37760 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 149 / Thursday, August 2, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

1The Commission retains in any event its general 

station inspection authority under the 

Communications Act of 1934, as amended. See 47 

U.S.C. 303(n). 

(1) State Relays (SR) monitor or 

deliver EAS alerts as required by the 

State EAS Plan. 

(2) Local Primary (LP) entities 

monitor SPs, SRs, or other sources as set 

forth in the State EAS Plan. 

(3) Participating National (PN) sources 

monitor LPs or other sources as set forth 

in the State EAS Plan. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–15818 Filed 8–1–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 22 

[WT Docket Nos. 12–40, 16–138; RM–11510, 

RM–11660; FCC 18–92] 

Cellular Service, Including Changes in 

Licensing of Unserved Area 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) adopts revised rules 

governing the 800 MHz Cellular 

Radiotelephone (Cellular) Service and 

other commercial mobile radio services 

(CMRS) governed by Part 22 of the 

Commission’s rules. These steps to 

remove unnecessary regulatory burdens 

for Cellular Service and other Part 22 

licensees will free up more resources for 

investment in new technologies and 

greater spectrum efficiency to meet 

increasing consumer demand for 

advanced wireless services. Specifically, 

the Commission modernizes its rules by 

eliminating several Part 22 

recordkeeping and reporting obligations 

that were adopted more than two 

decades ago—obligations for which 

there is no longer a benefit to outweigh 

the compliance costs and burdens 

imposed on licensees. It also eliminates 

certain Cellular Service-specific rules 

that are no longer necessary. These 

reforms will provide Cellular Service 

and other Part 22 licensees with 

enhanced flexibility and advance the 

goal of ensuring more consistency in 

licensing across commercial wireless 

services, while taking into account 

unique features of each service. With 

this document, the Commission 

terminates the Cellular Reform 

proceeding in WT Docket No. 12–40, 

including RM Nos. 11510 and 11660. 

DATES: Effective September 4, 2018, 

except for the amendment to 47 CFR 

22.303, which contains modified 

information collection requirements that 

have not yet been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. The Commission will publish a 

document in the Federal Register 

announcing the effective date of that 

amendment. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nina Shafran, (202) 418–2781, in the 

Mobility Division, Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau. She may 

also be contacted at (202) 418–7233 

(TTY). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Third 

Report and Order in the Cellular Reform 

proceeding (Cellular Third R&O), WT 

Docket No. 12–40, RM Nos. 11510 and 

11660, FCC 18–92 adopted July 12, 2018 

and released July 13, 2018. The full text 

of the Cellular Third R&O, including all 

Appendices, is available for inspection 

and copying during normal business 

hours in the FCC Reference Center, 445 

12th Street SW, Room CY–A157, 

Washington, DC 20554, or by 

downloading the text from the 

Commission’s website at https://

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC18-92A1.pdf. Alternative formats are 

available for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), by sending an email to 

FCC504@fcc.gov or calling the 

Consumer and Government Affairs 

Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice), (202) 

418–0432 (TTY). 

Synopsis 

I. Background 

1. In a Second Report and Order 

released March 24, 2017, in the Cellular 

Reform proceeding (Second R&O), the 

Commission modernized numerous 

Cellular technical rules, including 

outdated radiated power and related 

rules, to permit power measurement 

using power spectral density. These 

changes facilitate the use of Cellular 

spectrum to provide advanced mobile 

broadband services, such as 4G long 

term evolution (LTE), while protecting 

public safety communications from 

increased potential for unacceptable 

interference. The Second R&O also 

revised rules to further eliminate 

unnecessary filings and other regulatory 

burdens for Cellular licensees. The 

Commission’s reforms resulted in 

Cellular Service rules more akin to the 

flexible licensing schemes found in 

other similar mobile services, such as 

the Broadband Personal 

Communications Service (PCS), the 

commercial service in the 700 MHz 

band, the 600 MHz Service, and the 

Advanced Wireless Services (AWS), to 

help ensure that carriers are treated 

similarly regardless of technology 

choice. 

2. To build on the adopted reforms 

and to respond to certain submissions 

by commenters in the Commission’s 

2016 Biennial Review of 

Telecommunications Regulations 

proceeding (WT Biennial Review 

proceeding), the Commission also 

released a companion Second Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Second 

Further Notice) in the Cellular Reform 

proceeding on March 24, 2017. In the 

Second Further Notice, the Commission 

proposed and sought comment on 

additional reforms of its Part 22 rules 

governing the Cellular Service and other 

Part 22 Public Mobile Services (PMS). 

The Commission also invited comment 

on whether other measures could be 

taken to allow Part 22 licensees to 

benefit from the same level of flexibility 

available to other commercial wireless 

licensees. In that context, the 

Commission raised the possibility of 

relocating—to Part 27 of the 

Commission’s rules—certain Part 22 

rules, as well as the Part 24 PCS rules 

and other rules governing 

geographically licensed wireless 

services. 

3. In response to the Second Further 

Notice, interested parties submitted 

comments, reply comments, and ex 

parte letters. The specific reforms 

adopted by the Commission in the Third 

R&O are described below. 

II. Elimination of Unnecessary Rules 

A. Deletion of 47 CFR 22.301 and 22.303 

Concerning Station Inspection, 

Retention of Station Authorizations 

4. Commission Rules 22.301 and 

22.303 collectively require that hard 

copies of license authorizations and 

other records be maintained by all Part 

22 licensees for each station and that 

such records and the station itself be 

made available for inspection upon 

request. The Commission finds that both 

rules have outlived the usefulness they 

may have had in the past and now 

impose administrative burdens without 

any corresponding public benefit.1

Because the Commission no longer 

routinely mails printed authorizations, 

licensees cannot comply with the hardcopy requirement unless they 

themselves print, or request that the 

Commission’s Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau print and 

mail, an authorization every time an 

application is granted. Such a 

requirement does not serve the public 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 149 / Thursday, August 2, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 37761 

interest. The Commission’s Universal 

Licensing System (ULS) is available 

electronically at all times: licensees 

have access in ULS to their official 

authorizations, while members of the 

public have access in ULS to reference 

copies reflecting the most up-to-date 

information concerning all 

authorizations. The movement away 

from site-specific filings renders on-site 

comparison of paper records and 

operating parameters unnecessary and 

largely infeasible. Moreover, the 

Commission has not imposed the 

recordkeeping and station inspection 

requirements of Rules 22.301 and 

22.303 on licensees in competing 

wireless services governed by Parts 24 

and 27 of its rules. For these reasons, 

the Commission deletes 47 CFR 22.301 

and 22.303. 

B. Deletion of 47 CFR 22.325 Concerning 

Control Points 

5. Commission Rule 22.325 requires 

that ‘‘[e]ach station in the Public Mobile 

Services [ ] have at least one control 

point and a person on duty who is 

responsible for station operation.’’ The 

Commission finds that this rule no 

longer serves the public interest; it is 

technologically obsolete, as licensees 

today routinely monitor their network 

operations by automatic and remote 

mechanisms. As with Rules 22.301 and 

22.303, discussed above, there is no 

similar provision governing competing 

CMRS in the Commission’s Part 24 or 

Part 27 rules. Part 22 licensees should 

have the same flexibility as Part 24 and 

Part 27 commercial wireless licensees to 

determine how to manage their 

networks to ensure compliance with the 

Commission’s rules, including how best 

to avoid interference. Accordingly, the 

Commission deletes 47 CFR 22.325. 

C. Deletion of 47 CFR 22.321 

Concerning Equal Employment 

Opportunity Programs and Reports 

6. Commission Rule 22.321 sets forth 

licensee obligations for equal 

employment opportunity (EEO) 

programs and policies to assure 

nondiscriminatory practices in 

recruitment, placement, promotion, and 

other areas of employment practices. 

Paragraph (c) of the rule requires all Part 

22 licensees (i.e., PMS licensees), 

regardless of their size, to submit an 

annual report to the Commission 

indicating whether any EEO complaints 

have been filed at the federal, state, or 

local level against the licensee. 

Commission Rule 90.168, titled Equal 

Employment Opportunities, contains 

the same provisions as Rule 22.321. 

This includes paragraph 90.168(c) 

which, like 22.321(c), requires that a 

complaints report be filed annually 

regardless of the licensee’s size. Rule 

90.168 states that it applies to all CMRS 

(which includes the Part 22 PMS), and 

thus it entirely subsumes Rule 22.321. 

Given that all CMRS licensees are 

subject to 47 CFR 90.168, including 

90.168(c), 47 CFR 22.321 is duplicative 

and, accordingly, the Commission 

deletes 47 CFR 22.321 in its entirety. As 

to the Part 90 reporting requirement, the 

Commission did not propose to remove 

that requirement, nor did any 

commenters suggest doing so. Part 90 

rules are therefore beyond the scope of 

this proceeding and the Commission 

declines at this time to eliminate the 

complaints reporting requirement in 47 

CFR 90.168. 

D. Deletion of 47 CFR 22.927 

Concerning Responsibility for Mobile 

Stations, and 47 CFR 22.3 Concerning 

Authorization Required 

7. Under 47 CFR 22.927, Cellular 

licensees are ‘‘responsible for exercising 

effective operational control over mobile 

stations receiving service through their 

Cellular systems,’’ including mobile 

stations operated by subscribers to a 

different Cellular licensee. Pursuant to 

47 CFR 1.903(c), the ‘‘[a]uthority for 

subscribers to operate mobile or fixed 

stations in the Wireless Radio Services 

[WRS],’’ which includes the Cellular 

Service, ‘‘is included in the 

authorization held by the licensee 

providing service to them.’’ Thus, when 

a WRS licensee, as the host carrier, 

provides service to a subscriber of 

another carrier (i.e., a subscriber that is 

outside its own provider’s service area), 

the subscriber’s use of his or her mobile 

phone to access the spectrum falls 

under that host carrier’s authorization. 

Rule 1.903(c) thus captures the purpose 

underlying Rule 22.927, albeit with less 

detail. While the detailed provision in 

Rule 22.927 regarding the host carrier’s 

responsibility under its authorization 

may have been warranted when the 

Cellular Service was in its nascency, the 

Commission finds that this additional 

rule is unnecessary these many decades 

later. Moreover, the rule creates 

asymmetry, as the rules for commercial 

wireless services established much later 

than the Cellular Service—such as PCS 

and AWS—do not have a counterpart to 

47 CFR 22.927. Consistent with a key 

goal in this proceeding to eliminate 

unnecessary asymmetric regulations, the 

Commission deletes 47 CFR 22.927. 

8. The Commission concludes that a 

related legacy rule that applies to all 

Part 22 licensees, 47 CFR 22.3, is also 

no longer necessary. This rule specifies 

that PMS stations must be used and 

operated only in accordance with 

applicable Commission rules and only 

with a valid authorization granted by 

the Commission. It further specifies that 

authority for subscribers to operate 

mobile or fixed PMS stations is 

included in the authorization of the 

licensee providing service to them. The 

same provisions are included in the 

later-adopted 47 CFR 1.903, which 

applies more broadly to numerous 

wireless services in addition to the 

PMS. Accordingly, the Commission 

deletes 47 CFR 22.3 as duplicative. 

III. Possible Relocation of Rules to Part 

27 

9. The Commission sought comment 

in the Second Further Notice on 

whether to migrate the Part 22 Cellular 

and Part 24 PCS rules to Part 27, and on 

possible reorganization of the Part 27 

rules, either in this proceeding or by 

initiating a separate rulemaking. In 

addition, the Commission noted that 

there are other geographically-licensed, 

auctioned services that are not included 

in Part 27, including Public Coast (Part 

80), Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR), 

Location and Monitoring, and 220 MHz 

(Part 90), and 218–219 MHz (Part 95), 

and that of these, only SMR is used 

today by wireless carriers to provide 

services directly to consumers 

nationwide. The Commission sought 

comment on whether it should move the 

Part 22 Cellular and Part 24 PCS rules 

to Part 27 in conjunction with moving 

those other service rule parts to Part 27 

as well. 

10. Only two commenters addressed 

the issue, and one of them opposes the 

idea, highlighting the fact that disparate 

types of operations found in certain rule 

parts would make it challenging to 

consolidate Part 22 Cellular, Part 24 

PCS, and other wireless mobile service 

rules into a single set of regulations. 

Such an exercise would entail 

painstaking review of numerous rules to 

determine those that can be 

consolidated and those that must be 

retained for individual services. In the 

absence of strong support on the record 

for this endeavor, which would require 

a significant investment of staff 

resources to complete, the Commission 

declines to pursue the issue at this time. 

IV. Other Regulations Raised by 

Commenters 

11. In response to the Commission’s 

query in the Second Further Notice as 

to whether any other Part 22 rules are 

ripe for removal in light of changed 

technology, electronic licensing/ 

recordkeeping, or other modernizations 

that have occurred over the past two 

decades, a few commenters requested 

deletion of three Part 22 rules. These 


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37762 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 149 / Thursday, August 2, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

2The Commission also notes that, for applicants 

for licenses awarded by competitive bidding, which 

includes commercial wireless services such as PCS 

and AWS, the Commission has also established a 

waiting period, tailored to our competitive bidding 

process: Pre-grant construction is permitted only 

upon release of the Public Notice listing the postauction long-form application for that facility as 

acceptable for filing (by which time, mutual 

exclusivity has been eliminated and the 

Commission is reasonably certain that the 

application can be granted). See 47 CFR 1.2113. 

rules and the Commission’s decisions 

not to delete them at this time are 

explained below. 

12. 47 CFR 22.921—911 Call 

Processing Procedures. One commenter 

argued that Rule 22.921, pursuant to 

which certain Cellular Service mobile 

telephones that are capable of operating 

in the analog mode must incorporate a 

special procedure for processing 911 

calls, is now obsolete because, among 

other reasons, it is unaware of any 

carrier that still offers analog devices or 

operates an analog Cellular system. 

Commission data show that, on the 

contrary, some carriers are still using 

analog technology in the Cellular 

Service band—and Rule 22.921 ensures 

that 911 calls get through in those 

circumstances. Accordingly, the 

Commission concludes that deletion of 

47 CFR 22.921 would not serve the 

public interest and declines to take such 

action in this proceeding 

13. 47 CFR 22.925—Prohibition on 

Airborne Operation of Cellular 

Telephones. Two commenters raised 

issues regarding the use of Cellular 

Service spectrum for communications 

to, from, and onboard aircraft and 

argued that Rule 22.925, which 

prohibits the operation of Cellular 

Service telephones aboard ‘‘airplanes, 

balloons or any other type of aircraft 

. . . while such aircraft are airborne 

. . .,’’ should be eliminated, or at least 

modified. The issues raised by the two 

commenters are being dealt with in a 

separate Commission proceeding that 

remains open (WT Docket No. 13–301), 

and the Commission therefore declines 

to consider the issues in this Cellular 

Reform proceeding. 

14. 47 CFR 22.143(a)— 

Commencement of Construction Prior to 

Grant of Application. Rule 22.143 

permits applicants to begin construction 

of PMS facilities prior to grant of their 

applications; paragraph (a) of the Rule 

specifies that such construction may 

begin ‘‘35 days after the date of the 

Public Notice listing the application for 

that facility as acceptable for filing.’’ 

One commenter argues that paragraph 

(a) of the Rule should be deleted, 

asserting that comparable provisions do 

not exist for other wireless services, and 

that other portions of the Rule put 

applicants on notice that they assume 

the risk of constructing prior to grant. 

The Commission disagrees that the 

provision should be deleted, noting that 

the same Public-Notice-plus-35-day 

period is specified in 47 CFR 90.169 of 

Commission rules for several other 

commercial wireless radio services.2 In 

addition, pre-grant construction under 

Rule 22.143 is subject to several 

conditions, including, among others, 

that no petitions to deny or mutually 

exclusive (competing) applications have 

been filed. When the Commission 

reduced the waiting period from the 

original 60-day and 90-day post-Public 

Notice periods to the existing PublicNotice-plus-35-days provision, it agreed 

that applicants should know within that 

timeframe whether any petition to deny 

or competing application had been filed, 

and retained these conditions to 

disallow construction when it cannot be 

reasonably certain of being able to grant 

the application. The Commission has 

also recognized that construction of 

PMS facilities entails not only the 

financial risk to the applicant, but also 

environmental and other consequences 

affecting the public, and it would not be 

in the public interest to allow 

construction until the Commission is 

reasonably certain that the facilities can 

be authorized. In a similar vein, it is in 

the public interest to minimize the 

Commission’s risk of having to expend 

taxpayer resources to issue notification 

to the applicant, pursuant to 47 CFR 

22.143(b), to stop construction. For all 

these reasons, the Commission declines 

to delete 47 CFR 22.143(a) at this time. 

V. Procedural Matters 

15. Paperwork Reduction Act 

Analysis. One rule amendment adopted 

in the Third R&O—specifically, 47 CFR 

22.303, contains modified information 

collection requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), Public Law 104–13. That rule 

amendment will be submitted to OMB 

for review under section 3507(d) of the 

PRA. OMB, the general public, and 

other Federal agencies will be invited to 

comment on the modified information 

collection requirements. In addition, the 

Commission notes that pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4), the Commission previously 

sought specific comment on how the 

Commission might further reduce the 

information collection burden for small 

business concerns with fewer than 25 

employees. The Commission has 

assessed the effects on small business 

concerns of the rule changes it is 

adopting by this Third R&O and finds 

that businesses with fewer than 25 

people will benefit from being subject to 

fewer recordkeeping, reporting, and 

compliance burdens. 

16. Congressional Review Act. The 

Commission will send a copy of this 

Third R&O to Congress and the 

Government Accountability Office 

pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

17. Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis. The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

of 1980 (RFA) requires that an agency 

prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis 

for notice and comment rulemakings, 

unless the agency certifies that ‘‘the rule 

will not, if promulgated, have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.’’ 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (FRFA), set forth in Appendix 

B of the Third R&O, concerning the 

possible impact of the rule changes. 

18. People with Disabilities. To 

request materials in accessible formats 

for people with disabilities (Braille, 

large print, electronic files, audio 

format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov 

or call the Consumer & Governmental 

Affairs Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 

202–418–0432 (tty). 

VI. Ordering Clauses 

19. Accordingly, it is ordered, 

pursuant to sections 1, 2, 4(i), 4(j), 7, 

301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 332 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 154(i), 

154(j), 157, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, and 

332, that this third report and order in 

WT Docket No. 12–40 is adopted. 

20. It is further ordered that the third 

report and order shall be effective 

September 4, 2018. 

21. It is further ordered that Part 22 

of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR part 

22, is amended as specified in 

Appendix A of the third report and 

order, effective September 4, 2018 

except as otherwise provided herein. 

22. It is further ordered that the 

amendment adopted in the third report 

and order, and specified in Appendix A 

of the third report and order, to 47 CFR 

22.303, which contains new or modified 

information collection requirements that 

require approval by the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, will become 

effective after the Commission publishes 

a document in the Federal Register 

announcing such approval and the 

relevant effective date. 

23. It is further ordered that this 

Cellular Reform proceeding in WT 

Docket No. 12–40, including RM Nos. 

11510 and 11660, is hereby terminated. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 149 / Thursday, August 2, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 37763 

24. It is further ordered, pursuant to 

Section 801(a)(1)(A) of the 

Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 

801(a)(1)(A), that the Commission shall 

send a copy of the third report and order 

to Congress and to the Government 

Accountability Office. 

25. It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

the third report and order, including the 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to 

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 22 

Communications common carriers, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

Final Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 22 as 

follows: 

PART 22—PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 22 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 222, 303, 309 

and 332. 

§ 22.3 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 2. Section 22.3 is removed and 

reserved. 

§ 22.301 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 3. Section 22.301 is removed and 

reserved. 

§ 22.303 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 4. Section 22.303 is removed and 

reserved. 

§ 22.321 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 5. Section 22.321 is removed and 

reserved. 

§ 22.325 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 6. Section 22.325 is removed and 

reserved. 

§ 22.927 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 7. Section 22.927 is removed and 

reserved. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16512 Filed 8–1–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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