corporation, to a person or entity legally qualified to succeed to the foregoing interests under the laws of the place having jurisdiction over the estate involved. The procedures and forms to be used are the same procedures and forms as those specified in paragraph (b) of this section. In the case of Ship, aircraft, Commercial Operator, Amateur, and Personal Radio Services (except for 218-219 MHz Service) involuntary assignment of licenses will not be granted; such licenses shall be surrendered for cancellation upon the death or legal disability of the licensee. Amateur station call signs assigned to the station of a deceased licensee shall be available for reassignment pursuant to § 97.19 of this chapter.
(h) Disclosure requirements. Applicants for transfer or assignment of licenses in auctionable services must comply with the disclosure requirements of §§ 1.2111 and 1.2112 of this part.
(i) Trafficking. Applications for approval of assignment or transfer may be reviewed by the Commission to determine if the transaction is for purposes of trafficking in service authorizations.
(1) Trafficking consists of obtaining or attempting to obtain an authorization for the principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale of the authorization rather than for the provision of telecommunication services to the public or for the licensee's own private use.
(2) The Commission may require submission of an affirmative, factual showing, supported by affidavit of persons with personal knowledge thereof, to demonstrate that the assignor did not acquire the authorization for the principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale of the authorization. This showing may include, for example, a demonstration that the proposed assignment is due to changed circumstances (described in detail) affecting the licensee after the grant of the authorization, or that the proposed assignment is incidental to a sale of other facilities or a merger of interests.
(j) Processing of applications. Applications for assignment of authorization or transfer of control relating to the Wireless Radio Services will be processed pursuant either to general approval procedures or the immediate approval procedures, as discussed in this paragraph (j).
(1) General approval procedures. Applications will be processed pursuant to the general approval procedures set forth in this paragraph unless they are submitted and qualify for the immediate approval procedures set forth in paragraph (j)(2) of this section.
(i) To be accepted for filing under these general approval procedures, the application must be sufficiently complete and contain all necessary information and certifications requested on the applicable form, FCC Form 603, including any information and certifications (including those of the proposed assignee or transferee relating to eligibility, basic qualifications, and foreign ownership) required by the rules of this chapter and any rules pertaining to the specific service for which the application is filed, and must include payment of the required application fee(s) (see § 1.1102).
(ii) Once accepted for filing, the application will be placed on public notice, except no prior public notice will be required for applications involving authorizations in the Private Wireless Services, as specified in § 1.933(d)(9).
(iii) Petitions to deny filed in accordance with section 309(d) of the Communications Act must comply with the provisions of § 1.939, except that such petitions must be filed no later than 14 days following the date of the public notice listing the application as accepted for filing.
(iv) No later than 21 days following the date of the public notice listing an application as accepted for filing, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine to subject the application to further review. For applications for which no prior public notice is required, the Bureau will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine to subject the application to further review no later than 21 days following the date on which the application has been filed, if filed electronically, and any required application fee has been paid (see § 1.1102); if filed manually, the Bureau will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine to subject the application to further review no later than 21 days after the necessary data in the manually filed application is entered into ULS.
(v) If the Bureau determines to subject the application to further review, it will issue a public notice so indicating. Within 90 days following the date of that public notice, the Bureau will either take action upon the application or provide public notice that an additional 90-day period for review is needed.
(vi) Consent to the application is not deemed granted until the Bureau affirmatively acts upon the application.
(vii) Grant of consent to the application will be reflected in a public notice (see § 1.933(a)) promptly issued after the grant.
(viii) If any petition to deny is filed, and the Bureau grants the application, the Bureau will deny the petition(s) and issue a concise statement of the reason(s) for denial, disposing of all substantive issues raised in the petition(s).
(2) Immediate approval procedures. Applications that meet the requirements of paragraph (j)(2)(i) of this section qualify for the immediate approval procedures.
(i) To qualify for the immediate approval procedures, the application must be sufficiently complete, contain all necessary information and certifications (including those relating to eligibility, basic qualifications, and foreign ownership), and include payment of the requisite application fee(s), as required for an application processed under the general approval procedures set forth in paragraph (j)(1) of this section, and also must establish, through certifications, that the following additional qualifications are met:
(A) The license does not involve spectrum licensed in a Wireless Radio Service that may be used to provide interconnected mobile voice and/or data services under the applicable service rules and that would, if assigned or transferred, create a geographic overlap with spectrum in any licensed Wireless Radio Service (including the same service) in which the proposed assignee or transferee already holds a direct or indirect interest of 10% or more (see § 1.2112), either as a licensee or a spectrum lessee, and that could be used by the assignee or transferee to provide interconnected mobile voice and/or data services;
(B) The licensee is not a designated entity or entrepreneur subject to unjust enrichment requirements and/or transfer restrictions under applicable Commission rules (see §§ 1.2110, and 1.2111 and §§ 24.709, 24.714, and 24.839 of this chapter);
(C) The assignment or transfer of control does not require a waiver of, or declaratory ruling pertaining to, any applicable Commission rules in this chapter, and there is no pending issue as to whether the license is subject to revocation, cancellation, or termination by the Commission; and
(D) The assignment application does not involve a transaction in the Enhanced Competition Incentive Program (see subpart EE of this part).
(ii) Provided that the application establishes that it meets all of the requisite elements to qualify for these immediate approval procedures, consent to the assignment or transfer of control will be reflected in ULS. If the application is filed electronically, consent will be reflected in ULS on the next business day after the filing of the application; if filed manually, consent will be reflected in ULS on the next business day after the necessary data in the manually filed application is entered into ULS. Consent to the application is not deemed granted until the Bureau affirmatively acts upon the application.
(iii) Grant of consent to the application under these immediate approval procedures will be reflected in a public notice (see § 1.933(a)) promptly issued after the grant, and is subject to reconsideration (see §§ 1.106(f), 1.108, and 1.113).
§ 1.949   Application for renewal of authorization.
(a) Filing requirements. Applications for renewal of authorizations in the Wireless Radio Services must be filed no later than the expiration date of the authorization, and no sooner than 90 days prior to the expiration date. Renewal applications must be filed on the same form as applications for initial authorization in the same service, i.e., FCC Form 601 or 605.
(b) Common expiration date. Licensees with multiple authorizations in the same service may request a common date on which such authorizations expire for renewal purposes. License terms may be shortened by up to one year but will not be extended.
(c) Implementation. Covered Site-based Licenses, except Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service (part 101, subpart I, of this chapter), and Covered Geographic Licenses in the 600 MHz Service (part 27, subpart N, of this chapter); 700 MHz Commercial Services (part 27, subpart F); Advanced Wireless Services (part 27, subpart L) (AWS-3 (1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz) and AWS-4 (2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz) only); Citizens Broadband Radio Service (part 96, subpart C, of this chapter); and H Block Service (part 27, subpart K) must comply with paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section. All other Covered Geographic Licenses must comply with paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section beginning on January 1, 2023. Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service (part 101, subpart I) must comply with paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section beginning on October 1, 2018.
(d) Renewal Standard. An applicant for renewal of an authorization of a Covered Site-based License or a Covered Geographic License must demonstrate that over the course of the license term, the licensee(s) provided and continue to provide service to the public, or operated and continue to operate the license to meet the licensee(s)' private, internal communications needs.
(e) Safe harbors. An applicant for renewal will meet the Renewal Standard if it can certify that it has satisfied the requirements of one of the following safe harbors:
(1) Covered Site-based Licenses. (i) The applicant must certify that it is continuing to operate consistent with its most recently filed construction notification (or most recent authorization, when no construction notification is required).
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of service occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Site-based License.
(2) Geographic licenses—commercial service. (i) For an applicant in its initial license term with an interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its interim performance requirement and that over the portion of the license term following the interim performance requirement, the applicant continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its interim performance requirement; and the licensee has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in its initial license term with no interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in any subsequent license term, the applicant must certify that it continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its final performance requirement through the end of any subsequent license terms.
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of service occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Geographic License.
(3) Geographic licenses—private systems. (i) For an applicant in its initial license term with an interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its interim performance requirement and that over the portion of the license term following the interim performance requirement, the applicant continues to use its facilities to further the applicant's private business or public interest/public safety needs at or above the level required to meet its interim performance requirement; and the applicant has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of operation required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in its initial license term with no interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of operation required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in any subsequent license term, the applicant must certify that it continues to use its facilities to further the applicant's private business or public interest/public safety needs at or above the level required to meet its final performance requirement.
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of operation occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Geographic License.
(4) Partitioned or disaggregated license without a performance requirement. (i) The applicant must certify that it continues to use its facilities to provide service or to further the applicant's private business or public interest/public safety needs.
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of service occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Geographic License.
(f) Renewal Showing. If an applicant for renewal cannot meet the Renewal Standard in paragraph (d) of this section by satisfying the requirements of one of the safe harbors in paragraph (e) of this section, it must make a Renewal Showing, independent of its performance requirements, as a condition of renewal. The Renewal Showing must specifically address the Renewal Standard by including a detailed description of the applicant's provision of service (or, when allowed under the relevant service rules or pursuant to waiver, use of the spectrum for private, internal communication) during the entire license period and address, as applicable:
(1) The level and quality of service provided by the applicant ( e.g., the population served, the area served, the number of subscribers, the services offered);
(2) The date service commenced, whether service was ever interrupted, and the duration of any interruption or outage;
(3) The extent to which service is provided to rural areas;
(4) The extent to which service is provided to qualifying tribal land as defined in § 1.2110(e)(3)(i) of this chapter; and
(5) Any other factors associated with the level of service to the public.
(g) Regulatory Compliance Certification. An applicant for renewal of an authorization in the Wireless Radio Services identified in paragraph (d) of this section must make a Regulatory Compliance Certification certifying that it has substantially complied with all applicable FCC rules, policies, and the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
(h) Consequences of denial. If the Commission, or the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau acting under delegated authority, finds that a licensee has not met the Renewal Standard under paragraph (d) of this section, or that its Regulatory Compliance Certification under paragraph (g) of this section is insufficient, its renewal application will be denied, and its licensed spectrum will return automatically to the Commission for reassignment (by auction or other mechanism). In the case of certain services licensed site-by-site, the spectrum will revert automatically to the holder of the related overlay geographic-area license. To the extent that an AWS-4 licensee also holds the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) rights for the affected license area, the MSS protection rule in § 27.1136 of this chapter will no longer apply in that license area.
§ 1.950   Geographic partitioning and spectrum disaggregation.
(a) Definitions. The terms “county and county equivalent,” “geographic partitioning,” and “spectrum disaggregation” as used in this section are defined as follows:
(1) County and county equivalent. The terms county and county equivalent as used in this part are defined by Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 6-4, which provides the names and codes that represent the counties and other entities treated as equivalent legal and/or statistical subdivisions of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions and freely associated areas of the United States. Counties are the “first-order subdivisions” of each State and statistically equivalent entity, regardless of their local designations (county, parish, borough, etc.). Thus, the following entities are equivalent to counties for legal and/or statistical purposes: The parishes of Louisiana; the boroughs and census areas of Alaska; the District of Columbia; the independent cities of Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; that part of Yellowstone National Park in Montana; and various entities in the possessions and associated areas. The FIPS codes and FIPS code documentation are available online at http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/index.htm .
(2) Geographic partitioning. Geographic partitioning is the assignment of a geographic portion of a geographic area licensee's license area.
(3) Spectrum disaggregation. Spectrum disaggregation is the assignment of portions of blocks of a geographic area licensee's spectrum.
(b) Eligibility. Covered Geographic Licenses are eligible for geographic partitioning and spectrum disaggregation.
(1) Geographic partitioning. An eligible licensee may partition any geographic portion of its license area, at any time following grant of its license, subject to the following exceptions:
(i) 220 MHz Service licensees must comply with § 90.1019 of this chapter.
(ii) Cellular Radiotelephone Service licensees must comply with § 22.948 of this chapter.
(iii) Multichannel Video & Distribution and Data Service licensees are only permitted to partition licensed geographic areas along county borders (Parishes in Louisiana or Territories in Alaska).
(2) Spectrum disaggregation. An eligible licensee may disaggregate spectrum in any amount, at any time following grant of its license to eligible entities, subject to the following exceptions:
(i) 220 MHz Service licensees must comply with § 90.1019 of this chapter.
(ii) Cellular Radiotelephone Service licensees must comply with § 22.948 of this chapter.
(iii) VHF Public Coast (156-162 MHz) spectrum may only be disaggregated in frequency pairs, except that the ship and coast transmit frequencies comprising Channel 87 (see § 80.371(c) of this chapter) may be disaggregated separately.
(iv) Disaggregation is not permitted in the Multichannel Video & Distribution and Data Service 12.2-12.7 GHz band.
(c) Filing requirements. Parties seeking approval for geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both must apply for a partial assignment of authorization by filing FCC Form 603 pursuant to § 1.948. Each request for geographic partitioning must include an attachment defining the perimeter of the partitioned area by geographic coordinates to the nearest second of latitude and longitude, based upon the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83). Alternatively, applicants may specify an FCC-recognized service area ( e.g., Basic Trading Area, Economic Area, Major Trading Area, Metropolitan Service Area, or Rural Service Area), county, or county equivalent, in which case, applicants need only list the specific FCC-recognized service area, county, or county equivalent names comprising the partitioned area.
(d) Relocation of incumbent licensees. Applicants for geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both must, if applicable, include a certification with their partial assignment of authorization application stating which party will meet any incumbent relocation requirements, except as otherwise stated in service-specific rules.
(e) License term. The license term for a partitioned license area or disaggregated spectrum license is the remainder of the original licensee's license term.
(f) Frequency coordination. Any existing frequency coordination agreements convey with the partial assignment of authorization for geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both, and shall remain in effect for the term of the agreement unless new agreements are reached.
(g) Performance requirements. Parties to geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both, have two options to satisfy service-specific performance requirements ( i.e., construction and operation requirements). Under the first option, each party may certify that it will individually satisfy any service-specific requirements and, upon failure, must individually face any service-specific performance penalties. Under the second option, both parties may agree to share responsibility for any service-specific requirements. Upon failure to meet their shared service-specific performance requirements, both parties will be subject to any service-specific penalties.
(h) Unjust enrichment. Licensees making installment payments or that received a bidding credit, that partition their licenses or disaggregate their spectrum to entities that do not meet the eligibility standards for installment payments or bidding credits, are subject to the unjust enrichment requirements of § 1.2111.
§ 1.951   Duty to respond to official communications.
Licensees or applicants in the Wireless Radio Services receiving official notice of an apparent or actual violation of a federal statute, international agreement, Executive Order, or regulation pertaining to communications shall respond in writing within 10 days to the office of the FCC originating the notice, unless otherwise specified. Responses to official communications must be complete and self-contained without reference to other communications unless copies of such other communications are attached to the response. Licensees or applicants may respond via ULS.
§ 1.953   Discontinuance of service or operations.
(a) Termination of authorization. A licensee's authorization will automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, if the licensee permanently discontinues service or operations under the license during the license term. A licensee is subject to this provision commencing on the date it is required to be providing service or operating.
(b) 180-day Rule for Geographic Licenses. Permanent discontinuance of service or operations for Covered Geographic Licenses is defined as 180 consecutive days during which a licensee does not operate or, in the case of commercial mobile radio service providers, does not provide service to at least one subscriber that is not affiliated with, controlled by, or related to the licensee.
(c) 365-day Rule for Site-based Licenses. Permanent discontinuance of service or operations for Covered Site-based Licenses is defined as 365 consecutive days during which a licensee does not operate or, in the case of commercial mobile radio service providers, does not provide service to at least one subscriber that is not affiliated with, controlled by, or related to the providing carrier.
(d) 365-day Rule for public safety licenses. Permanent discontinuance of operations is defined as 365 consecutive days during which a licensee does not operate. This 365-day rule applies to public safety licenses issued based on the applicant demonstrating eligibility under § 90.20 or § 90.529 of this chapter, or public safety licenses issued in conjunction with a waiver pursuant to section 337 of the Communications Act.
(e) Channel keepers. Operation of channel keepers (devices that transmit test signals, tones, color bars, or some combination of these, for example) does not constitute operation or service for the purposes of this section.
(f) Filing requirements. A licensee that permanently discontinues service as defined in this section must notify the Commission of the discontinuance within 10 days by filing FCC Form 601 or 605 requesting license cancellation. An authorization will automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, if service or operations are permanently discontinued as defined in this section, even if a licensee fails to file the required form requesting license cancellation.
(g) Extension request. A licensee may file a request for a longer discontinuance period for good cause. An extension request must be filed at least 30 days before the end of the applicable 180-day or 365-day discontinuance period. The filing of an extension request will automatically extend the discontinuance period a minimum of the later of an additional 30 days or the date upon which the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau acts on the request.
§ 1.955   Termination of authorizations.
(a) Authorizations in general remain valid until terminated in accordance with this section, except that the Commission may revoke an authorization pursuant to section 312 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. See 47 U.S.C. 312.
(1) Expiration. Authorizations automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, on the expiration date specified therein, unless a timely application for renewal is filed. See § 1.949 of this part. No authorization granted under the provisions of this part shall be for a term longer than ten years, except to the extent a longer term is authorized under § 27.13 of part 27 of this chapter.
(2) Failure to meet construction or coverage requirements. Authorizations automatically terminate (in whole or in part as set forth in the service rules), without specific Commission action, if the licensee fails to meet applicable construction or coverage requirements. See § 1.946(c).
(3) Service discontinued. Authorizations automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, if service or operations are permanently discontinued. See § 1.953.
(b) Special temporary authority (STA) automatically terminates without specific Commission action upon failure to comply with the terms and conditions therein, or at the end of the period specified therein, unless a timely request for an extension of the STA term is filed in accordance with § 1.931 of this part. If a timely filed request for extension of the STA term is dismissed or denied, the STA automatically terminates, without specific Commission action, on the day after the applicant or the applicant's attorney is notified of the Commission's action dismissing or denying the request for extension.
(c) Authorizations submitted by licensees for cancellation terminate when the Commission gives Public Notice of such action.
§ 1.956   Settlement conferences.
Parties are encouraged to use alternative dispute resolution procedures to settle disputes. See subpart E of this part. In any contested proceeding, the Commission, in its discretion, may direct the parties or their attorneys to appear before it for a conference.
(a) The purposes of such conferences are:
(1) To obtain admissions of fact or stipulations between the parties as to any or all of the matters in controversy;
(2) To consider the necessity for or desirability of amendments to the pleadings, or of additional pleadings or evidentiary submissions;
(3) To consider simplification or narrowing of the issues;
(4) To encourage settlement of the matters in controversy by agreement between the parties; and
(5) To consider other matters that may aid in the resolution of the contested proceeding.
(b) Conferences are scheduled by the Commission at a time and place it may designate, to be conducted in person or by telephone conference call.
(c) The failure of any party or attorney, following reasonable notice, to appear at a scheduled conference will be deemed a failure to prosecute, subjecting that party's application or petition to dismissal by the Commission.
§ 1.957   Procedure with respect to amateur radio operator license.
Each candidate for an amateur radio license which requires the applicant to pass one or more examination elements must present the Volunteer Examiners (VEs) with a properly completed FCC Form 605 prior to the examination. Upon completion of the examination, the VEs will grade the test papers. If the applicant is successful, the VEs will forward the candidate's application to a Volunteer-Examiner Coordinator (VEC). The VEs will then issue a certificate for sucessful completion of an amateur radio operator examination. The VEC will forward the application to the Commission's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, facility.
§ 1.958   Distance computation.
The method given in this section must be used to compute the distance between any two locations, except that, for computation of distance involving stations in Canada and Mexico, methods for distance computation specified in the applicable international agreement, if any, must be used instead. The result of a distance calculation under parts 21 and 101 of this chapter must be rounded to the nearest tenth of a kilometer. The method set forth in this paragraph is considered to be sufficiently accurate for distances not exceeding 475 km (295 miles).
(a) Convert the latitudes and longitudes of each reference point from degree-minute-second format to degree-decimal format by dividing minutes by 60 and seconds by 3600, then adding the results to degrees.
(b) Calculate the mean geodetic latitude between the two reference points by averaging the two latitudes:
(c) Calculate the number of kilometers per degree latitude difference for the mean geodetic latitude calculated in paragraph (b) of this section as follows:
(d) Calculate the number of kilometers per degree of longitude difference for the mean geodetic latitude calculated in paragraph (b) of this section as follows:
(e) Calculate the North-South distance in kilometers as follows:
(f) Calculate the East-West distance in kilometers as follows:
(g) Calculate the distance between the locations by taking the square root of the sum of the squares of the East-West and North-South distances:
(h) Terms used in this section are defined as follows:
(1) LAT1 dd and LON1 dd are the coordinates of the first location in degree-decimal format.
(2) LAT2 dd and LON2 dd are the coordinates of the second location in degree-decimal format.
(3) ML is the mean geodetic latitude in degree-decimal format.
(4) KPD lat is the number of kilometers per degree of latitude at a given mean geodetic latitude.
(5) KPD lon is the number of kilometers per degree of longitude at a given mean geodetic latitude.
(6) NS is the North-South distance in kilometers.
(7) EW is the East-West distance in kilometers.
(8) DIST is the distance between the two locations, in kilometers.
§ 1.959   Computation of average terrain elevation.
Except as otherwise specified in § 90.309(a)(4) of this chapter, average terrain elevation must be calculated by computer using elevations from a 30 second point or better topographic data file. The file must be identified. If a 30 second point data file is used, the elevation data must be processed for intermediate points using interpolation techniques; otherwise, the nearest point may be used. In cases of dispute, average terrain elevation determinations can also be done manually, if the results differ significantly from the computer derived averages.
(a) Radial average terrain elevation is calculated as the average of the elevation along a straight line path from 3 to 16 kilometers (2 and 10 miles) extending radially from the antenna site. If a portion of the radial path extends over foreign territory or water, such portion must not be included in the computation of average elevation unless the radial path again passes over United States land between 16 and 134 kilometers (10 and 83 miles) away from the station. At least 50 evenly spaced data points for each radial should be used in the computation.
(b) Average terrain elevation is the average of the eight radial average terrain elevations (for the eight cardinal radials).
(c) For locations in Dade and Broward Counties, Florida, the method prescribed above may be used or average terrain elevation may be assumed to be 3 meters (10 feet).
§ 1.981   Reports, annual and semiannual.
Where required by the particular service rules, licensees who have entered into agreements with other persons for the cooperative use of radio station facilities must submit annually an audited financial statement reflecting the nonprofit cost-sharing nature of the arrangement to the Commission's offices in Washington, DC or alternatively may be sent to the Commission electronically via the ULS, no later than three months after the close of the licensee's fiscal year.
§ 1.1101   Authority.
Authority to impose and collect these charges is contained in section 8 of the Communications Act, as amended by sections 102 and 103 of title I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141, 132 Stat. 1084), 47 U.S.C. 158, which directs the Commission to assess and collect application fees to recover the costs of the Commission to process applications.
§ 1.1102   Schedule of charges for applications and other filings in the wireless telecommunications services.
Some of the wireless application fees in this section have a regulatory fee component that must be paid at the time of a new or a renewal of a wireless application. Please refer to the Wireless Filing Guide for payment type codes at https://www.fcc.gov/wireless-fees.
(a) In tables to this section, the amounts appearing in the column labeled “Fee Amount” are for application fees only. Certain services, as indicated in the following table, also have associated regulatory fees that must be paid at the same time the application fee is paid. For more information on the associated regulatory fees, please refer to the most recent Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Fee Filing Guide for the corresponding regulatory fee amount located at https://www.fcc.gov/wireless-fees For additional guidance, please refer to § 1.1152. Application fee payments are required to be made electronically using the Commission's Registration System (CORES) once an application has been submitted in the Universal Licensing System (ULS). CORES is accessible at: https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do.
(b) Site-based licensed services are services for which an applicant's initial application for authorization generally provides the exact technical parameters of its planned operations (such as transmitter location, area of operation, desired frequency(s)/band(s), power levels). Site-based licensed services include land mobile systems (one or more base stations communicating with mobile devices, or mobile-only systems), point-to-point systems (two stations using a spectrum band to form a data communications path), point to-multipoint systems (one or more base stations that communicate with fixed remote units), as well as radiolocation and radionavigation systems. Examples of these licenses include, but are not limited to, the Industrial/Business Pool, Trunked licenses and Microwave Industrial/Business Pool licenses.
Table 1 to Paragraph ( b )
(c) Personal licenses authorize shared use of certain spectrum bands or provide a required permit for operation of certain radio equipment. In either case, personal licenses focus only on eligibility and do not require technical review. Examples of these licenses include, but are not limited to, Amateur Radio Service licenses (used for recreational, noncommercial radio services), Ship licenses (used to operate all manner of ships), Aircraft licenses (used to operate all manner of aircraft), Commercial Radio Operator licenses (permits for ship and aircraft station operators, where required), General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) licenses (used for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, as well as for short data messaging applications), Vanity, and Restricted Operator licenses.
Table 2 to Paragraph ( c )
(d) Geographic-based licenses authorize an applicant to construct anywhere within a particular geographic area's boundary (subject to certain technical requirements, including interference protection) and generally do not require applicants to submit additional applications for prior Commission approval of specific transmitter locations. Examples of these licenses include, but are not limited to, the 220-222 MHz Service licenses, Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service licenses, 600 MHz Band Service licenses, and 700 MHz Lower Band Service licenses.
Table 3 to Paragraph ( d )
§ 1.1103   Schedule of charges for equipment approval, experimental radio services (or service).
Table 1 to § 1.1103
§ 1.1104   Schedule of charges for applications and other filings for media services.
Table 1 to § 1.1104
Table 2 to § 1.1104
Table 3 to § 1.1104
Table 4 to § 1.1104
Table 5 to § 1.1104
Table 6 to § 1.1104
Table 7 to § 1.1104
§ 1.1105   Schedule of charges for applications and other filings for the wireline competition services.
Table 1 to § 1.1105
§ 1.1106   Schedule of charges for applications and other filings for the enforcement services.
Table 1 to § 1.1106
§ 1.1107   Schedule of charges for applications and other filings for the international services.
Table 1 to § 1.1107
Table 2 to § 1.1107
Table 3 to § 1.1107
Table 4 to § 1.1107
Table 5 to § 1.1107
Table 6 to § 1.1107
Table 7 to § 1.1107
Table 8 to § 1.1107
Table 9 to § 1.1107
Table 10 to § 1.1107
Table 11 to § 1.1107
§ 1.1108   [Reserved]
§ 1.1109   Schedule of charges for applications and other filings for the Homeland services.
Payments should be made electronically using the Commission's electronic filing and payment system in accordance with the procedures set forth on the Commission's website, www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees. Manual filings and/or payments for these services are no longer accepted.
§ 1.1110   Attachment of charges.
The charges required to accompany a request for the Commission's regulatory services listed in §§ 1.1102 through 1.1109 of this subpart will not be refundable to the applicant irrespective of the Commission's disposition of that request. Return or refund of charges will be made only in certain limited instances as set out at § 1.1115 of this subpart.
§ 1.1111   Payment of charges.
(a) The schedule of fees for applications and other filings (Bureau/Office Fee Filing Guides) lists those applications and other filings that must be accompanied by an FCC Form 159, Remittance Advice' or the electronic version of the form, FCC Form 159-E, one of the forms that is automatically generated when an applicant accesses the Commission's on-line filing and payment process.
(b) Applicants may access the Commission's on-line filing systems at https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/online-filing, and the Commission's fee payment module through the FRN access page of the Commission's Registration System at https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/paymentFrnLogin.do. Applicants who use the on-line processes will be directed to the appropriate electronic application and payment forms for completion and submission of the required application(s) and payment information.
(c) Applications and other filings that are not submitted in accordance with these instructions will be returned as unprocessable.
This requirement for the simultaneous submission of fee forms with applications or other filings does not apply to the payment of fees for which the Commission has established a billing process. See § 1.1121 of this subpart.
(d) Applications returned to applicants for additional information or corrections will not require an additional fee when resubmitted, unless the additional information results in an increase of the original fee amount. Those applications not requiring an additional fee should be resubmitted electronically or directly to the Bureau/Office requesting the additional information, as requested. The original fee will be forfeited if the additional information or corrections are not resubmitted by the prescribed deadline. A forfeited application fee will not be refunded. If an additional fee is required, the original fee will be returned and the application must be resubmitted with a new remittance in the amount of the required fee. Applicants should attach a copy of the Commission's request for additional or corrected information to their resubmission.
(e) Should the staff change the status of an application, resulting in an increase in the fee due, the applicant will be billed for the remainder under the conditions established by § 1.1118(b) of the rules.
Due to the statutory requirements applicable to tariff filings, the procedures for handling tariff filings may vary from the procedures set out in the rules.
§ 1.1112   Form of payment.
(a) Annual and multiple year regulatory fees must be paid electronically as described in paragraph (e) of this section. Fee payments, other than annual and multiple year regulatory fee payments, should be in the form of a check, cashier's check, or money order denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a United States financial institution and made payable to the Federal Communications Commission or by a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card. No other credit card is acceptable. Fees for applications and other filings paid by credit card will not be accepted unless the credit card section of FCC Form 159 is completed in full. The Commission discourages applicants from submitting cash and will not be responsible for cash sent through the mail. Personal or corporate checks dated more than six months prior to their submission to the Commission's lockbox bank and postdated checks will not be accepted and will be returned as deficient. Third party checks ( i.e., checks with a third party as maker or endorser) will not be accepted.
(1) Although payments (other than annual and multiple year regulatory fee payments) may be submitted in the form of a check, cashier's check, or money order, payors of these fees are encouraged to submit these payments electronically under the procedures described in paragraph (e) of this section.
(2) Specific procedures for electronic payments are announced in Bureau/Office fee filing guides.
(3) It is the responsibility of the payer to insure that any electronic payment is made in the manner required by the Commission. Failure to comply with the Commission's procedures will result in the return of the application or other filing.
(4) To insure proper credit, applicants making wire transfer payments must follow the instructions set out in the appropriate Bureau Office fee filing guide.
(b) Applicants are required to submit one payment instrument (check, cashier's check, or money order) and FCC Form 159 with each application or filing; multiple payment instruments for a single application or filing are not permitted. A separate Fee Form (FCC Form 159) will not be required once the information requirements of that form (the Fee Code, fee amount, and total fee remitted) are incorporated into the underlying application form.
(c) The Commission may accept multiple money orders in payment of a fee for a single application where the fee exceeds the maximum amount for a money order established by the issuing agency and the use of multiple money orders is the only practical method available for fee payment.
(d) The Commission may require payment of fees with a cashier's check upon notification to an applicant or filer or prospective group of applicants under the conditions set forth below in paragraphs (d) (1) and (2) of this section.
(1) Payment by cashier's check may be required when a person or organization has made payment, on one or more occasions with a payment instrument on which the Commission does not receive final payment and such failure is not excused by bank error.
(2) The Commission will notify the party in writing that future payments must be made by cashier's check until further notice. If, subsequent to such notice, payment is not made by cashier's check, the party's payment will not be accepted and its application or other filing will be returned.
(e) Annual and multiple year regulatory fee payments shall be submitted by online ACH payment, online Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card payment, or wire transfer payment denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a United States financial institution and made payable to the Federal Communications Commission. No other credit card is acceptable. Any other form of payment for regulatory fees (e.g., paper checks) will be rejected and sent back to the payor.
(f) All fees collected will be paid into the general fund of the United States Treasury in accordance with Pub. L. 99-272.
(g) The Commission will furnish a stamped receipt of an application filed by mail or in person only upon request that complies with the following instructions. In order to obtain a stamped receipt for an application (or other filing), the application package must include a copy of the first page of the application, clearly marked “copy”, submitted expressly for the purpose of serving as a receipt of the filing. The copy should be the top document in the package. If hand delivered, the copy will be date-stamped immediately and provided to the bearer of the submission. For submissions by mail, the receipt copy will be provided through return mail if the filer has attached to the receipt copy a stamped self-addressed envelope of sufficient size to contain the date stamped copy of the application. No remittance receipt copies will be furnished. Stamped receipts of electronically-filed applications will not be provided.
§ 1.1113   Filing locations.
(a) Except as noted in this section, applications and other filings, with attached fees and FCC Form 159, must be submitted to the locations and addresses set forth in §§ 1.1102 through 1.1109.
(1) Tariff filings shall be filed with the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554. On the same day, the filer should submit a copy of the cover letter, the FCC Form 159, and the appropriate fee in accordance with the procedures established in § 1.1105.
(2) Bills for collection will be paid at the Commission's lockbox bank at the address of the appropriate service as established in §§ 1.1102 through 1.1109, as set forth on the bill sent by the Commission. Payments must be accompanied by the bill sent by the Commission. Payments must be accompanied by the bill to ensure proper credit. Electronic payments must include the reference number contained on the bill sent by the Commission.
(3) Petitions for reconsideration or applications for review of fee decisions pursuant to § 1.1119(b) of this subpart must be accompanied by the required fee for the application or other filing being considered or reviewed.
(4) Applicants claiming an exemption from a fee requirement for an application or other filing under 47 U.S.C. 158(d)(1) or § 1.1116 of this subpart shall file their applications in the appropriate location as set forth in the rules for the service for which they are applying, except that request for waiver accompanied by a tentative fee payment should be filed as set forth in §§ 1.1102 through 1.1109.
(b) Except as provided for in paragraph (c) of this section, all materials must be submitted as one package. The Commission will not take responsibility for matching fees, forms and applications submitted at different times or locations. Materials submitted at other than the location and address required by § 0.401(b) and paragraph (a) of this section will be returned to the applicant or filer.
(c) Fees for applications and other filings pertaining to the Wireless Radio Services that are submitted electronically via ULS may be paid electronically or sent to the Commission's lock box bank manually. When paying manually, applicants must include the application file number (assigned by the ULS electronic filing system on FCC Form 159) and submit such number with the payment in order for the Commission to verify that the payment was made. Manual payments must be received no later than ten (10) days after receipt of the application on ULS or the application will be dismissed. Payment received more than ten (10) days after electronic filing of an application on a Bureau/Office electronic filing system (e.g., ULS) will be forfeited ( see §§ 1.934 and 1.1111.)
(d) Fees for applications and other filings pertaining to the Multichannel Video and Cable Television Service (MVCTS) and the Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) that are submitted electronically via the Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) may be paid electronically or sent to the Commission's lock box bank manually. When paying manually, applicants must include the FCC Form 159 generated by COALS (pre-filled with the transaction confirmation number) and completed with the necessary additional payment information to allow the Commission to verify that payment was made. Manual payments must be received no later than ten (10) days after receipt of the application or filing in COALS or the application or filing will be dismissed.
§ 1.1114   Conditionality of Commission or staff authorizations.
(a) Any instrument of authorization granted by the Commission, or by its staff under delegated authority, will be conditioned upon final payment of the applicable fee or delinquent fees and timely payment of bills issued by the Commission. As applied to checks, bank drafts and money orders, final payment shall mean receipt by the Treasury of funds cleared by the financial institution on which the check, bank draft or money order is drawn.
(1) If, prior to a grant of an instrument of authorization, the Commission is notified that final payment has not been made, the application or filing will be:
(i) Dismissed and returned to the applicant;
(ii) Shall lose its place in the processing line;
(iii) And will not be accorded nunc pro tunc treatment if resubmitted after the relevant filing deadline.
(2) If, subsequent to a grant of an instrument of authorization, the Commission is notified that final payment has not been made, the Commission will:
(i) Automatically rescind that instrument of authorization for failure to meet the condition imposed by this subsection; and
(ii) Notify the grantee of this action; and
(iii) Not permit nunc pro tunc treatment for the resubmission of the application or filing if the relevant deadline has expired.
(3) Upon receipt of a notification of rescision of the authorization, the grantee will immediately cease operations initiated pursuant to the authorization.
(b) In those instances where the Commission has granted a request for deferred payment of a fee or issued a bill payable at a future date, further processing of the application or filing, or the grant of authority, shall be conditioned upon final payment of the fee, plus other required payments for late payments, by the date prescribed by the deferral decision or bill. Failure to comply with the terms of the deferral decision or bill shall result in the automatic dismissal of the submission or rescision of the Commission authorization for failure to meet the condition imposed by this subpart. The Commission reserves the right to return payments received after the date established on the bill and exercise the conditions attached to the application. The Commission shall:
(1) Notify the grantee that the authorization has been rescinded;
(i) Upon such notification, the grantee will immediately cease operations initiated pursuant to the authorization.
(ii) [Reserved]
(2) Not permit nunc pro tunc treatment to applicants who attempt to refile after the original deadline for the underlying submission.
(c) (1) Where an applicant is found to be delinquent in the payment of application fees, the Commission will make a written request for the delinquent fee, together with any penalties that may be due under this subpart. Such request shall inform the applicant/filer that failure to pay or make satisfactory payment arrangements will result in the Commission's withholding action on, and/or as appropriate, dismissal of, any applications or requests filed by the applicant. The staff shall also inform the applicant of the procedures for seeking Commission review of the staff's fee determination.
(2) If, after final determination that the fee is due or that the applicant is delinquent in the payment of fees, and payment is not made in a timely manner, the staff will withhold action on the application or filing until payment or other satisfactory arrangement is made. If payment or satisfactory arrangement is not made within 30 days of the date of the original notification, the application will be dismissed.
§ 1.1115   Return or refund of charges.
(a) All refunds will be issued to the payer named in the appropriate block of the FCC Form 159. The full amount of any fee submitted will be returned or refunded, as appropriate, under the authority granted at § 0.231.
(1) When no fee is required for the application or other filing. ( see § 1.1111).
(2) When the fee processing staff or bureau/office determines that an insufficient fee has been submitted within 30 calendar days of receipt of the application or filing and the application or filing is dismissed.
(3) When the application is filed by an applicant who cannot fulfill a prescribed age requirement.
(4) When the Commission adopts new rules that nullify applications already accepted for filing, or new law or treaty would render useless a grant or other positive disposition of the application.
(5) When a waiver is granted in accordance with this subpart.
Payments in excess of an application fee will be refunded only if the overpayment is $10 or more.
(6) When an application for new or modified facilities is not timely filed in accordance with the filing window as established by the Commission in a public notice specifying the earliest and latest dates for filing such applications.
(b) Comparative hearings are no longer required.
(c) Applicants in the Media Services for first-come, first-served construction permits will be entitled to a refund of the fee, if, within fifteen days of the issuance of a Public Notice, applicant indicates that there is a previously filed pending application for the same vacant channel, such applicant notifies the Commission that they no longer wish their application to remain on file behind the first applicant and any other applicants filed before his or her application, and the applicant specifically requests a refund of the fee paid and dismissal of his or her application.
(d) Applicants for space station licenses under the first-come, first served procedure set forth in part 25 of this title will be entitled to a refund of the fee if, before the Commission has placed the application on public notice, the applicant notifies the Commission that it no longer wishes to keep its application on file behind the licensee and any other applicants who filed their applications before its application, and specifically requests a refund of the fee and dismissal of its application.
§ 1.1116   General exemptions to charges.
No fee established in §§ 1.1102 through 1.1109 of this subpart, unless otherwise qualified herein, shall be required for:
(a) Applications filed for the sole purpose of modifying an existing authorization (or a pending application for authorization) in order to comply with new or additional requirements of the Commission's rules or the rules of another Federal agency. However, if the applicant also requests an additional modification, renewal, or other action, the appropriate fee for such additional request must accompany the application. Cases in which a fee will be paid include applications by FM and TV licensees or permittees seeking to upgrade channel after a rulemaking.
(b) Applicants in the Special Emergency Radio and Public Safety Radio Services that are government entities or nonprofit entities. Applicants claiming nonprofit status must include a current Internal Revenue Service Determination Letter documenting this nonprofit status.
(c) Applicants, permittees or licensees of noncommercial educational (NCE) broadcast stations in the FM or TV services, as well as AM applicants, permittees or licensees operating in accordance with § 73.503 of this chapter.
(d) Applicants, permittees, or licensees qualifying under paragraph (c) of this section requesting Commission authorization in any other mass media radio service (except the international broadcast (HF) service) private radio service, or common carrier radio communications service otherwise requiring a fee, if the radio service is used in conjunction with the NCE broadcast station on an NCE basis.
(e) Other applicants, permittees, or licensees providing, or proposing to provide, an NCE or instructional service, but not qualifying under paragraph (c) of this section, may be exempt from filing fees, or be entitled to a refund, in the following circumstances.
(1) An applicant is exempt from filing fees if it is an organization that, like the Public Broadcasting Service or National Public Radio, receives funding directly or indirectly through the Public Broadcasting Fund, 47 U.S.C. 396(k), distributed by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, where the authorization requested will be used in conjunction with the organization on an NCE basis;
(2) An applicant for a translator or low power television station that proposes an NCE service will be entitled to a refund of fees paid for the filing of the application when, after grant, it provides proof that it has received funding for the construction of the station through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) or other showings as required by the Commission.
(3) An applicant that has qualified for a fee refund under paragraph (e)(2) of this section and continues to operate as an NCE station is exempt from fees for broadcast auxiliary stations (subparts D, E, and F of part 74) or stations in the private radio or common carrier services where such authorization is to be used in conjunction with the NCE translator or low power station.
(f) Applicants, permittees or licensees who qualify as governmental entities. For purposes of this exemption a governmental entity is defined as any state, possession, city, county, town, village, municipal corporation or similar political organization or subpart thereof controlled by publicly elected or duly appointed public officials exercising sovereign direction and control over their respective communities or programs.
(g) Applications for Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permits where the applicant intends to use the permit solely in conjunction with duties performed at radio facilities qualifying for fee exemption under paragraphs (c), (d), or (e) of this section.
Applicants claiming exemptions under the terms of this subpart must certify as to their eligibility for the exemption through a cover letter accompanying the application or filing. This certification is not required if the applicable FCC Form requests the information justifying the exemption.
§ 1.1117   Adjustments to charges.
(a) The Schedule of Charges established by §§ 1.1102 through 1.1109 of this subpart shall be reviewed by the Commission on October 1, 1999 and every two years thereafter, and adjustments made, if any, will be reflected in the next publication of Schedule of Charges.
(1) The fees will be adjusted by the Commission to reflect the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) from the date of enactment of the authorizing legislation (December 19, 1989) to the date of adjustment, and every two years thereafter, to reflect the percentage change in the CPI-U in the period between the enactment date and the adjustment date.
(2) Adjustments based upon the percentage change in the CPI-U will be applied against the base fees as enacted or amended by Congress in the year the fee was enacted or amended.
(b) Increases or decreases in charges will apply to all categories of fees covered by this subpart. Individual fees will not be adjusted until the increase or decrease, as determined by the net change in the CPI-U since the date of enactment of the authorizing legislation, amounts to at least $5 in the case of fees under $100, or 5% or more in the case of fees of $100 or greater. All fees will be adjusted upward to the next $5 increment.
(c) Adjustments to fees made pursuant to these procedures will not be subject to notice and comment rulemakings, nor will these decisions be subject to petitions for reconsideration under § 1.429 of the rules. Requests for modifications will be limited to correction of arithmetical errors made during an adjustment cycle.
§ 1.1118   Penalty for late or insufficient payments.
(a) Filings subject to fees and accompanied by defective fee submissions will be dismissed under § 1.1111 (d) of this subpart where the defect is discovered by the Commission's staff within 30 calendar days from the receipt of the application or filing by the Commission.
(1) A defective fee may be corrected by resubmitting the application or other filing, together with the entire correct fee.
(2) For purposes of determining whether the filing is timely, the date of resubmission with the correct fee will be considered the date of filing. However, in cases where the fee payment fails due to error of the applicant's bank, as evidenced by an affidavit of an officer of the bank, the date of the original submission will be considered the date of filing.
(b) Applications or filings accompanied by insufficient fees or no fees, or where such applications or filings are made by persons or organizations that are delinquent in fees owed to the Commission, that are inadvertently forwarded to Commission staff for substantive review will be billed for the amount due if the discrepancy is not discovered until after 30 calendar days from the receipt of the application or filing by the Commission. Applications or filings that are accompanied by insufficient fees or no fees will have a penalty charge equaling 25 percent of the amount due added to each bill. Any Commission action taken prior to timely payment of these charges is contingent and subject to rescission.
(c) Applicants to whom a deferral of payment is granted under the terms of this subsection will be billed for the amount due plus a charge equalling 25 percent of the amount due. Any Commission actions taken prior to timely payment of these charges are contingent and subject to rescission.
(d) Failure to submit fees, following notice to the applicant of failure to submit the required fee, is subject to collection of the fee, including interest thereon, any associated penalties, and the full cost of collection to the Federal government pursuant to the provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321, 1358 (Apr. 26, 1996), codified at 31 U.S.C. 3711 et seq. See 47 CFR 1.1901 through 1.1952. The debt collection processes described above may proceed concurrently with any other sanction in this paragraph.
§ 1.1119   Petitions and applications for review.
(a) The fees established by this subpart may be waived or deferred in specific instances where good cause is shown and where waiver or deferral of the fee would promote the public interest.
(b) Requests for waivers or deferrals will only be considered when received from applicants acting in respect to their own applications. Requests for waivers or deferrals of entire classes of services will not be considered.
(c) Petitions for waivers, deferrals, fee determinations, reconsiderations and applications for review will be acted upon by the Managing Director with the concurrence of the General Counsel. All such filings within the scope of the fee rules shall be filed as a separate pleading and clearly marked to the attention of the Managing Director. Any such request that is not filed as a separate pleading will not be considered by the Commission. Requests for deferral of a fee payment for financial hardship must be accompanied by supporting documentation.
(1) Petitions and applications for review submitted with a fee must be submitted electronically or to the Commission's lock box bank at the address for the appropriate service as set forth in §§ 1.1102 through 1.1107.
(2) If no fee payment is submitted, the request should be filed electronically through the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System or with the Commission's Secretary.
(d) Deferrals of fees will be granted for an established period of time not to exceed six months.
(e) Applicants seeking waivers must submit the request for waiver with the application or filing, required fee and FCC Form 159, or a request for deferral. A petition for waiver and/or deferral of payment must be submitted to the Office of the Managing Director as specified in paragraph (c) of this section. Waiver requests that do not include these materials will be dismissed in accordance with § 1.1111 of this subpart. Submitted fees will be returned if a waiver is granted. The Commission will not be responsible for delays in acting upon these requests.
(f) Petitions for waiver of a fee based on financial hardship will be subject to the provisions of paragraph 1.1166(e).
§ 1.1120   Error claims.
(a) Applicants who wish to challenge a staff determination of an insufficient fee or delinquent debt may do so in writing. A challenge to a determination that a party is delinquent in paying the full application fee must be accompanied by suitable proof that the fee had been paid or waived (or deferred from payment during the period in question), or by the required application payment and any assessment penalty payment ( see § 1.1118). Failure to comply with these procedures will result in dismissal of the challenge. These claims should be addressed to the Federal Communications Commission at the address indicated in 47 CFR 0.401(a), Attention: Financial Operations, or emailed to ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov.
(b) Actions taken by Financial Operations staff are subject to the reconsideration and review provisions of §§ 1.106 and 1.115 of this part, EXCEPT THAT reconsideration and/or review will only be available where the applicant has made the full and proper payment of the underlying fee as required by this subpart.
(1) Petitions for reconsideration and/or applications for review submitted by applicants that have not made the full and proper fee payment will be dismissed; and
(2) If the fee payment should fail while the Commission is considering the matter, the petition for reconsideration or application for review will be dismissed.
§ 1.1121   Billing procedures.
(a) The fees required for the International Telecommunications Settlements (§ 1.1103 of this subpart), Accounting and Audits Field Audits and Review of Arrest Audits (§ 1.1106 of this subpart) should not be paid with the filing or submission of the request. The fees required for requests for Special Temporary Authority ( see generally §§ 1.1102, 1.1104, 1.1106 & 1.1107 of this subpart) that the applicant believes is of an urgent or emergency nature and are filed directly with the appropriate Bureau or Office should not be paid with the filing of the request with that Bureau or Office.
(b) In these cases, the appropriate fee will be determined by the Commission and the filer will be billed for that fee. The bill will set forth the amount to be paid, the date on which payment is due, and the address to which the payment should be submitted. See also § 1.1113 of this subpart.
§ 1.1151   Authority to prescribe and collect regulatory fees.
Authority to impose and collect regulatory fees is contained in section 9 of the Communications Act, as amended by sections 101-103 of title I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141, 132 Stat. 1084), 47 U.S.C. 159, which directs the Commission to prescribe and collect annual regulatory fees to recover the cost of carrying out the functions of the Commission.
§ 1.1152   Schedule of annual regulatory fees for wireless radio services.
Table 1 to § 1.1152
1 These are standard fees that are to be paid in accordance with § 1.1157(b).
2 These are standard fees that are to be paid in accordance with § 1.1157(b).
§ 1.1153   Schedule of annual regulatory fees and filing locations for mass media services.
Table 1 to § 1.1153
§ 1.1154   Schedule of annual regulatory charges for common carrier services.
Table 1 to § 1.1154
§ 1.1155   Schedule of regulatory fees for cable television services.
Table 1 to § 1.1155
§ 1.1156   Schedule of regulatory fees for international services.
(a) Geostationary orbit (GSO) and non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) space stations. The following schedule applies for the listed services:
Table 1 to Paragraph ( a )
(b) International terrestrial and satellite Bearer Circuits. (1) Regulatory fees for International Bearer Circuits are to be paid by facilities-based common carriers that have active (used or leased) international bearer circuits as of December 31 of the prior year in any terrestrial or satellite transmission facility for the provision of service to an end user or resale carrier, which includes active circuits to themselves or to their affiliates. In addition, non-common carrier terrestrial and satellite operators must pay a fee for each active circuit sold or leased to any customer, including themselves or their affiliates, other than an international common carrier authorized by the Commission to provide U.S. international common carrier services. “Active circuits” for purposes of this paragraph (b) include backup and redundant circuits. In addition, whether circuits are used specifically for voice or data is not relevant in determining that they are active circuits.
(2) The fee amount, per active Gbps circuit will be determined for each fiscal year.
Table 2 to Paragraph ( b )(2)
(c) Submarine cable. Regulatory fees for submarine cable systems will be paid annually, per cable landing license, for all submarine cable systems operating based on their lit capacity as of December 31 of the prior year. The fee amount will be determined by the Commission for each fiscal year.
Table 3 to Paragraph ( c )—FY 2024 International Bearer Circuits—Submarine Cable Systems
§ 1.1157   Payment of charges for regulatory fees.
Payment of a regulatory fee, required under §§ 1.1152 through 1.1156, shall be filed in the following manner:
(a)(1) The amount of the regulatory fee payment that is due with any application for authorization shall be the multiple of the number of years in the entire term of the requested license or other authorization multiplied by the annual fee payment required in the Schedule of Regulatory Fees, effective at the time the application is filed. Except as set forth in § 1.1160, advance payments shall be final and shall not be readjusted during the term of the license or authorization, notwithstanding any subsequent increase or decrease in the annual amount of a fee required under the Schedule of Regulatory Fees.
(2) Failure to file the appropriate regulatory fee due with an application for authorization will result in the return of the accompanying application, including an application for which the Commission has assigned a specific filing deadline.
(b)(1) Payments of standard regulatory fees applicable to certain wireless radio, mass media, common carrier, cable and international services shall be filed in full on an annual basis at a time announced by the Commission or the Managing Director, pursuant to delegated authority, and published in the Federal Register.
(2) Large regulatory fees, as annually defined by the Commission, may be submitted in installment payments or in a single payment on a date certain as announced by the Commission or the Managing Director, pursuant to delegated authority, and published in the Federal Register.
(c) Standard regulatory fee payments, as well as any installment payment, must be filed with a FCC Form 159, FCC Remittance Advice, and a FCC Form 159C, Remittance Advice Continuation Sheet, if additional space is needed. Failure to submit a copy of FCC Form 159 with a standard regulatory fee payment, or an installment payment, will result in the return of the submission and a 25 percent penalty if the payment is resubmitted after the date the Commission establishes for the payment of standard regulatory fees and for any installment payment.
(1) Any late filed regulatory fee payment will be subject to the penalties set forth in section 1.1164.
(2) If one or more installment payments are untimely submitted or not submitted at all, the eligibility of the subject regulatee to submit installment payments may be cancelled.
(d) Any Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) licensee subject to payment of an annual regulatory fee shall retain for a period of two (2) years from the date on which the regulatory fee is paid, those business records which were used to calculate the amount of the regulatory fee.
§ 1.1158   Form of payment for regulatory fees.
Any annual and multiple year regulatory fee payment must be submitted by online Automatic Clearing House (ACH) payment, online Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover credit card payment, or wire transfer payment denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a United States financial institution and made payable to the Federal Communications Commission. No other credit card is acceptable. Any other form of payment for annual and multiple year regulatory fees (e.g., paper checks, cash) will be rejected and sent back to the payor. The Commission will not be responsible for cash, under any circumstances, sent through the mail.
(a) Payors making wire transfer payments must submit an accompanying FCC Form 159-E via facsimile.
(b) Multiple payment instruments for a single regulatory fee are not permitted, except that the Commission will accept multiple money orders in payment of any fee where the fee exceeds the maximum amount for a money order established by the issuing entity and the use of multiple money orders is the only practicable means available for payment.
(c) Payment of multiple standard regulatory fees (including an installment payment) due on the same date, may be made with a single payment instrument and cover mass media, common carrier, international, and cable service fee payments. Each regulatee is solely responsible for accurately accounting for and listing each license or authorization and the number of subscribers, access lines, or other relevant units on the accompanying FCC Form 159 and, if needed, FCC Form 159C and for making full payment for every regulatory fee listed on the accompanying form. Any omission or payment deficiency of a regulatory fee will result in a 25 percent penalty of the amount due and unpaid.
(d) Any regulatory fee payment (including a regulatory fee payment submitted with an application in the wireless radio service) made by credit card or money order must be submitted with a completed FCC Form 159. Failure to accurately enter the credit card number and date of expiration and the payor's signature in the appropriate blocks on FCC Form 159 will result in rejection of the credit card payment.