18986 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1—DATES AND TIMES OF ENFORCEMENT OF 33 CFR 100.1302 SPECIAL LOCAL REGULATIONS AT VARIOUS

LOCATIONS IN THE SECTOR COLUMBIA RIVER CAPTAIN OF THE PORT ZONE IN 2022—Continued 

Number Date Event Location 

2 .............. July 9, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 7 

p.m.

The Big Float, group inner-tube 

float.

Portland, OR. Regulated area includes all navigable waters of 

the Willamette River, in Portland Oregon, enclosed by the 

Hawthorne Bridge, the Marquam Bridge, and west of a line 

beginning at the Hawthorne Bridge at approximate location 

45°30′50′′ N; 122°40′21′′ W, and running south to the 

Marquam Bridge at approximate location 45°30′27′′ N; 

122°40′11′′ W. 

3 .............. July 29, 2022 thru July 31, 

2022 from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 

p.m.

Kennewick Hydroplane Races Kennewick, WA, Regulated area includes all navigable waters 

within the Columbia River in the vicinity of Columbia Park, 

commencing at the Interstate 395 Bridge and continuing up 

river approximately 2.0 miles and terminating at the northern 

end of Wade Island. 

4 .............. August 13, 2022 from 10:30 

a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Swim the Snake ....................... Perry, WA. Regulated area includes all navigable waters, bankto-bank of the Snake River, 500 yards upstream and 500 

yards downstream from the Washington State Highway 261 

Bridge at the approximate position of 46°35′23′′ N; 

118°13′10′′ W. 

All coordinates are listed in reference Datum NAD 1983. 

During the enforcement periods, as 

reflected in § 100.1302, Table 1, if you 

are the operator of a vessel in the 

regulated area you must comply with 

directions from the Patrol Commander 

or any Official Patrol displaying a Coast 

Guard ensign. In addition to this 

notification of enforcement in the 

Federal Register, the Coast Guard plans 

to provide notification of this 

enforcement period via the Local Notice 

to Mariners and marine information 

broadcasts. 

Dated: March 27, 2022. 

M. Scott Jackson, 

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the 

Port Sector Columbia River. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06903 Filed 3–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9110–04–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Parts 15 

[ET Docket No. 14–165, GN Docket No. 12– 

268, ET Docket No. 20–36 and ET Docket 

No. 04–186; FCC 22–6; FRS 78919] 

Unlicensed Operations in the 

Television Bands, Repurposed 600 

MHz Band, 600 MHz Guard Bands and 

Duplex Gap, and Channel 37; 

Expanding the Economic and 

Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum 

Through Incentive Auctions; 

Unlicensed White Space Device 

Operations in the Television Bands 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) adopts orders resolving 

pending issues associated with white 

space devices and databases. The 

actions being taken will provide 

additional certainty to white space 

device users, manufacturers and 

database administrators to enable 

unlicensed white space devices to 

operate efficiently and protect other 

spectrum users, in particular wireless 

microphone users. In the Second Order 

on Reconsideration, the Commission 

addresses petitions for reconsideration 

of the requirement established in the 

Commission’s White Spaces Report and 

Order that white space databases 

‘‘push’’ channel availability changes to 

white space devices when a licensed 

wireless microphone operator registers 

in the white space database to use a TV 

channel. The Commission removes the 

push notification requirement and 

replaces it with a simpler rule that 

requires certain white space devices to 

re-check the database more frequently. 

In the Order, the Commission denies a 

petition for reconsideration of the Office 

of Engineering and Technology’s 

(OET’s) designation of Nominet UK 

(now RED Technologies) as a white 

space database administrator. 

DATES: Effective May 2, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Hugh VanTuyl, Office of Engineering 

and Technology, (202) 418–7506 or 

Hugh.VanTuyl@FCC.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s 

document, Second Order on 

Reconsideration and Order, ET Docket 

No. 14–165, GN Docket No. 12–268, ET 

Docket No. 20–36 and ET Docket No. 

04–186; FCC 22–6, adopted January 25, 

2022 and released January 26, 2022. The 

full text of this document is available for 

public inspection and can be 

downloaded at: https://www.fcc.gov/ 

document/fcc-takes-action-unlicensedwhite-space-device-database-issues. 

When the FCC Headquarters reopens to 

the public, the full text of this document 

also will be available for public 

inspection and copying during regular 

business hours in the FCC Reference 

Center, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 

20554. 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 Commission’s 

Consumer and Governmental Affairs 

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

418–0432 (TTY). 

Procedural Matters 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses. 

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) 

concerning the possible impact of the 

rule changes contained in this Second 

Order on Reconsideration on small 

entities. As required by the RFA, an 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(IRFA) was incorporated in the Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) (86 FR 

38969, July 23, 2021). The Commission 

sought written public comment on the 

proposals in the NPRM, including 

comments on the IRFA. No comments 

were filed addressing the IRFA. 

Accordingly, the Commission has 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 18987 

prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (FRFA) concerning the 

possible impact of the rule changes 

contained in the document on small 

entities. The present FRFA conforms to 

the RFA and can be viewed under 

Appendix C of the item at: https://

www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-takesaction-unlicensed-white-space-devicedatabase-issues. 

Paperwork Reduction Act. This 

document does not contain new or 

modified information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public 

Law 104–13. In addition, therefore, it 

does not contain any new or modified 

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©(4). 

Congressional Review Act. The 

Commission has determined, and the 

Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

concurs, that this rule is ‘‘non-major’’ 

under the Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission will 

send a copy of this Second Order on 

Reconsideration and Order to Congress 

and the Government Accountability 

Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

Synopsis 

Background 

The existing rules prescribe 

communications between white space 

devices and a white space database to 

provide interference protection to other 

spectrum users—both to authorized 

services and protected users generally 

and to licensed wireless microphone 

operations that are registered at 

particular times and locations in the 

database. To provide general protection 

to authorized services (e.g., primary and 

secondary broadcast television users in 

the TV bands, wireless service providers 

in the 600 MHz service band) and 

protected users (e.g., TV translator 

receive sites and Multiple Video 

Program Distributor (MVPD) receive 

sites), white space devices must recheck the database at least once per day 

to obtain the list of available channels 

at the location where the device 

operates. The Commission established 

these timeframes because most 

protected services listed in its databases 

do not change on a frequent basis, and 

because the Commission provides 

updated data to the white space 

database administrators only once every 

weekday. To protect licensed wireless 

microphones operating in the TV bands 

that are registered in the white spaces 

database, the Commission requires more 

frequent communications in the event of 

microphone usage registrations that 

need more timely protection. In the 

2015 White Spaces Report and Order, 

the Commission adopted the push 

notification requirement, which it 

believed to be an efficient way of 

achieving this objective. Furthermore, 

because licensed wireless microphone 

operations can be registered in any 

white space database, the Commission 

required that a white space database 

administrator share registration 

information with the other databases in 

a timely fashion. 

The Commission’s decision to adopt 

the push notification requirement was 

intended to provide protection to 

licensed wireless microphone 

operations that may, upon registering to 

operate on specified TV channels, need 

quick protection from potential 

interference from white space device 

operations. Prior to adopting the 

Incentive Auction R&O in 2014, which 

required repurposing and auctioning 

some TV band spectrum for new 600 

MHz wireless service, the Commission 

had reserved two TV channels where 

white space devices were not permitted 

to operate to ensure that there would be 

spectrum available for wireless 

microphones used in applications such 

as electronic news gathering for which 

it is not possible to register the 

operating location in the database at 

least 24 hours in advance. In the 

Incentive Auction R&O, the Commission 

decided to no longer designate two 

unused television channels for wireless 

microphones and instead took steps to 

improve the operation of the white 

space database to provide more 

immediate protection to wireless 

microphones. To ensure that registered 

wireless microphone users continue to 

receive protection in a timely manner, 

the Commission then proposed in its 

2014 White Spaces NPRM to: (1) 

Require fixed and Mode II personal/ 

portable white space devices to re-check 

the database at time intervals not to 

exceed 20 minutes, (2) eliminate the 

rule that allows a white space device to 

continue operating until 11:59 p.m. on 

the following day if it cannot establish 

contact with the database, and (3) 

require database administrators to share 

wireless microphone registration 

information between databases within 

ten minutes. 

In the White Spaces Report and Order 

adopted in August of 2015 the 

Commission sought to balance the 

concerns of white space device and 

wireless microphone proponents when 

it adopted the push notification 

requirement in place of the proposed 

20-minute re-check requirement to meet 

its objectives. The Commission was 

concerned that requiring all white space 

devices to re-check a database 

(regardless of their location) for a list of 

available channels every twenty 

minutes could unnecessarily burden the 

database administrators, adversely affect 

operation of white space devices relying 

on batteries for operation, and increase 

costs for white space device users. To 

ensure that channels would continue to 

be available for wireless microphones 

used for events that cannot be 

anticipated, such as late-breaking news 

events, the Commission concluded at 

that time, as suggested by parties in the 

record, that a reasonable and workable 

approach to accomplishing its goals was 

to require that database administrators 

‘‘push’’ information to white space 

devices only in areas where licensed 

wireless microphones will be used, 

rather than requiring all white space 

devices to re-check a database every 

twenty minutes. Under this approach, 

when a database administrator receives 

a registration request for immediate 

access to particular channels for 

licensed wireless microphone use, the 

database administrators would, within 

ten minutes, share the licensed wireless 

microphone’s channel registration 

information among themselves and 

within 20 minutes of receiving that 

information, would ‘‘push’’ information 

about changes in channel availability to 

fixed and Mode II personal/portable 

white space devices. The Commission 

provided white space database 

administrators 12 months after the 

effective date of the rules, until 

December 23, 2016, to comply with this 

new requirement. 

Petitions for reconsideration. Google 

and NAB each filed a petition 

requesting that the Commission 

reconsider the push notification 

requirement, although each express 

different concerns with the requirement. 

Google contends that the Commission 

failed to recognize that, as a technical 

matter, requiring databases to ‘‘push’’ 

information to devices is at least as 

burdensome as requiring devices to 

‘‘pull’’ information from databases. 

Google states that in order for a database 

to send information to a white space 

device, the device must either request 

information very frequently to simulate 

a push, which dramatically increases 

server utilization and reduces battery 

life in devices relying on such a power 

source, or the device must maintain a 

persistent connection with the database, 

which uses bandwidth and reduces 

battery life by preventing the device 


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from entering a sleep mode. It argues 

that the push rule would limit the use 

of battery powered, low-bandwidth, or 

remote white space devices designed to 

operate for very long periods on a single 

battery charge. It also argues that unless 

an unlicensed device makes frequent 

‘‘pulls’’ from the database or maintains 

a persistent, open connection, security 

features implemented on the device or 

network may block database messages 

from reaching the device. Google further 

argues that limiting the geographic area 

for database pushes does not reduce the 

burden on unlicensed devices or 

databases because there is no way for a 

database to communicate information to 

a particular device unless all devices in 

all locations continually check for 

updates. 

NAB argues that the push notification 

requirement is insufficient for providing 

technical assurance that white space 

devices will actually receive messages 

and cease operation on channels 

registered for use by licensed wireless 

microphones, and is concerned that 

white space devices may be used in 

internal private networks protected by 

firewalls that prevent external 

messaging. NAB states that if the 

Commission maintains the push 

notification approach, it must modify 

the rules to require that white space 

devices be capable of receiving 

notifications, including when they are 

not in operation or connected to the 

internet, and further that devices send 

the database a confirmation when they 

have received and complied with a push 

notification. 

Petitioners and commenting parties 

disagree, however, on what they view as 

the appropriate approach going forward. 

Google requests that the Commission 

require white space devices to contact 

the database more frequently on two 

designated ‘‘fast polling’’ channels, an 

approach similar to the one that Google 

had made in response to the White 

Spaces NPRM that the Commission had 

previously rejected in the White Spaces 

Report and Order. Google again suggests 

that the Commission can protect 

licensed wireless microphones by 

identifying two channels on which 

unlicensed devices would be required to 

query the database every 20 minutes, 

while allowing white space devices 

operating on other channels to check the 

database only once daily. It argues that 

designating two ‘‘fast-polling’’ channels 

would minimize the burden of constant 

rechecking on unlicensed devices and 

database operators, while providing 

adequate protection for wireless 

microphones used during breaking news 

events. Microsoft agrees with Google’s 

suggestion. Google and Microsoft point 

out that under the previous rules only 

two channels were available on short 

notice for exclusive wireless 

microphone use and argue that because 

licensed wireless microphone users 

have access to a dedicated fourmegahertz channel in the 600 MHz 

duplex gap and the ability to reserve 

channels in advance of predictable 

events like games and concerts, 

designating two fast-polling channels 

would leave wireless microphone 

operators no worse off than before. 

NAB requests that, in place of a push 

notification, the Commission require 

white space devices operating on any 

channel to contact the database every 20 

minutes for an updated list of available 

channels, consistent with the 

Commission’s proposal in the White 

Spaces NPRM. NAB argues that 

requiring white space devices to contact 

the database to check on channel 

availability more frequently, coupled 

with a requirement that devices cease 

operation if they cannot contact the 

database, is simpler, more efficient, 

more cost-effective, and will provide 

greater protection for licensed wireless 

microphones without requiring 

manufacturers to redesign devices. 

Shure agrees with NAB’s suggestion. 

Regarding Google’s proposed solution 

of creating two fast-polling channels, 

NAB contends that Google misinterprets 

the intent of the Commission’s push 

requirement and fails to reflect the 

policy balance the Commission 

attempted to strike. NAB states that 

limiting polling to two channels does 

not provide licensed operations with the 

same capability and protection as under 

the Commission’s previous rules or the 

same capability and protection as the 

Commission sought to provide with the 

push requirement. NAB further argues 

that Google’s claim that polling on all 

channels would drive up database costs 

and adversely decrease device battery 

life is specious because the entire TV 

white space database is less than a 

couple of hundred kilobytes of data. 

Google counters that the issue is the 

frequency of database requests, not the 

size of the database or the amount of 

information transmitted in each request, 

and that increasing the number of 

requests 72-fold per day per device will 

be a burden on the database as white 

space devices become more widely 

deployed. 

Only Key Bridge, a database 

administrator, disagrees that 

implementing a push capability for 

white space devices and databases is 

impractical. It argues that the 

Commission’s requirement to 

implement push notifications is sound 

and should be upheld, and that the 

Commission should reject Google’s and 

NAB’s objections that managing white 

space devices is too difficult to 

implement. 

Push Notification Waiver Order. By 

late 2016, while the petitions on push 

notification remained pending, no 

manufacturers had yet obtained 

certification for equipment that was 

capable of meeting the push notification 

requirement. Absent Commission 

action, all approved white space devices 

would have been required to cease 

operation no later than December 23, 

2016. Accordingly, on December 22, 

2016, the Commission adopted the Push 

Notification Waiver Order temporarily 

waiving the push notification 

requirements. OET has periodically 

extended this waiver several times since 

then, most recently on September 30, 

2021 when it extended this waiver 

through March 31, 2022, or until the 

Commission takes final action on the 

petitions for reconsideration of the push 

notification rules, whichever comes 

earlier. As a result of these successive 

waiver orders, the push notification 

requirement has never come into effect. 

The Commission notes that since 

issuance of these waiver orders, no 

party has submitted additional 

suggestions for Commission 

consideration relating to the pending 

petitions. 

Discussion 

The record before the Commission 

shows that the push notification 

requirement is viewed as problematic by 

advocates for licensed wireless 

microphone and white space device 

operations alike. The Commission’s goal 

all along has been to adopt rules that 

would serve to protect licensed wireless 

microphones quickly following 

registration while also minimizing the 

burden on white space device 

operations. Although the Commission 

believes that a push notification 

approach is technically achievable, and 

notes that it has required access systems 

with rapid response times that, like the 

push notification, are more complicated 

than a periodic database re-check in 

other bands (such as in the Citizens 

Broadband Radio Service), the 

Commission agrees with most 

commenters and concludes that there is 

no reason to require a push notification 

approach with respect to white space 

devices and the white space database 

system. As discussed below, replacing 

the push notification requirement with 

a more frequent re-check requirement 

will meet the requisite need for 

protecting a limited number of 

registered wireless microphones, and 

does so in a sufficiently expeditious 


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fashion while not increasing the cost 

and complexity of white space devices 

and the database system by avoiding the 

need to redesign existing white space 

devices and the database system. 

Therefore, on reconsideration, the 

Commission replaces the push 

notification requirement for fixed and 

Mode II personal/portable devices 

operating in the TV bands, except for 

narrowband devices (which are 

addressed in the Further Notice), with a 

simpler and more easily implementable 

approach, namely requiring that these 

fixed and personal/portable white space 

devices re-check the white space 

database at least once every hour, i.e., 

no longer than 60 minutes between rechecks. This frequent re-check 

requirement will protect licensed 

wireless microphone operations shortly 

following their database registration and 

will effectively protect registered 

licensed wireless microphone 

operations. The Commission adopts the 

requirement for white space devices to 

check the database every hour rather 

than every 20 minutes as it previously 

proposed because the Commission 

believe that this time-frame will be 

sufficient to accommodate licensed 

wireless microphones for unplanned 

events while reducing threefold the 

number of database rechecks each day. 

Reducing the number of database 

rechecks is important to ensure efficient 

white space device operation, reduce 

overhead on the networks, and 

maximize battery life for white space 

devices that are not connected to a 

reliable power source. To further reduce 

the impact on network traffic and white 

space devices, the Commission will not 

require devices that are in a sleep mode 

to re-check the database until they 

emerge from that state. Informed by the 

record before it, both by objections to 

the push notification requirement and 

by subsequent developments with 

regard to white space device operations, 

the Commission again seeks to reach the 

right balance between licensed wireless 

microphone users and white space 

device users that share use of unused 

spectrum in the TV bands. The Further 

Notice seeks comment on the database 

re-check interval that should apply to 

the narrowband IoT white space devices 

and the mobile white space devices that 

the Commission authorized in the 

recently adopted 2020 White Spaces 

Report and Order. 

Although NAB and wireless 

microphone interests have requested 

requiring that white space devices recheck the database every 20 minutes, 

the Commission believes that requiring 

a re-check every 60 minutes will be 

sufficient and, by relying on a re-check 

approach instead of the more complex 

push notification approach, the 

Commission decision will serve to 

ensure the kind of reliable and effective 

protection those parties seek. The 

Commission also retains the 

requirement for database administrators 

to share Part 74 wireless microphone 

registration information with all other 

white space databases within ten 

minutes of a registration submission 

from a wireless microphone licensee. 

The Commission finds that these 

requirements will ensure that licensed 

wireless microphones used for 

electronic newsgathering and other 

unplanned uses can receive reliable and 

reasonably immediate protection from 

white space devices. In the 

Commission’s considerations, it takes 

into account that, following completion 

of the Incentive Auction in 2017, 

licensed wireless microphone users 

have immediate and exclusive access to 

a 4-megahertz portion of the 600 MHz 

duplex gap and can also use a 2- 

megahertz portion of the 600 MHz guard 

band where white space devices are not 

permitted to operate, and that these 

wireless microphone operators 

potentially could make use of the 6- 

megahertz of the 600 MHz duplex gap 

available for unlicensed operations if 

white space devices are not operating at 

that location. Also, in many parts of the 

country the Commission would expect 

that there are likely to be one or more 

unused vacant TV channels available for 

wireless microphones that are not being 

used by white space devices. 

The balanced approach that the 

Commission is adopting also does not 

impose an unreasonable burden on 

white space devices or database 

systems. Importantly, this approach is 

easily implementable. All currently 

approved white space devices already 

have the capability to re-check the white 

space databases at least once per day for 

a list of all available channels in their 

area, and updating software or firmware, 

or redesigning devices to increase the 

frequency of database checking is a 

fairly simple matter. The Commission 

also concludes that requiring fixed and 

personal portable white space devices, 

except for narrowband IoT devices to recheck on an hourly basis, rather than 

every 20 minutes as previously 

proposed, sufficiently balances concerns 

of the white space device proponents 

concerned about potential battery issues 

while meeting the Commission’s goal of 

quickly ensuring licensed wireless 

microphone access to TV channels for 

late-breaking events. The Commission 

also recognizes the concerns of Google 

and Microsoft that frequently waking a 

device from a sleep mode or preventing 

a device from entering a sleep mode to 

perform more frequent database checks 

or receive push notifications, could 

needlessly reduce the operational time 

of a battery powered device. 

Accordingly, the Commission will not 

require white space devices in sleep 

mode to contact the database. The 

Commission also believes that the 

increase in database traffic by changing 

to an hourly re-check interval will not 

be problematic for the white space 

database as computing power readily 

available today should be more than 

sufficient to manage twenty-four queries 

per day per white space device. 

The Commission notes, however, as 

the number of white space devices that 

contact the database increases, more 

frequent re-checks from a significantly 

larger number of devices could have an 

impact on the databases. The 

Commission continues to believe that a 

push notification system could in some 

implementations potentially be more 

efficient if the number of white space 

devices that must contact the database 

is large. Accordingly, while the 

Commission is not requiring 

implementation of a push notification 

system, it is retaining an option for 

white space device manufacturers and 

database administrators in the future to 

develop and implement such a system, 

as had been permitted by the rules in 

effect prior to the White Spaces Report 

and Order. However, the Commission is 

not specifying detailed technical 

requirements for a push notification 

system. The Commission encourages the 

industry, if it determines that the need 

develops, to collaborate on a standard 

for push notifications to white space 

devices and the Commission will revisit 

this issue as necessary to facilitate the 

development and deployment of a 

system developed by industry that 

provides at least the same degree of 

protection to protected services as the 

rules the Commission is adopting 

herein. 

The Commission rejects the 

suggestion by Google and Microsoft that 

the Commission should limit more 

frequent database re-checking to white 

space devices operating on only two 

designated channels, a reprise of the 

approach that the Commission 

previously rejected in the White Spaces 

Report and Order in 2015. The 

Commission does so for the same 

reasons. Because only a few channels 

would be designated for ‘‘fast polling,’’ 

this approach is less flexible in meeting 

the needs of wireless microphone users 

for immediate access to spectrum 

because broadcasters covering breaking 

news events may have wireless 


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microphones that operate on channels 

other than those designated for ‘‘fast 

polling.’’ 

Conforming edits. Because the 

Commission is adopting a 60-minute recheck requirement for most fixed and 

personal/portable white space devices 

operating in the TV bands, it is also 

modifying certain other rules to conform 

its rules to this change. In particular, the 

Commission’s changes involve 

modifying existing rule provisions 

related to the requirement for white 

space devices to access the database on 

a daily basis. 

Under current rules, a white space 

device is required to re-check the 

database at least once per day to obtain 

a list of available channels for operation. 

The rules also provide that if a white 

space device subsequently is unable to 

make contact with a database, operation 

is permitted to continue until 11:59 p.m. 

on the following day, and if by then, it 

cannot contact the database, it must 

cease operation until such time as it reestablishes contact. The Commission 

proposed eliminating these provisions 

when it proposed in its 2014 White 

Spaces NPRM to adopt a 20-minute recheck requirement for addressing 

registered licensed wireless microphone 

operations. When, however, the 

Commission adopted the push 

notification requirement in the White 

Spaces Report and Order instead of a 

20-minute re-check requirement, it 

concluded that it should not eliminate 

the then-existing daily re-check rule and 

instead would leave in place the 

requirement that white space devices recheck the database at least once per day 

to obtain the list of available TV 

channels at the location where the 

device operates. 

Because the Commission now adopts 

a 60-minute re-check requirement for 

fixed and personal/portable white space 

devices operating in the TV bands, other 

than narrowband IoT devices (discussed 

in the Further Notice), the Commission 

modifies the rules that require white 

space devices to only re-check the 

database once a day to obtain a list of 

available channels, and that permit 

these devices to continue operating 

using a channel on that list until 11:59 

p.m. the following day when it cannot 

contact a database on a given day. 

Maintaining these rules would be 

inappropriate since this would allow 

white space devices that cannot contact 

a database to operate for a significantly 

longer time period than the 60-minute 

re-check interval the Commission is 

requiring for protecting licensed 

wireless microphones operating in the 

TV bands. The Commission notes that 

in response to its proposal in the White 

Spaces NPRM to require that white 

space devices re-check the database 

every 20 minutes, several commenters 

agreed that the daily re-check provision 

in the rules, and permitting white space 

device to continue operating until 11:59 

p.m. the following day when it is unable 

to contact the database, should be 

eliminated. Some commenters 

cautioned, though, that the Commission 

should permit a white space device to 

retry contacting the database one or 

more times before requiring that it 

discontinue operating because a white 

space device may occasionally be 

unable to make contact with the 

database within the designated polling 

interval. The Commission agrees. 

Accordingly, to ensure that white space 

devices may continue to operate during 

short network outages, the Commission 

will require fixed and personal/portable 

white space devices operating in the TV 

bands to cease operation after two failed 

scheduled checks, i.e., 120 minutes. 

This requirement will ensure that a 

white space device cannot continue to 

operate for an extended period of time 

on a channel that may be registered for 

use by a licensed wireless microphone 

in the event the white space device 

cannot contact a database to verify the 

list of available channels. This approach 

also is analogous to the current 

requirement that a white space device 

must cease operation after a time period 

no greater than two failed scheduled 

checks (a maximum of 48 hours for a recheck interval of 24 hours). The 

Commission retains the current re-check 

requirements for white space devices 

that operate outside of the TV bands as 

well as for narrowband and mobile 

devices, but seeks comment in the 

Further Notice on whether it should 

change the re-check requirements for 

those devices. 

Because the Commission is reducing 

the length of time that white space 

devices may continue to operate when 

they cannot contact the database, it 

correspondingly reduces the time 

interval over which white space devices 

must adjust their channel usage in 

accordance with licensed wireless 

microphone scheduling information 

provided by the database. The 

Commission therefore requires that the 

white space database provide registered 

licensed wireless microphones 

scheduling information for the two hour 

time period after the white space device 

contacts the database. The white space 

device must adjust its use of channels 

in accordance with this scheduling 

information, i.e., it must cease using the 

channel during the times when a 

licensed wireless microphone is 

scheduled to use it. The Commission 

selects a time period of two hours 

because that is the maximum time that 

a white space device may operate if it 

is unable to contact the database. The 

Commission does not require white 

space devices operating outside the TV 

bands, i.e., in the 600 MHz service 

bands, the upper 6-megahertz portion of 

the 600 MHz duplex gap and on channel 

37, to adjust their use of channels in 

accordance with scheduling information 

provided by the white space database 

because wireless microphones do not 

operate on those frequencies on a 

licensed basis and thus there will be no 

scheduling information for the database 

to provide. 

The Commission modifies Section 

15.711 to implement the changes to the 

database re-check interval discussed 

above, and to streamline the applicable 

rules. Specifically, it revises paragraph 

(i) to remove the push notification 

requirement and replaces it with an 

option for manufacturers to develop a 

push notification system as the pre-2015 

rules allowed. The Commission moves 

the requirement for white space 

databases to share licensed wireless 

microphone registrations with other 

white space databases within ten 

minutes from Section 15.711(i)(1) to 

Section 15.715(l). The Commission 

revises Section 15.711(h) to place the 

database re-check requirements for fixed 

and Mode II personal/portable devices 

in a single paragraph, rather than in 

separate paragraphs as under the current 

rules. 

Transition. The Commission also 

adopts provisions establishing the 

transition requirements for white space 

device compliance with the newly 

established re-check requirements as set 

forth herein. The Commission notes that 

increasing the frequency of database 

checks can generally be done by 

reprogramming a white space device’s 

software or firmware, thus enabling the 

new requirement to be met relatively 

quickly. Accordingly, the Commission 

requires that devices for which a 

certification application is approved by 

a Telecommunication Certification Body 

(TCB) beginning six months after the 

effective date of the rules must comply 

with the hourly database re-check 

requirement that replaces the daily recheck requirement. The Commission 

also requires that within six months 

after the effective date of the rules, all 

white space devices imported into or 

marketed within the United States 

comply with these requirements, 

regardless of when they were certified. 

Because white space devices already 

deployed generally should be able to 

download a software upgrade, the 


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Commission also requires that 

previously approved fixed white space 

devices that can be re-programmed 

comply with the faster re-check 

requirement six months after the 

effective date of the rules. Finally, the 

Commission modifies Section 15.37(j) to 

specify these transition dates for the 

faster database re-check interval in place 

of the transition dates for the push 

notification requirement that the 

Commission eliminates. 

Order 

In this Order, the Commission denies 

NAB’s petition for reconsideration of 

OET’s 2018 action designating Nominet 

UK as a white space database 

administrator. OET referred this petition 

to the Commission for action pursuant 

to Section 1.106(a) of the rules. Nominet 

addressed concerns raised by NAB 

shortly after it filed its petition. The 

Commission notes that in 2020 

Nominet’s database was subsequently 

transferred to RED Technologies, which 

currently serves as a white spaces 

database administrator. 

Background. Pursuant to the white 

spaces rules, the Commission can 

designate one or more entities to 

administer a white space database 

system that provides lists of available 

channels to fixed, mobile and Mode II 

personal/portable white space devices. 

On November 16, 2017, Nominet filed a 

proposal with OET seeking to 

administer a white space database. After 

seeking comment on Nominet’s 

proposal, on June 11, 2018, the 

Commission’s OET designated Nominet 

as a white space database administrator, 

subject to certain conditions, including 

that Nominet’s database would be 

subject to a 45-day public trial period 

before it would be made available for 

actual use by white space devices to 

allow interested parties an opportunity 

to check that the database is providing 

accurate results. 

Following the 45-day public trial 

period, on September 19, 2018, OET 

gave final approval for Nominet to 

operate its white space database system. 

OET found that Nominet’s white space 

database system was compliant with the 

Commission’s rules and ready for 

operation, based on its own examination 

and testing of the Nominet database 

system and on the results of the public 

trial, including comments submitted to 

Nominet during and after the trial and 

Nominet’s responses to those comments. 

As OET noted, during the trial period 

Nominet indicated that it successfully 

resolved three issues raised by NAB 

concerning Nominet’s database system, 

including concerns about its channel 

availability calculator. 

On October 19, 2018, NAB filed a 

petition for reconsideration of OET’s 

designation of Nominet as a white space 

database administrator. NAB states that 

its review of Nominet’s database 

indicated that it contains incorrect 

channel information for hundreds of TV 

stations and that it provides at least one 

incorrect available channel at more than 

three-quarters of twenty-six locations 

analyzed. NAB states that the Nominet 

database is extracting the wrong 

information from the Commission 

database and that its approval should be 

revoked until Nominet addresses these 

issues. NAB further argues that OET 

should rework its internal processes and 

policies for approval of white space 

database administrators to ensure that 

sufficient testing is performed to detect 

errors, including testing with actual 

white space devices. 

Nominet responded to NAB’s petition 

by agreeing that NAB had identified 

discrepancies, but asserts that those 

discrepancies arose due to difficulties 

experienced when importing TV station 

data from the Commission’s new 

Licensing and Management System 

(LMS), which had replaced the 

Commission’s Consolidated Database 

System (CDBS). Nominet explains that it 

was the first database administrator 

required to use the LMS, and that all 

published material by the FCC regarding 

how to apply the white space rules to 

TV data pertains to CDBS, which had 

been used by all previous database 

administrators. Nominet concludes by 

stating it promptly addressed NAB’s 

concerns, and that the changes required 

to correct the import procedure were 

applied on October 24, 2018, only days 

after NAB filed its petition for 

reconsideration on October 19, 2018. 

NAB did not respond directly to 

Nominet’s response or identify specific 

ongoing errors that needed remedying. 

The Commission notes that, 

subsequent to the designation of 

Nominet as a white space database 

administrator, and in response to a 

petition submitted by NAB in 2015, the 

Commission took steps in the 2019 

White Spaces Order to improve the 

accuracy and reliability of the fixed 

white space device data in the white 

space databases and ensure that the 

potential for these devices to cause 

harmful interference to protected 

services is minimized. Specifically, the 

Commission required all fixed white 

space devices to incorporate a geolocation capability such as GPS and 

eliminated the option that permitted the 

geographic coordinates of a fixed device 

to be determined by a professional 

installer. The Commission also adopted 

rules that allow the use of external geolocation sources by a fixed white space 

device when the device is used at a 

location where its internal geo-location 

capability does not function, such as 

deep inside a building. In addition, the 

Commission required fixed white space 

devices to re-check their geographic 

coordinates at least once a day and 

report the coordinates to the white 

space database. 

Discussion. The Commission denies 

the NAB petition for reconsideration of 

OET’s designation of Nominet as a 

white space database administrator. The 

Commission finds that the database 

errors discovered by NAB, which were 

immediately corrected by Nominet, are 

not grounds to revoke the designation of 

Nominet as a white space database 

administrator. As Nominet notes in its 

response to NAB’s petition, Nominet 

was the first white space database 

administrator required to obtain TV 

station data from the Commission’s new 

LMS instead of the older, wellunderstood CDBS. The LMS has a more 

sophisticated data structure than the 

CDBS, thus requiring new and more 

complex algorithms than those used by 

other white space database 

administrators to extract the proper TV 

station facility information (‘‘extraction 

logic’’) for input into the white space 

database. OET worked closely with 

Nominet to test the new extraction logic 

using Nominet’s trial database to ensure 

that it functioned correctly. It appears 

that Nominet failed to include all of the 

updates made to the test database 

reviewed by OET in the final version 

that it made available for commercial 

use. As noted above, Nominet took 

action to remedy specific concerns 

raised by NAB. While the Commission 

is denying NAB’s petition, the 

Commission underscores that it 

appreciates NAB bringing these 

concerns to the attention of the 

Commission and Nominet so that the 

errors could be remedied. However, the 

Commission does not believe that these 

errors show any fundamental deficiency 

on the part of the database administrator 

but appear to be the result of issues 

related to the Commission’s transition 

from the CDBS to the LMS combined 

with an inadvertent failure by Nominet 

to include all of the latest updates in its 

final version of the database. Nominet 

promptly recognized its ongoing 

responsibility for remedying concerns 

brought to its attention. As noted above, 

in 2020, Nominet transferred its 

database to RED Technology, and NAB 

did not indicate any concerns about this 

transfer. 

The Commission takes seriously the 

integrity of the white space database 

since that is the primary means to 


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18992 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

prevent white space devices from 

causing harmful interference to TV 

reception and other protected services. 

As noted above, the Commission at the 

suggestion of NAB took steps to increase 

the integrity of the white space database 

subsequent to the 2018 designation of 

Nominet as a white space database 

administrator. The changes adopted in 

the 2019 White Spaces Order will 

ensure that fixed white space devices 

provide accurate coordinates to the 

white space database by requiring the 

incorporation of a geo-location 

mechanism in all fixed devices, as well 

as periodic re-checking of the 

coordinates by the white space device. 

The 2019 White Spaces Order also 

clarifies the registration requirements 

for fixed white space devices. These 

changes reduce the likelihood that fixed 

devices will report incorrect coordinates 

to the database, which could result in 

harmful interference to TV reception 

and protected services, as well as ensure 

the database contains accurate 

registration information that could be 

used to help track down any devices 

that cause harmful interference. OET 

will continue to work with any white 

space database administrator as well as 

any other interested party to ensure that 

the database provides accurate lists of 

available channels to white space 

devices. 

Ordering Clauses 

Accordingly, it is ordered that, 

pursuant to the authority contained in 

Sections 4(i), 302, 303(b), (c), (e), (f), (r), 

and 307 of the Communications Act of 

1934, as amended, and sections 6403 

and 6407 of the Middle Class Tax Relief 

and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public 

Law 112–96, 126 Stat. 156, 47 U.S.C. 

154(i), 302, 303(b), (c), (e), (f), (r), 307, 

1452, 1454, this Second Order on 

Reconsideration, Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking, and Order is 

hereby adopted. 

It is further ordered that the petitions 

for reconsiderations filed by Google, Inc. 

and the National Association of 

Broadcasters on December 23, 2015 in 

ET Docket No. 14–165 are granted in 

part and denied in part to the extent 

described herein. 

It is further ordered that Part 15 of the 

Commission’s rules is amended as 

specified in Appendix A of the Second 

Order on Reconsideration, Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and 

Order, and such rule amendments will 

become effective 30 days after the date 

of publication in the Federal Register. 

It is further ordered that the waiver of 

Sections 15.37(j) and 15.711(i) of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 15.37(j) and 

15.711(i), adopted by the Commission 

on September 30, 2021, DA 21–349, is 

extended until the effective date of the 

rules adopted herein. 

It is further ordered that the petition 

for reconsideration of Nominet UK’s 

designation as a white space database 

administrator filed by the National 

Association of Broadcasters on October 

19, 2018 in ET Docket No. 04–186 is 

hereby denied. 

It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference 

Information Center, shall send a copy of 

the Second Order on Reconsideration, 

Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 

and Order, including the Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the U.S. 

Small Business Administration. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 15 

Communications equipment. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

Final Rules 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR part 15 as 

follows: 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 15 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 302a, 303, 304, 

307, 336, 544a, and 549. 

■ 2. Amend § 15.37 by revising 

paragraph (j) to read as follows: 

§ 15.37 Transition provisions for 

compliance with the rules. 

* * * * * 

(j) White space devices which are 

approved by Telecommunication 

Certification Bodies beginning [six 

months after the effective date of the 

rules] shall comply with the database recheck requirements in § 15.711(h) of 

this part. White space devices that are 

in operation, imported or marketed 

beginning [six months after the effective 

date of the rules] shall also comply with 

these requirements. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 15.711 by revising 

paragraphs (c)(2)(iii), (d)(4), (h) and (i) 

to read as follows: 

§ 15.711 Interference avoidance methods. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) A fixed white space device shall 

access the database at least as frequently 

as specified in paragraph (h) of this 

section to verify that the operating 

channel(s) and corresponding power 

levels continue to remain available. The 

fixed device’s registration information 

shall be updated if the geographic 

coordinates reported to the database 

differ by more than ±50 meters from the 

previously registered coordinates. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(4) A Mode II personal/portable white 

space device that has been in a powered 

state shall re-check its location and 

access the database at least as frequently 

as specified in paragraph (h) of this 

section to verify that the operating 

channel(s) and corresponding power 

levels continue to be available. 

* * * * * 

(h) Database re-check requirement. (1) 

Fixed and Mode II personal/portable 

devices, except for narrowband devices, 

operating in the television bands. 

(i) A device that has been in a 

powered-on state shall access the white 

space database at least once every 60 

minutes to verify that the operating 

channel(s) and associated maximum 

power levels continue to be available at 

its location. Devices shall adjust their 

channel usage in accordance with the 

most recent channel availability 

schedule information provided by the 

white space database for the two-hour 

period beginning at the time of the 

device last accessed the database for a 

list of available channels. 

(ii) If a device fails to successfully 

contact the white space database, it may 

continue to operate until no longer than 

120 minutes after the last successful 

contact, at which time it must cease 

operations until it reestablishes contact 

with the white space database and reverifies its list of available channels and 

associated maximum power levels. 

(2) Narrowband devices operating in 

the television bands and fixed and 

Mode II personal/portable devices 

operating outside of the television 

bands. 

(i) A device that has been in a 

powered-on state shall access the 

database at least once a day to verify 

that the operating channel(s) and 

associated maximum power levels 

continue to be available at its location. 

(ii) If a device fails to successfully 

contact the white space database during 

any given day, it may continue to 

operate until 11:59 p.m. of the following 

day at which time it must cease 

operations until it re-establishes contact 

with the white space database and reverifies its list of available channels and 

corresponding power levels. 

(i) Push notifications. Device 

manufacturers and database 

administrators may implement a system 

that pushes updated channel 

availability information from the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 18993 

database to white space devices. 

However, the use of such systems is not 

mandatory, and the requirements for 

white space devices to validate the 

operating channel and to cease 

operation in accordance with paragraph 

(h) of this section continue to apply if 

such a system is used. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Amend § 15.715 by revising 

paragraph (l) to read as follows: 

§ 15.715 White space database 

administrator. 

* * * * * 

(l) If more than one database is 

developed, the database administrators 

shall cooperate to develop a 

standardized process for providing on a 

daily basis or more often, as 

appropriate, the data collected for the 

facilities listed in § 15.713(b)(2) to all 

other white space databases to ensure 

consistency in the records of protected 

facilities. In response to a request for 

immediate access to a channel by a 

licensed wireless microphone user, 

white space database administrators are 

required to share the licensed 

microphone channel registration 

information to all other white space 

database administrators within 10 

minutes of receiving each wireless 

microphone registration. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–06503 Filed 3–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[WC Docket No. 12–375, DA 22–52; FR ID 

77980] 

Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling 

Services 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) announces the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved, for a period of three years, an 

information collection associated with 

the Mandatory Data Collection Order, 

DA 22–52, issued by the Commission’s 

Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or 

Bureau) and Office Economics and 

Analytics (collectively WCB/OEA) on 

January 18, 2022. In that Order, WCB/ 

OEA adopted instructions, a reporting 

template, and a certification form 

related to a data collection regarding 

calling services for incarcerated people. 

OMB approved the data collection on 

March 1, 2022. This document 

establishes an effective date for the 

Mandatory Data Collection Order. 

Responses to to the Third Mandatory 

Data Collection are due June 30, 2022. 

DATES: The effective date of the order 

published March 23, 2022 at 87 FR 

16560 is April 1, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik 

Raven-Hansen, Pricing Policy Division, 

Wireline Competition Bureau, (202) 

418–1532, or email erik.raven-hansen@

fcc.gov.@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document announces that, on March 1, 

2022, OMB approved, for a period of 

three years, the information collection 

requirements adopted on January 18, 

2022, in the Mandatory Data Collection 

Order, DA 22–52, published March 23, 

2022 at 87 FR 16560. The OMB Control 

Number is 3060–1300. The Commission 

publishes this document as an 

announcement of the effective date of 

the requirements for the Mandatory Data 

Collection. 

In the Mandatory Data Collection 

Order, WCB/OEA directed that 

requirements for the Mandatory Data 

Collection adopted in that Order would 

become effective on the date specified 

in a document published in the Federal 

Register announcing OMB approval. We 

note that inmate calling services (ICS) 

providers’ responses to the data 

collection are due no later than June 30, 

2022. 

If you have any comments on the 

Mandatory Data Collection, or how the 

Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Nicole 

Ongele, Federal Communications 

Commission, 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20002. Please include 

the OMB Control Number, 3060–1300, 

in your correspondence. The 

Commission will also accept your 

comments via email at PRA@fcc.gov. 

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 and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the FCC is notifying the public that it 

received OMB approval on March 1, 

2022 for the information collection 

requirements contained in WCB/OEA’s 

Mandatory Data Collection Order. 

Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may 

not conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information unless it displays a current, 

valid OMB Control Number. No person 

shall be subject to any penalty for failing 

to comply with a collection of 

information subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act that does not display a 

current, valid OMB Control Number. 

The OMB Control Number is 3060– 

1300. 

The foregoing notification is required 

by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, Public Law 104–13, October 1, 

1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total data collection burdens and 

costs for the respondents are as follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1300. 

OMB Approval Date: March 1, 2022. 

Expiration Date: March 31, 2025. 

Title: Inmate Calling Service (ICS) 

2022 One-time Data Collection, WC 

Docket No. 12–375, FCC 21–60. 

Form Numbers: FCC Form 2302(a) 

and FCC Form 2302(b). 

Respondents: Business or other for 

profit. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 20 respondents; 20 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 355 

hours on average. 

Frequency of Response: One-time 

reporting requirement. 

Total Annual Burden: 7,100 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No cost. 

Obligation To Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. Statutory 

authority for this information collection 

is contained in sections 1, 4(i)–(j), 

201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 

617 of the Communications Act of 1934, 

as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)–(j), 

201(b), 218, 220, 225, 255, 276, 403, and 

617. 

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No 

Impact(s). 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

The Commission anticipates treating as 

presumptively confidential any 

particular information identified as 

proprietary by calling services 

providers. 

Needs and Uses: Section 201 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended (Act), 47 U.SC. 201, requires 

that calling services providers’ interstate 

and international rates and practices be 

just and reasonable. Section 276 of the 

Act, 47 U.S.C. 276, requires that 

payphone service providers (including 

calling services providers) be fairly 

compensated for completed calls. 

On May 24, 2021, the Commission 

released the Third Report and Order (86 

FR 40682, July 28, 2021), Order on 

Reconsideration (86 FR 40340, July 28, 

2021), and Fifth Further Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (86 FR 40416, 


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