Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 13, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 37053

upon the proposed rule also published

on April 14, 2000 (65 FR 20314).

Because of the degree of public

interest in the rule, we are reopening the

comment period on the proposed rule.

For additional information, see the

document that reopens the comment

period, which is published in the

‘‘Proposed Rules’’ section of this issue

of the Federal Register.

DATES: The direct final rule amending

40 CFR parts 141 and 142, published on

April 14, 2000 (65 FR 20304), is

withdrawn as of June 13, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Melch, Implementation and

Assistance Division, Office of Ground

Water and Drinking Water (MC–4606),

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC

20460, (202) 260–7035. Information may

also be obtained from the EPA Safe

Drinking Water Hotline. Callers within

the United States may reach the Hotline

at (800) 426–4791. The Hotline is open

Monday through Friday, excluding

Federal holidays, from 9 a.m. to 5:30

p.m. EST.

Dated: June 8, 2000.

J. Charles Fox,

Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.

[FR Doc. 00–14886 Filed 6–12–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

GENERAL SERVICES

ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Chapter 301

[FTR Amendment 87]

RIN 3090–AH18

Federal Travel Regulation; Maximum

Per Diem Rates and Other Travel

Allowances; Correction

AGENCY: Office of Governmentwide

Policy, GSA.

ACTION: Final rule; correction.

SUMMARY: This document corrects

entries listed in the prescribed

maximum per diem rates for locations

within the continental United States

(CONUS) contained in a final rule

appearing in part III of the Federal

Register of Thursday, December 2, 1999

(64 FR 67670). The rule, among other

things, increased/decreased the

maximum lodging amounts in certain

existing per diem localities, added new

per diem localities, and removed a

number of previously designated per

diem localities. A correction published

on Friday, May 19, 2000 (65 FR 31823),

corrected the seasonal dates and lodging

rates for Aspen, Colorado but failed to

show changes this caused in the

amounts of the maximum per diem

rates.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Joddy P. Garner, Office of

Governmentwide Policy (MTT),

Washington, DC 20405; telephone 202–

501–4857.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In rule

document 00–12340 beginning on page

31823 in the issue of Friday, May 19,

2000 make the following corrections:

Appendix A to Chapter 301 [Corrected]

On page 31825, under the State of

Colorado, city of Aspen, the maximum

per diem rates in column five are

corrected as follows:

1. For the entry ‘‘April 1–May 31,’’

correct ‘‘186’’ to read ‘‘114’’.

2. For the entry ‘‘June 1–December

31,’’ correct ‘‘114’’ to read ‘‘186’’.

Page 31825, as corrected, reads as

follows:

Appendix A to Chapter 301—

Prescribed Maximum Per Diem Rates

for CONUS

* * * * *

BILLING CODE 6820–34–P

37054 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 13, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 13, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 37055

1 Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum

Disaggregation by Commericial Mobile Radio

Services Licensees, WT Docket No. 96–148, FCC

96–287, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 11 FCC

Rcd. 10187 (1996).

2Public Law 104–121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996)

(CWAA, Subtitle II of the Small Business

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

(SBREFA) codified at 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.)

Dated: June 7, 2000.

James L. Harte,

Travel Team Leader, Travel Management

Policy Division.

[FR Doc. 00–14796 Filed 6–12–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–34–C

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 22

[WT Docket No. 96–148; GN Docket No. 96–

113; FCC 00–141]

Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum

Disaggregation by Commercial Mobile

Radio Services Licensees

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This document modifies the

Commission’s rules governing Cellular

Radiotelephone Service (cellular

service) to permit spectrum

disaggregation by cellular licensees. In

addition, the Commission maintains its

existing geographic partitioning rules

for initial cellular licensees, and extends

partitioning rules to unserved area

licensees. This document also resolves

several related issues relevant to cellular

partitioning and disaggregation.

DATES: Effective July 13, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeffrey Steinberg, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau,

Commercial Wireless Division, at (202)

418–0896.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Synopsis

of the Second Report and Order.

‘‘Partitioning’’ is the assignment of

geographic portions of a radio license

along geopolitical or other boundaries.

‘‘Disaggregation’’ is the assignment of

discrete portions or ‘‘blocks’’ of

spectrum licensed to a geographic

licensee or other qualifying entity. The

Commission has previously examined

partitioning and disaggregation for

many Commercial Mobile Radio

Services (CMRS) on a service-by-service

basis, and has adopted geographic

partitioning and spectrum

disaggregation rules for several services.

In the Further Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking in this proceeding, 62 FR

696 (January 6, 1997), the Commission

tentatively concluded that it is now

appropriate to consider permitting full

partitioning and disaggregation in the

cellular service.

2. The Commission concludes that

modifying its cellular rules to allow

disaggregation will promote competition

and further regulatory symmetry

between cellular and other CMRS

licensees. Extending flexible

disaggregation rules to cellular will

increase carriers’ flexibility to tailor

their service offerings to meet market

demands, thus increasing competition

and enhancing the efficient use of

spectrum. The Commission further finds

that there are no technical or other

constraints unique to the cellular

service that would make disaggregation

either impractical or administratively

burdensome. The Commission therefore

modifies its rules to permit cellular

licensees to disaggregate portions of

their spectrum to other eligible entities.

In addition, the Commission declines to

adopt minimum standards regarding the

amount of spectrum that cellular

licensees may disaggregate.

3. With regard to partitioning, the

Commission decides to retain its

existing partitioning rules for initial

cellular licensees, and to provide for

partitioning by unserved area licensees.

The Commission recognizes that the

current cellular partitioning rules are

different from the rules for

geographically licensed services because

the rules restrict cellular partitioning

outside the licensee’s Cellular

Geographic Service Area (CGSA) after

the initial five-year buildout period.

However, this restriction ensures that

the cellular partitioning rules do not

conflict with the unserved area rules,

and the Commission finds that the rules

are sufficiently flexible so as not to

place cellular licensees at a competitive

disadvantage compared to other CMRS.

The Commission also believes that

cellular unserved area licensees should

have the ability to partition their service

areas. As in the case of initial cellular

licensees, the Commission will allow

cellular unserved area licensees to

partition within their designated

licensing areas during the initial

buildout period of the license. After the

expiration of the 12-month buildout

period, an unserved area licensee may

not partition outside of the licensing

area established as a result of the

buildout process.

4. The Commission retains its existing

cellular construction rules as they apply

to partitioning. These rules provide

sufficient flexibility for cellular

licensees to build out their markets and

to respond to demands for service.

Thus, where a cellular licensee

partitions its license prior to the

expiration of the relevant buildout

period, each partitionee will be

responsible for completing the buildout

in its partitioned area within the

remainder of the original buildout

period. Any area that remains unbuilt at

the conclusion of the buildout period

will revert to the Commission and be

available for unserved area licensing.

With respect to disaggregation, the

parties will be required to certify in

their disaggregation application which

party will be responsible for building

out the licensed area.

5. The Commission adopts its

proposal to permit combined

partitioning and disaggregation for

cellular. The Commission also

determines that the license terms for

partitioned and disaggregated cellular

licenses will be limited to the remaining

term of the underlying licenses, and that

partitionees and disaggregatees may

obtain renewal expectancy on the same

basis as initial cellular licensees and

other CMRS licensees. Finally, the

Commission declines to change its

current procedures for reviewing and

licensing cellular partitioning

transactions, and adopts these

procedures for reviewing and licensing

disaggregation transactions.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

6. As required by section 603 of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 5

U.S.C. 603, an Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was

incorporated in the Further Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (Further Notice)

in WT Docket No. 96–148.1 The

Commission sought written public

comment on the proposals in the

Further Notice, including the IRFA. The

Commission’s Final Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) in this

Second Report and Order conforms to

the RFA, as amended by the Contract

With America Advancement Act of

1996.2

A. Need for and Purpose of This Action

7. In this document, we modify our

rules for the Cellular Radiotelephone

Service (cellular) to permit partitioning

and disaggregation for all licensees in

these services. The rules adopted herein

also implement Congress’ goal of giving

small businesses the opportunity to

participate in the provision of spectrumbased services in accordance with 47

U.S.C. 309(j)(4)(D) and reduce entry

barriers for small businesses in

accordance with 47 U.S.C. 257. With

flexible partitioning and disaggregation,

additional entities, including small

businesses, may participate in the