35558 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules

§ 1303.17 Time for hearing and decision.

(a) Any hearing of an appeal by a

grantee from a notice of suspension,

termination or denial of refunding must

be commenced no later than 120 days

from the date the grantee’s appeal is

received by the Departmental Appeals

Board. The final decision in an appeal

whether or not there is a hearing must

be rendered not later than 60 days after

the close of the proceedings, including

submission of the briefs and oral

argument, if allowed or required by the

Departmental Appeals Board, and

completion of final transcripts and any

other applicable corrections to them.

(b) All hearings will be conducted

expeditiously and without undue delay

or postponement.

(c) The time periods established in

paragraph (a) of this section may be

extended if:

(1) The parties jointly request a stay

to engage in settlement negotiations;

(2) Either party requests summary

disposition; or

(3) The Departmental Appeals Board

determines that the Board is unable to

hold a hearing or render its decision

within the specified time period for

reasons beyond the control of either

party or the Board.

[FR Doc. 98–17296 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 2 and 90

[ET Docket No. 98–95; FCC 98–119]

Dedicated Short Range

Communications of Intelligent

Transportation Services

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Commission is proposing

to allocate 75 megahertz of spectrum for

use by Dedicated Short Range

Communications (‘‘DSRC’’) of

Intelligent Transportation Systems

(‘‘ITS’’). DSRC systems are being

designed that require a short range,

wireless link to transfer information

between vehicles and roadside systems.

ITS services are expected to improve

traveler safety, decrease traffic

congestion, and facilitate reduction of

air pollution and conservation of fossil

fuels. This action furthers the goals of

the U.S. Congress, Department of

Transportation and the ITS industry to

improve the efficiency of the Nation’s

transportation infrastructure and to

facilitate the growth of the ITS industry.

DATES: Comments are due September

14, 1998, reply comments are due

October 13, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom

Derenge, Office of Engineering and

Technology, (202) 418–2451.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rule Making, ET Docket 98–

95, FCC 98–119, adopted June 11, 1998,

and released June 11, 1998 . The full

text of this Commission decision is

available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Reference Center (Room 239), 1919

M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., and

also may be purchased from the

Commission’s duplication contractor,

International Transcription Service,

(202) 857–3800, 1231 20th Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036.

Summary of the Notice of Proposed

Rule Making

1. On May 19, 1997, the Intelligent

Transportation Society of America (‘‘ITS

America’’) filed a Petition for

Rulemaking (‘‘Petition’’) requesting that

the Commission allocate 75 megahertz

of spectrum in the 5.850–5.925 GHz

band on a co-primary basis for DSRCbased ITS services. The Petition states

that DSRC links are needed for eleven

ITS user services and places DSRC

needs into three categories: current

DSRC applications; emerging DSRC

applications; and future DSRC

applications.

2. The 5.850–5.925 GHz band is

allocated internationally on a primary

basis for Fixed Services, Fixed Satellite

Service (‘‘FSS’’) Earth-to-space links

(‘‘uplinks’’), and Mobile Services.

Additionally, in Region 2, this band is

allocated on a secondary basis to the

Amateur Radio Service and the

Radiolocation Service. Finally, the

5.850–5.875 GHz segment is designated

internationally for industrial, scientific

and medical (‘‘ISM’’) applications.

Domestically, the entire band is

currently allocated on a co-primary

basis for the Government’s

Radiolocation Service (i.e., for use by

high-powered military radar systems)

and for non-Government FSS uplink

operations. ISM devices and unlicensed

part 15 devices are also permitted to

operate in the 5.850–5.875 GHz

segment. Finally, the Amateur Radio

Service has a secondary domestic

allocation in the entire band.

3. We propose to allocate 75

megahertz of spectrum, at 5.850–5.925

GHz, to the Mobile Service and to

designate its use for DSRC operations.

We tentatively conclude that this

significant amount of proposed

spectrum would further the goals of the

National ITS program and encourage the

development of advanced technologies

to increase the safety and efficiency of

the national transportation

infrastructure well into the future.

Additionally, a 75 megahertz allocation

should enable avoidance of occupied

frequencies in areas where incumbent

use is heavy and should be sufficient to

meet the spectrum demands of future

DSRC operations, such as Automated

Highway Systems, which could require

several dedicated wideband channels to

ensure reliability. We request comment

on whether this proposed allocation is

excessive given that efficient spectrum

use techniques exist and our goal of

promoting spectrum efficiency. We

welcome alternative suggestions for an

allocation for DSRC.

4. We believe that spectrum sharing

between FSS and DSRC operations may

be possible. However, we seek comment

on the likely future needs for this

spectrum for FSS earth stations. In this

regard, we note that given the much

higher power of FSS operations and the

relatively low power of DSRC

operations, individual DSRC operations

are unlikely to cause harmful

interference to incumbent FSS satellite

operations. We also do not expect that

DSRC devices in the aggregate would

negatively impact existing or future FSS

operations, particularly given that there

are several other potentially significant

contributors to the overall noise level in

this band, such as government radars

and ISM devices. We request comment

on this preliminary assessment. We also

seek comment on what, if any, effects

the widespread deployment of DSRC

devices could have on future

development of FSS operations in this

band. In this regard, we observe that

widespread deployment of mobile

devices, including devices with

potential public safety uses, could make

it more difficult to coordinate new FSS

operations. We also seek comment on

whether there are any instances in

which DSRC services might be

unacceptably impaired by FSS

operations. We seek comment on

whether terrain shielding, directional

antennas, RF fencing and other

techniques can be employed by DSRC

operators to avoid receiving or causing

interference. Alternatively, should

interference situations arise where the

two services are not compatible in a

specific area or over a range of

frequencies, we request comment on the

feasibility of relocating the FSS

operations to other geographic areas or

frequency bands using the principles

outlined in the Emerging Technologies
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules 35559

1See 5 U.S.C. 603. The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. 601 et.

seq., has been amended by the Contract With

America Advancement Act of 1996, Public Law

104–121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996) (CWAAA). Title II of

the CWAAA is the Small Business Regulatory

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA).

2 5 U.S.C. 605(b).

rulemaking. That is, if the DSRC

licensee needs spectrum used by an FSS

licensee, the DSRC entity would be

responsible for the expense of

modifying the FSS uplink to another

location or frequency and ensuring that

the FSS entity is able to achieve

comparable operations.

5. Unlicensed low power operations

in the 5.850–5.875 GHz segment may be

affected by this potential allocation.

Although unlicensed devices have no

allocation status and are not protected

by our rules, we believe that the

provision of hearing assistance devices

to those with disabilities is a valuable

service in the public interest. At

present, any mobile part 15 hearing

assistance device operating in the

5.850–5.875 GHz band could encounter

interference problems from various

higher powered incumbent operations

such as Government radar operations,

FSS and ISM operations. Therefore, we

request comment on whether the 5.850–

5.875 GHz segment is currently being

used for hearing assistance device

operations, the likelihood of any such

future uses, and whether any measures

can or should be taken to protect such

uses.

6. We acknowledge that amateur

operations are permitted to operate at

up to 1.5 kW PEP output with high gain

antennas which could interfere with

DSRC receivers if operated on similar

frequencies in the same geographic area.

Nevertheless, amateur operations have

access to 275 megahertz in the 5.650–

5.925 GHz band and we believe any

amateur use of the 5.9 GHz range could

be engineered to avoid DSRC

operations. Also, amateurs may be able

to continue use of these frequencies in

rural areas where DSRC applications

may not be extensively deployed. We

anticipate that any interference

problems that may develop between

amateur stations and DSRC operations

could be resolved by changing the

frequency of the amateur operation in

order to protect primary status

operations or by other engineering

techniques, such as power reduction or

directional antennas.

7. We tentatively conclude that DSRCbased ITS services can share spectrum

with incumbent operations in this

frequency range. We request comment

on this issue and solicit further analysis

of the spectrum sharing potential

between DSRC-based operations and the

incumbent use of the 5.850–5.925 GHz

band.

8. We believe it is necessary to outline

an order of responsibility in resolving

interference problems, if they occur.

Specifically, we note that DSRC

operations are not likely to interfere

with Government radar operations and

ISM operations, but the reverse may not

always be the case. We propose to

require DSRC operations to accept

interference generated by ISM

operations in this range, as is generally

the case in ISM bands. Additionally, we

note that DSRC operations, Government

radar operations and FSS Earth-to-space

operations would operate on a coprimary basis in this frequency range.

Therefore, we propose to place the

responsibility for coordination equally

on each of those operations through the

Frequency Assignment Subcommittee of

the Interdepartment Radio Advisory

Committee. As is generally the case with

co-primary services, any licensee

initiating new or modified service in the

band would be required to avoid

interference to existing operations.

Finally, secondary amateur operations

would not be permitted to cause

harmful interference to primary licensed

operations in this frequency range.

Nonetheless, to the extent that DSRC

applications may operate on an

unlicensed basis under part 15, they

would be required to avoid causing

interference to and cannot claim

interference protection from all

operations with secondary and primary

allocation status. We request comment

on this issue and encourage suggestions

for alternative approaches.

9. As is always the case for FCC

approved devices, we will require all

DSRC equipment to comply with our RF

safety guidelines. We believe this level

of protection is appropriate and will not

result in the generation of unsafe levels

of RF energy. We request comment, on

whether any specific aspects of our RF

safety guidelines are inappropriate for

the deployment of DSRC equipment.

10. We solicit comment and proposals

for a channelization plan. We encourage

commenters and standards setting

organizations to consider and discuss

the following factors in developing a

DSRC channelization plan: optimization

of spectrum use; use of informal

standards to promote compatibility or

interoperability of certain DSRC

applications; flexible channel options

for emerging services; diversity of DSRC

services; and equipment affordability.

For example, a proposed DSRC

channelization plan could provide for a

few wideband channels for certain

purposes, such as backscatter automatic

toll collection, and reserve a number of

narrowband channels for active

transponder DSRC services or other

services with smaller data throughout

requirements. We request comment on

whether provision for different channel

bandwidths for different data

requirements or technologies would

significantly effect the viability or cost

of DSRC equipment. Further, we request

comment specifically on whether to

permit use of both passive and active

DSRC devices and on whether and how

reliance on informal DSRC technical

standards, as opposed to Commissionadopted standards, may facilitate a

smoother transition or integration

among DSRC technologies.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Certification, and Voluntary Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(Voluntary IRFA)

11. The Regulatory Flexibility Act

(‘‘RFA’’),1 requires that an initial

regulatory flexibility analysis be

prepared for notice-and-comment

rulemaking proceedings, unless the

agency certifies that ‘‘the rule will not,

if promulgated, have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.’’ 2 The RFA

generally defines ‘‘small entity’’ as

having the same meaning as the terms

‘‘small business,’’ ‘‘small organization,’’

and ‘‘small government jurisdiction.’’ In

addition, the term ‘‘small business’’ has

the same meaning as the term ‘‘small

business concern’’ under the Small

Business Act. A small business concern

is one which: (1) is independently

owned and operated; (2) is not

dominant in its field of operation; and

(3) satisfies any additional criteria

established by the Small Business

Administration (‘‘SBA’’).

12. This Notice of Proposed Rule

Making (‘‘NPRM’’) proposes to allocate

the 5.850–5.925 GHz band to the Private

Land Mobile Service (‘‘PLMS’’) for use

by Dedicated Short Range

Communications Services (‘‘DSRCS’’) in

the provision of Intelligent

Transportation Services (‘‘ITS’’). DSRCS

communications are used for non-voice

wireless transfer of data over short

distances between roadside and mobile

radio units, between mobile units, and

between portable and mobile units to

perform operations related to the

improvement of traffic flow, traffic

safety and other intelligent

transportation service applications in a

variety of public and commercial

environments. This action is taken in

response to a Petition for Rulemaking

filed by the Intelligent Transportation

Society of America (‘‘ITS America’’).

While this NPRM does propose an

allocation and some basic technical
35560 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 125 /Tuesday, June 30, 1998 / Proposed Rules

3An exception is the Direct Broadcast Satellite

(DBS) Service.

4 13 CFR 120.121, SIC code 4899.

5 1992 Economic Census Industry and Enterprise

Receipts Size Report, Table 2D, SIC code 4899 (U.S.

Bureau of the Census data under contract to the

Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business

Administration).

parameters, the issues of licensing,

channelization, and other complex

technical matters are being deferred to

a later proceeding. Therefore, because

this present action will not result in the

provision of these operations, we certify

that this action will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

13. Despite the certification, we have

performed a voluntary Initial Regulatory

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), below, to

create a fuller record in this proceeding

and to give more information to entities,

small and not, that might be affected by

our action. Written public comments are

requested on the IRFA. Comments must

be identified as responses to the IRFA

and must be filed by the deadlines for

comments on the NPRM. The

Commission’s Office of Public Affairs,

Reference Operations Division, will

send a copy of the NPRM, including this

certification and voluntary analysis, to

the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration.

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the

Proposed Rules

14. The objective of this action is to

provide sufficient spectrum to permit

the development of DSRCS technologies

to improve the nation’s transportation

infrastructure and bolster the

involvement of United States companies

in this emerging industry.

B. Legal Basis

15. This action is taken pursuant to

sections 4(i), 7(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g),

and 303(r) of the Communications Act

of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i),

157(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r).

C. Description and Estimate of the

Number of Small Entities to Which the

Proposed Rules Will Apply

16. The 5.85–5.925 GHz band is

currently available to the U.S. Federal

Government for Radiolocation purposes,

Fixed Satellite Service licensees for

international intercontinental links,

amateur radio operators and by various

entities using part 18 Industrial,

Scientific and Medical (‘‘ISM’’)

equipment and part 15 unlicensed

device equipment. We note that there

are only 45 FSS licenses issued for

operation in 5.85–5.925 GHz band and

most if not all are held by large

corporations. Further, amateur radio

operators and the Federal Government

do not qualify as small entities. We also

note that part 18 ISM devices are

protected in this band, which only

generate electromagnetic energy, are not

used for communication purposes and

therefore cannot receive interference or

be impacted by this action. Finally,

while part 15 unlicensed devices are

permitted to operate in the 5.85–5.875

GHz portion, they do so on an

unlicensed, unprotected basis. Further,

the Commission has no means to

determine the number of small entities

that might use unlicensed part 15

equipment that operates in the band at

issue. The NPRM discusses means by

which the potential DSRCS would be

able to share the spectrum with

incumbent operations and requests

comment on ways to ensure such

spectrum sharing. Accordingly, we do

not believe this action would have a

negative impact on small entities that

operate in the 5.85–5.925 GHz band, but

nevertheless request comment on this

assessment.

17. Regarding the Fixed Satellite

Service licensees for international

intercontinental links, the Commission

has not developed a definition of small

entities applicable to licensees in the

international services. Therefore, the

applicable definition of small entity is

generally the definition under the SBA

rules applicable to Communications

Services, Not Elsewhere Classified

(NEC).3 This definition provides that a

small entity is expressed as one with

$11.0 million or less in annual receipts.4

According to the Census Bureau, there

were a total of 848 communications

services providers, NEC, in operation in

1992, and a total of 775 had annual

receipts of less than $9,999 million.5

The Census report does not provide

more precise data.

18. Regarding the future use of the

5.85–5.925 GHz band by DSRCS

equipment, we believe it is too early to

make an determination on such

operations. A future rulemaking

proceeding will propose further

technical standards, licensing and

service rules and a separate regulatory

flexibility analysis will address all

issues relevant to that proceeding.

D. Description of Projected Reporting,

Recordkeeping and Other Compliance

Requirements

19. We are proposing to allocate this

spectrum for a new service. The

licensing and technical regulations

governing these operations will be

addressed in a separate proceeding.

Therefore, this proposed action does not

create any reporting or compliance

requirements.

E. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and

Significant Alternatives Considered

20. The NPRM proposes basic

technical rules such as power limits,

unwanted emission limits and a

frequency stability requirement. It also

requests comment on whether

operational standards should be

adopted to facilitate nation-wide

interoperability of DSRCS. The

development of DSRCS operational

standards could delay the initial

deployment of such equipment, but

could ultimately result in equal footing

for all manufacturers, including small

entities, in producing equipment that

meets uniform standards. We request

comment on further alternatives that

might minimize the amount of

economic impact on small entities.

F. Federal Rules that May Duplicate,

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed

Rules

21. None.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Parts 2 and

90

Communications equipment, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–17314 Filed 6–29–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 061998C]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Petition for Rulemaking for

Rotational Opening of Georges Bank

Closed Areas for Scallop Fishing

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for

rulemaking; request for comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of,

and requests public comment on, a

petition for rulemaking requesting that

sea scallop harvest be allowed on a

rotational basis in areas of Georges Bank

that are currently closed to all vessels

capable of catching groundfish,

including scallop vessels. David E.

Frulla, of Brand, Lowell, and Ryan

(Petitioner), has petitioned the Secretary

of Commerce (Secretary), on behalf of