35454 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 144 / Thursday, July 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

date of publication of the final rule in the 

Federal Register]. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–15924 Filed 7–25–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 25 

[GN Docket Nos. 17–183, 18–122; DA 18– 

639] 

Notice of 90-Day Filing Window 

Extension for Earth Stations Currently 

Operating in the 3.7–4.2 GHz Band; 

Filing Options for Operators With 

Multiple Earth Station Antennas 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

International Bureau (Bureau) 

announces a 90-day extension to the 

filing window for fixed-satellite service 

(FSS) earth stations currently operating 

in the 3.7–4.2 GHz frequency band 

announced in the Public Notice (Freeze 

PN), DA 18–398. The Bureau also 

clarifies that applications to register 

multiple FSS antennas operating in this 

band that are located at the same 

address or geographic location may be 

filed in the International Bureau Filing 

System (IBFS) by using a single 

registration form and paying a single 

fee. Finally, the Bureau announces the 

availability of an additional option to 

facilitate the registration of large 

numbers of geographically diverse earth 

stations by filing an application for a 

single ‘‘network’’ license and paying a 

single fee in IBFS. 

DATES: 90-day extension of filing 

window closes October 17, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by GN Docket Nos. 17–183 

and 18–122, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal Communications 

Commission’s Website: http://

apps.fcc.gov/ecfs//. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• People with Disabilities: Contact the 

FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 888– 

835–5322. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher Bair, 202–418–0945 or Paul 

Blais, 202–418–7274. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s 

document, DA 18–639, released June 21, 

2018. The full text of this document is 

available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/ 

attachments/DA-18-639A1.pdf. It is also 

available for inspection and copying 

during business hours in the FCC 

Reference Information Center, Portals II, 

445 12th Street SW, Room CY–A257, 

Washington, DC 20554. To request 

materials in accessible formats for 

people with disabilities, send an email 

to FCC504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer 

& Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202– 

418–0530 (voice), 202–418–0432 (TTY). 

Background. On April 19, 2018, the 

International, Public Safety and 

Homeland Security, and Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureaus issued 

Public Notice DA 18–398 announcing a 

temporary freeze effective April 19, 

2018, on the filing of new or 

modification applications for FSS earth 

station licenses, FSS receive-only earth 

station registrations, and fixed 

microwave licenses in the 3.7–4.2 GHz 

frequency band. As a limited exception 

to the filing freeze, the International 

Bureau concurrently opened a 90-day 

window during which entities that 

operated existing FSS earth stations in 

the 3.7–4.2 GHz band could voluntarily 

file an application to register or license 

their earth stations if they were not 

currently registered or licensed in the 

IBFS, or could file an application to 

modify a current registration or license. 

The Bureau also waived the 

coordination report requirement for the 

duration of the freeze. 

90-Day Extension of Application 

Filing Window. The International 

Bureau now extends the original 90-day 

filing window announced in the Freeze 

PN for an additional 90 days, until 

October 17, 2018, in order to provide 

operators with more time to file 

applications, should they choose to do 

so. This action does not impact the cutoff date for operations eligible for the 

exception, i.e., only earth stations 

constructed and operational as of April 

19, 2018 are eligible for filing during 

this window. 

Filing Option for Operators with 

Multiple Co-Located Earth Station 

Antennas. The Bureau clarifies that 

operators with multiple receive-only 

antennas at a single geographic location 

or address may apply to register these 

antennas under a single earth station 

application and pay a single application 

fee, which is currently $435 (fee code 

CMO). 

Filing Option for Operators with 

Geographically Diverse Earth Stations. 

The Bureau announces that it is waiving 

certain sections of the Commission’s 

rules to permit operators of multiple 

geographically diverse receive-only 

earth stations to register those stations 

under § 25.115(c)(2) of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 

25.115(c)(2), which permits applications 

for ‘‘Networks of earth station operating 

in the 3700–4200 MHz and 5925–6425 

MHz bands.’’ Specifically, the Bureau 

waives the portions of § 25.115(c)(2) that 

are inapplicable to receive-only stations 

or are unnecessary as a result of the 

Freeze PN. The following procedures 

apply to applicants seeking to utilize the 

§ 25.115(c)(2) process for registration of 

receive-only earth stations during the 

filing window: Applicants must 

complete a ‘‘Lead Application’’ on Form 

312, Main Form and Schedule B; 

Schedule B should include a site ID for 

each geographic location where the 

applicant has receive-only earth stations 

and should provide the technical details 

required by the Form for each antenna 

at each site; the coordination report 

required by § 25.115(c)(2) is waived as 

described in DA 18–398; the 

requirements of paragraphs (i) and (v) of 

§ 25.115(c)(2) are waived for networks of 

receive-only earth stations; pursuant to 

DA 18–398, only earth stations 

constructed and operational as of April 

19, 2018 may file during the window, so 

the one-year construction period of 

§ 25.115(c)(2)(vii) is inapplicable. 

Fees. Applicants filing as a network of 

earth stations under § 25.115(c)(2) as 

described above must pay the fee for a 

‘‘Fixed Satellite VSAT System,’’ which 

is currently $10,620 (fee code BGV). 

Networks of receive-only earth stations 

are not subject to regulatory fees. 

This document does not contain 

proposed information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13. In addition, therefore, it does not 

contain any proposed information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 employees, 

pursuant to the Small Business 

Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public 

Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Troy Tanner, 

Deputy Chief, International Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15969 Filed 7–25–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS