100856 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

1See 47 CFR 30.203(a). In the bands immediately 

outside and adjacent to the licensee’s frequency 

block, having a bandwidth equal to 10 percent of 

the channel bandwidth, the conductive power or 

the total radiated power of any emission shall be 

¥5 dBm/MHz or lower. Id. As the 23.6–24 GHz 

passive band is 250 megahertz away from the 

UMFUS bands, the ¥5 dBm/MHz does not apply 

within that passive band for UMFUS licensees. 

operations in the Intelligent 

Transportation System radio service. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–28980 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Parts 2 and 30 

[ET Docket No. 21–186; FCC 24–124; FR 

ID 267422] 

Modifying Emissions Limits for the 

24.25–24.45 GHz and 24.75–25.25 GHz 

Bands 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) revises the Commission’s 

rules for the 24.25–24.45 GHz and 

24.75–25.25 GHz bands (collectively, 

the 24 GHz band) to implement certain 

decisions made in the World 

Radiocommunication Conference held 

by the International Telecommunication 

Union (ITU) in 2019 (WRC–19). 

Specifically, the Commission aligns part 

30 of the Commission’s rules for mobile 

operations in these frequencies with the 

Resolution 750 limits adopted at WRC– 

19 to protect the passive 23.6–24.0 GHz 

band from unwanted emissions on the 

timeframes adopted at WRC–19. 

DATES: Effective date: This rule is 

effective January 13, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Simon Banyai of the Wireless 

Telecommunications Bureau, 

Broadband Division, at 202–418–1443 

or by email to Simon.Banyai@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Report 

and Order in ET Docket No. 21–186; 

FCC 24–124; adopted on November 27, 

2024 and released on December 2, 2024, 

2024. The full text of this document is 

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

attachments/FCC-24-124A1.pdf. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. The 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 

amended (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 Report and Order on 

small businesses. The FRFA is set forth 

in the back of this document. 

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(c)(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 Report & Order to 

Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

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 and Governmental Affairs 

Bureau at (202) 418–0530 (voice). 

Synopsis 

I. Background 

1. The 23.6–24.0 GHz band is 

allocated to several passive scientific 

and research services, including the 

Earth Exploration Satellite Service 

(EESS) (passive), on a primary basis. 

EESS utilizes passive sensors located on 

satellites to measure the power level of 

naturally occurring radio emissions 

from water vapor and cloud liquid water 

molecules in the atmosphere, which are 

critical measurements for climatology 

and weather forecasting. Because 

naturally occurring radio emissions in 

the 23.6–24.0 GHz band are very weak, 

the passive sensors that measure them 

are sensitive and vulnerable to 

interference. 

2. Observations made by EESS sensors 

operating in the 23.6–24.0 GHz band are 

essential for meteorological 

applications. The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 

uses EESS to take measurements 

considered vital to the accuracy and 

timeliness of weather forecasting, 

including hurricane and tornado 

warnings, and the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration (NASA) also 

operates passive EESS systems in the 

band to conduct climatological science. 

Additionally, EESS passive sensors aid 

EESS active instruments that use radar 

on satellites to measure ocean 

topography, sea ice, and precipitation 

by measuring total atmospheric water 

vapor and correcting the ‘‘refractioninduced path delay in the radar signal.’’ 

The 23.6–24.0 GHz band has been used 

for passive sensor observations for a 

considerable length of time and has 

generated valuable long-term climate 

data records. 

3. The Commission first authorized 

service in the 24.25–24.45 GHz and 

25.05–25.25 GHz bands in 1997, when 

it transitioned the Digital Electronic 

Messaging Service (DEMS) to these 

bands from the 18 GHz band. In 2000, 

the Commission adopted competitive 

bidding and service rules for 24.25– 

24.45 GHz and 25.05–25.25 GHz bands 

and created a 24 GHz Service. This 24 

GHz Service had a total of 176 

Economic Areas (EAs) or EA-like service 

areas. In 2004, the Commission held 

Auction 56, in which it made 880 24 

GHz Service licenses available. Only 

seven of the 880 24 GHz Service 

licenses were sold. As of 2017, there 

were 33 active DEMS licenses in these 

bands. While the former DEMS licenses 

were converted to Upper Microwave 

Flexible Use Services (UMFUS) 

licenses, they were subsequently 

cancelled. 

4. In 2016, the Commission adopted 

licensing and technical rules for 

UMFUS services in the 27.5–28.35 GHz 

band, the 37.6–38.6 GHz band, and the 

38.6–40 GHz band. Expanding on the 

2016 efforts to open high-frequency 

spectrum, in 2017, the Commission 

authorized the 24 GHz band for 

UMFUS, and generally applied the same 

licensing and technical rules to UMFUS 

in the 24 GHz band that it applied to 

UMFUS in other upper microwave 

bands. The UMFUS rules allow 

licensees flexibility to the services they 

will deploy and the architecture of their 

networks. Under these rules, licensees 

are able to deploy mobile services, but 

they also may deploy fixed point-topoint and point-to-multipoint systems. 

Among other things, the UMFUS rules 

specify that emissions outside of a 

licensee’s assigned frequency block 

must be limited to ¥13 dBm/MHz.1 In 

its decision authorizing UMFUS in the 

24 GHz band, the Commission noted 

ongoing ITU studies to establish 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 100857 

2 IMT is the generic term used by the ITU to 

designate broadband mobile systems and 

encompasses IMT–2000, IMT-Advanced, and IMT– 

2020. See ITU, Radiocommunication Sector ITU–R 

FAQ on International Telecommunications (Feb. 23, 

2022), https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/Documents/ 

ITU-R-FAQ-IMT.pdf. As described below, the 

Commission rules do not define IMT. 

3See generally Notice. The Notice (at para. 29) 

also sought comment on a proposal to use a Realtime Geospatial Spectrum Sharing (RGSS) system as 

an alternative means of protecting EESS. The 

Wireless Interdisciplinary Research Group (WIRG) 

touts its work developing a proof of concept RGSS 

system and asks that the Commission establish 

rules allowing use of RGSS. While the Commission 

believes adopting a rule authorizing the use of 

RGSS is premature at this time, the Commission 

encourage further research and study of such 

systems and are open to consideration of such a 

system as it becomes more developed. 

4See 47 CFR 2.1 (‘‘Mobile Service. A 

radiocommunication service between mobile and 

land stations, or between mobile stations.’’); see 

also 47 CFR 20.3 (‘‘Mobile Service. A radio 

communication service carried on between mobile 

stations or receivers and land stations, and by 

mobile stations communicating among themselves, 

and includes: (a) Both one-way and two-way radio 

communications services; (b) A mobile service 

which provides a regularly interacting group of 

base, mobile, portable, and associated control and 

relay stations (whether licensed on an individual, 

cooperative, or multiple basis) for private one-way 

or two-way land mobile radio communications by 

eligible users over designated areas of operation; 

and (c) Any service for which a license is required 

in a personal communications service under part 24 

of this chapter.’’) 

emissions limits applicable to 

International Mobile 

Telecommunications (IMT) to protect 

passive sensors in the 23.6–24.0 GHz 

band, and it acknowledged that the 

UMFUS rules might be revisited once 

the ITU studies had been completed.2

5. WRC–19 allocated 24.25–25.25 GHz 

to mobile (except aeronautical) on a 

primary basis in Regions 1 and 2, 

globally identified the 24.25–27.5 GHz 

band for IMT, and established unwanted 

emissions limits applicable to IMT in 

the 24.25–27.5 GHz band to protect 

passive systems in the 23.6–24.0 GHz 

band. To implement these limits, WRC– 

19 modified a footnote to the 

International Table of Allocations to add 

Resolution 750 (Rev. WRC–19). 

Resolution 750 specifies unwanted 

emissions limits in terms of Total 

Radiated Power (TRP) as the amount of 

power that may be radiated into any 200 

megahertz block of the 23.6–24.0 GHz 

passive band by IMT base stations and 

IMT mobile stations operating in the 

24.25–27.5 GHz band. Resolution 750 

sets emissions limits for current IMT 

devices as well as more stringent 

emissions limits for IMT devices that 

will be brought into use in the 24.25– 

27.5 GHz band after September 1, 2027. 

These two sets of unwanted emissions 

limits are shown in Table 1. 

TABLE 1—WRC–19 RESOLUTION 750 UNWANTED EMISSIONS PERMITTED WITHIN ANY 200 MEGAHERTZ IN THE 23.6–24 

GHZ PASSIVE BAND

Type of station Current TRP limits TRP limits after Sept. 1, 2027 

IMT Base Stations .............................................. ¥33 dBW ......................................................... ¥39 dBW. 

IMT Mobile Stations ........................................... ¥29 dBW ......................................................... ¥35 dBW. 

6. On April 26, 2021, the Office of 

Engineering and Technology (OET) and 

the Wireless Telecommunications 

Bureau (WTB) issued a Public Notice 

(86 FR 28522) to develop a record on 

whether and how the Commission could 

implement the emissions limits 

contained in Resolution 750 for the 

active services in the 24 GHz band. The 

Public Notice sought comment on 

amending part 30 of the Commission’s 

rules to conform to the unwanted 

emissions limits into the passive 23.6– 

24.0 GHz band that were adopted at 

WRC–19 and/or adding footnotes to the 

United States Table of Frequency 

Allocations at part 2 of the 

Commission’s rules. Twelve parties 

made filings in response to the Public 

Notice. 

7. On December 22, 2023, the 

Commission released a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) (89 FR 

5440) proposing to implement certain 

decisions regarding the 24.25–27.5 GHz 

band made at WRC–19. The Notice 

proposed to align part 30 of the 

Commission’s rules for mobile 

operations in the 24 GHz band with the 

Resolution 750 limits on unwanted 

emissions into the passive 23.6–24.0 

GHz band. In addition, the Notice also 

sought comment on several different 

issues, including: (1) applying 

Resolution 750 limits to mobile 

operations; (2) applying emissions 

limits more stringent than Resolution 

750; (3) applying Resolution 750 limits 

to fixed operations; (4) exempting 

indoor small-cell operations from 

Resolution 750 limits; (5) allowing 

conductive power measurements; and 

(6) the schedule for transition to the 

new Resolution 750 limits applicable 

after September 1, 2027.3

8. Comments on the Notice were due 

February 28, 2024, and reply comments 

were due March 14, 2024. The 

Commission received ten comments and 

four reply comments. 

II. Discussion 

A. Revision of Commission Rules To 

Adopt Resolution 750 Unwanted 

Emissions Limits 

9. Consistent with the proposal in the 

Notice, the Commission adopts the 

Resolution 750 unwanted out-of-band 

emissions (OOBE) limits and apply 

these limits to all mobile operations in 

the 24 GHz band. In response to the 

Notice, all commenters, including the 

weather community, scientific 

community, mobile operators, 

equipment manufacturers, Federal 

agencies, and other commenters, agree 

the Commission should align its rules 

for mobile operations in the 24 GHz 

band with Resolution 750. The 

Commission finds that the Resolution 

750 OOBE limits will appropriately 

protect sensitive passive sensing 

operations in the 23.6–24.0 GHz band, 

while at the same time allowing next 

generation wireless service to continue 

to develop in the United States. In 

addition, adopting the Resolution 750 

limits would promote international 

harmonization and result in certain 

public interest benefits associated with 

such harmonization, including 

facilitating the provision of advanced 

wireless services in the U.S., providing 

regulatory certainty to all interested 

stakeholders, and promoting spectrum 

use by both wireless providers and the 

weather and satellite communities. 

10. Consistent with the Notice, the 

Commission also applies Resolution 750 

limits to all mobile operations (as 

defined in parts 2 and 20 of the 

Commission’s rules) 4 in the 24 GHz 

band. As adopted by WRC–19, the 

Resolution 750 limits apply only to IMT 

base and mobile stations. Commenters 

who addressed the issue support 

applying the Resolution 750 unwanted 

OOBE limits to all mobile operations, 

rather than just IMT operations. 

Moreover, the Commission’s rules do 

not define IMT as a separate category of 

mobile, nor do they require that 

equipment comply with a particular 

standard in the 24 GHz band. 


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100858 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

5While WIRG supports adoption of the 

Resolution 750 limits as a ‘‘minimum acceptable 

requirement,’’ it suggests that further research 

would be appropriate, after which the Commission 

should consider adopting stricter limits. 

6CORF states that the ‘‘AMSR2 instrument on the 

GCOM–W1 spacecraft (the successor to NASA’s 

AMSR–E instrument launched on the Aqua mission 

in 2002) measures natural black-body emission 

signals over a 400 MHz-wide region of the spectrum 

at 24 GHz with 14 x 14 km pixels. Thermal 

emission from one such pixel over dry land at 300 

K (80 °F) in this band totals to only ∼26 W across 

this ∼200 km2 pixel. This 26 W is emitted in all 

directions, and the AMSR2 instrument receives 

only a fraction of a trillionth of that power. The 

ITU–R Recommendation RS.2017 interference 

threshold equates to requiring that there should be 

no perturbations (e.g., from RFI) greater than 4 mW 

total emission across this entire pixel. This 

requirement enables EESS (passive) measurements 

to be made with an accuracy of 0.05 K brightness 

temperature (∼0.09 °F), which is considered 

sufficient to provide accurate weather forecasts and 

reliable quantification of potential signatures of 

climate change (which are of order of one or two 

degrees per century). The Res. 750 limits of ¥35 

dBW in 200 MHz for mobile devices equates to 0.4 

mW per device, only a factor of 10 below the ITU– 

R Recommendation RS.2017 threshold.’’ 

Furthermore, no commenter offered a 

technical basis for distinguishing 

between IMT and other mobile 

operations for purposes of domestic 

spectrum use. Finally, attempting to 

treat non-IMT mobile operations 

differently from IMT mobile operations 

could cause confusion and difficulties 

with enforcing the limits, as suggested 

in the Notice. 

11. As of the effective date of the rules 

adopted herein, mobile operations in 

the 24 GHz band will be required to 

comply with the current limits adopted 

at WRC–19 (which the Commission 

refers to as Phase 1 limits). The 

Commission finds that the application 

of the Resolution 750 OOBE limits to 

mobile operations strikes the 

appropriate balance between protecting 

adjacent passive sensing operations and 

facilitating use of the 24 GHz band. 

12. Rule Amendments. In the Notice, 

the Commission proposed to make any 

changes to the limits on emissions into 

the 23.6–24.0 GHz band by amending 

the part 30 rules and adding a footnote 

to the U.S. Table of Allocations. It noted 

that, since the part 30 rules already 

contained a rule governing emissions 

limits, it appeared to be appropriate to 

incorporate any changes made in this 

proceeding into that rule. Commenters 

broadly agree that these changes are 

appropriate ways of aligning the 

Commission’s rules with WRC–19 

Resolution 750. These limits will be 

incorporated into the Commission’s part 

30 technical rules as well as codified in 

a new U.S. footnote to the Table of 

Frequency Allocations (Allocation 

Table) in accordance with the proposal. 

Further, part 2 of the Commission’s 

rules is amended to allow the Table of 

Frequency Allocations to show that the 

Resolution 750 unwanted OOBE limits 

will apply to all mobile systems. 

13. The Commission declines to make 

other changes to the part 30 rules and 

the Table of Frequency Allocations 

footnote, as it does not believe they are 

necessary. For example, NASA suggests 

including the start dates of the Phase 1 

and Phase 2 OOBE limits in the Table 

of Allocations. The Phase 2 effective 

date will be incorporated into the part 

30 rule and the Allocation Table 

footnote. Since the Phase 1 limits will 

be effective immediately upon the 

effective date of the rules, the 

Commission believes there is no need to 

include the Phase 1 effective date. 

NASA also recommends that the 

language of the amendment to the part 

30 rules be trimmed down to a cross 

reference to the Table of Allocations. 

The Commission will retain the 

substantive emissions limits in section 

30.203 of its rules, as it is the better 

practice to include the specified limits 

in these technical rules. 

B. Adopting Limits More Stringent Than 

Resolution 750 

14. In the Notice, the Commission 

sought comment on whether it was 

necessary to adopt even stricter OOBE 

limits to protect EESS systems than 

those set forth in Resolution 750 by 

WRC–19. The Commission declines to 

adopt limits beyond the Resolution 750 

limits because the record does not show 

that such limits are technically 

necessary. While the proponents of 

stricter limits express concern that the 

Resolution 750 limits will be 

insufficient to protect EESS, their 

concerns are speculative.5 Furthermore, 

no party has submitted specific 

technical data justifying stricter limits 

or evaluating the costs and benefits of 

applying them as directed in the Notice. 

15. The Commission also notes that 

NTIA did not advocate for 

implementation of stricter limits, and 

NTIA, NOAA, and NASA all agree to 

the adoption of the Resolution 750 

limits. While NOAA maintains that 

stricter limits would better protect Earth 

Exploration-Satellite Service (EESS) 

passive sensors, that measurements 

gathered by sensitive radiometers in the 

23.6–24.0 and 31.3–31.5 GHz bands 

could be compromised by unwanted byproducts from a 5G signal, and that the 

Resolution 750 limits may not 

adequately protect passive sensors 

below 24 GHz, it nevertheless 

acknowledges that the WRC–19 limits 

are a compromise and are what most 

countries are considering. 

16. Moreover, while much of the 

weather and scientific communities 

would prefer to adopt more stringent 

unwanted OOBE limits, they too 

support the adoption of the Resolution 

750 limits, at least as a preliminary step. 

The Commission notes that Federal 

agencies and non-federal licensees have 

deployed nearly 40,000 point-to-point 

microwave links in the 21.2–23.6 GHz 

band—immediately below the 23.6–24.0 

GHz band—that operate with a less 

restrictive ¥13 dBm/MHz or ¥20 dBW/ 

200 MHz OOBE limit, and yet there is 

no indication, and no party has 

submitted a technical showing, that 

these point-to-point links have caused 

harmful interference to passive sensors. 

In contrast to these directly adjacent 

point-to-point microwave links, there 

will be at least 225 megahertz separation 

between UMFUS operations and the 

23.6–24 GHz passive band. Given that 

channels in this band are 100 megahertz 

wide, this amount of separation is 

significant. 

17. The Commission finds that 

adopting stricter emissions limits could 

significantly limit the ability to use the 

band for next generation wireless 

services and other advanced mobile 

services. Because millimeter wave 

spectrum has limited propagation, 

licensees must deploy higher power to 

ensure sufficient network coverage. 

Imposing overly restrictive emissions 

limits could create higher insertion 

losses due to filtering requirements, and 

limit the power carriers can use, 

adversely affecting services available to 

consumers. Furthermore, adopting 

emissions limits unique to the United 

States would be inconsistent with 

international harmonization. 

18. The Commission is not persuaded 

that the technical information provided 

by the National Academy of Sciences, 

through its Committee on Radio 

Frequencies (CORF) and the IEEE 

Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society 

(IEEE GRSS) justifies adopting stricter 

OOBE limits. CORF advocates for 

stricter emissions limits, such as those 

adopted by the European Commission 

(¥42 dBW/200 MHz) or those of the 

World Meteorological Organization 

(¥55 dBW/dBW/200 MHz). CORF 

contends that the Resolution 750 Phase 

2 limits of ¥35 dBW/200 MHz for 

mobile devices equates to 0.4 mW per 

device, only a factor of 10 below the 

ITU–R Recommendation RS.2017 

threshold for protection of passive 

sensors in the 23.6–24 GHz band.6

CORF argues that, even assuming 

somewhat directional beams from 5G 

mobile devices, it is clear that 

deployment of thousands of such 

devices in urban areas will exceed the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 100859 

7CORF also notes that the ITU 

Radiocommunication Sector (‘‘ITU–R’’) 

Recommendation RS.2017, establishes a limit of 

¥166 dBW in 200 MHz for the 23.6–24.0 GHz band, 

to be met over 99.99 percent of a 10,000,000 km2

area. Id. at 6–7. It argues the limits specified in 

ITU–R Resolution 750 (Rev. WRC–19), when 

applied to likely IMT implementations, and taking 

into consideration typical characteristics of orbiting 

EESS sensors (described in ITU–R Recommendation 

RS.1861), fail to meet this RS.2017 criterion 

particularly when considering the aggregate 

interference from the vast multiplicity of 

transmitters that are inherent to the nature of IMT 

deployments; CORF assumes deployment of 

thousands of IMT devices in urban areas is likely 

an underestimate. 

8The Commission does not rely on arguments 

that adopting stricter limits would be a material 

change from information made available to bidders 

in the 24 GHz auction and that licensees reasonably 

made investments based on the Resolution 750 

limits. 

9Point-to-multipoint operations include 

transportable user equipment, where the user 

equipment is not intended to be used while in 

motion, but the equipment could be moved when 

not in operation. See 47 CFR 30.2. The Commission 

agrees with GuRu Wireless, Inc. that expansion of 

WRC–19 emissions limits to the Industrial, 

Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band is outside the 

scope of this proceeding. 

10CORF asserts it cannot verify whether or not 

these point-to-point links have caused harmful 

interference to passive sensors at 23.6–24.0 GHz. 

Ericsson states that there are no known reports of 

interference from UMFUS services to EESS in the 

adjacent band. IEEE GRSS states ‘‘we do not have 

any information on whether interference has been 

detected by operational sensors’’. 

ITU threshold,7 but CORF does not 

clearly explain how it extrapolates the 

0.4 mW per device figure from the Phase 

2 standard. IEEE GRSS supports the 

stricter limits proposed by CORF, 

because it maintains that the Resolution 

750 limits would allow the presence of 

signals above the interference threshold 

in the 23.6–24.0 GHz passive band 

when more 5G base stations are placed 

within the sensor’s coverage area. The 

Commission finds that both CORF’s and 

IEEE GRSS’s analyses are based on the 

assumptions that there will be large but 

unknown numbers of mobile devices 

that are not related to specific 

deployments or use cases. In addition, 

IEEE GRSS and NOAA cite the 

European Union’s decision to 

implement the more stringent limit of 

¥39 dBW/200 MHz as of January 1, 

2024, as an argument for applying the 

more stringent limit on an accelerated 

timeframe in the U.S. The Commission 

notes, however, that the United States is 

not similarly situated to the European 

Union. Terrestrial operations in Europe 

are above 25 GHz and farther away from 

the passive services in the 23.6–24.0 

GHz band than U.S. operations. Given 

the greater frequency separation 

distance, it is easier for European 

providers to permit their mobile 

operators to use higher power and yet 

meet stricter emissions limits without 

impairment to the EESS passive service. 

While the Commission understands the 

desire of the weather and scientific 

communities for the greatest protection 

possible, the record before it does not 

support adopting limits stricter than the 

limits agreed to at WRC–19. 

Accordingly, the Commission declines 

to adopt more stringent OOBE limits for 

the U.S. than those adopted in 

Resolution 750.8

C. Applying Resolution 750 Limits to 

Other Services 

19. Fixed operations. The Notice 

sought comment on applying the 

Resolution 750 emissions limits to fixed 

operations, including point-to-point and 

point-to-multipoint operations.9 The 

Commission declines to do so. As 

adopted by the ITU, Resolution 750 

does not apply to fixed operations; 

WRC–19 only studied IMT operations 

under a mobile service allocation. Fixed 

operation transmissions are significantly 

more directional than mobile 

operations—point-to-point operations 

have tightly focused and stationary 

beams, and point-to-multipoint base 

stations direct signals towards user 

stations. As noted above, there are 

existing fixed point-to-point operations 

under part 101 in the spectrum 

immediately below the passive band 

that are not subject to stricter emissions 

limits, and yet there is no indication 

that these point-to-point links have 

caused harmful interference to passive 

sensors.10 This is in contrast to the at 

least 225 megahertz of frequency 

separation between the UMFUS 

operations starting at 24.25 GHz and the 

23.6–24.0 GHz passive band, which 

should further help alleviate 

interference concerns. As fixed 

deployments increase in the band, the 

Commission will monitor for potential 

issues, and, if necessary, consider 

whether to revisit the limits for fixed 

operations. 

20. The Commission’s Notice also 

directed proponents of applying the 

stricter limits to fixed operations to 

provide ‘‘specific technical data as well 

as the costs and benefits of applying 

stricter limits or of keeping the existing 

limits.’’ Neither proponents nor 

opponents of applying the Resolution 

750 limits to fixed operations presented 

such technical or cost/benefit data. 

Indeed, IEEE GRSS, which supports 

applying the Resolution 750 limits to 

fixed, suggests that further studies are 

necessary. CORF argues that ‘‘[i]t is 

counterproductive to protect passive 

uses from OOBE from mobile service 

equipment, but not from equipment 

used for UMFUS fixed services,’’ and it 

‘‘recommends that a rigorous OOBE 

standard apply to all UMFUS 

equipment operating at 24 GHz: UMFUS 

fixed point-to-point and point-tomultipoint equipment, as well as mobile 

equipment.’’ Given the differences 

between fixed and mobile operations, 

however, and the lack of any technical 

support, the conclusory arguments by 

CORF and others are insufficient to 

justify extending Resolution 750’s 

mobile limits to fixed operations. 

21. CTIA suggests that the 

Commission clarify that transportable 

stations (which it said are fixed stations) 

would not be subject to the more 

stringent emissions limits. For purposes 

of these rules, the Commission will use 

the definition of a mobile station 

contained in part 2 of its rules, ‘‘[a] 

station in the mobile service intended to 

be used while in motion or during halts 

at unspecified points.’’ In contrast, a 

transportable station, which the 

Commission’s rules define as 

‘‘[t]ransmitting equipment that is not 

intended to be used while in motion, 

but rather at stationary locations,’’ 

operates under the fixed service 

allocation and would not be subject to 

the Resolution 750 limits. While 

transportable equipment is used in a 

limited number of stationary locations 

(such as a fixed modem at a home or 

office), mobile equipment could be used 

anywhere (for example, stopped at a red 

light). 

22. NTIA asks that, as an alternative 

to applying the Resolution 750 limits to 

fixed operations, the Commission 

mandate downtilt in fixed operations to 

avoid transmissions towards EESS 

satellites. Because there may be 

situations where downtilt is not feasible 

(for example, a point-to-point link 

between two sites that differ in 

elevation), rather than mandating 

downtilt, the Commission instead 

strongly encourages licensees to avoid 

uptilt where practical. 

23. Indoor small-cell systems. The 

Notice also sought comment on 

Ericsson’s and AT&T’s proposal that 

indoor small-cell systems be exempt 

from the Resolution 750 limits. In 

response to the Public Notice, Ericsson 

stated that there is a growing interest in 

indoor small cell deployments, the 24 

GHz band may provide an opportunity 

to enhance indoor coverage, and the 

technical rules for such use cases 

should not deviate from what is 

currently allowed under part 30. 

Ericsson further noted that ‘‘several 

mitigating factors, including wall and 

building entry losses and the potential 


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100860 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

11See https://www.antenna-theory.com/ 

definitions/trp.php. TRP can also be defined as the 

integral of the power transmitted from all antenna 

elements in different directions over the entire 

radiation sphere. See ITU Radio Regulations (2020), 

Resolution 750 (Rev.WRC–19), Note 5, Vol. 3 at 522. 

12TRP of a transmitter is closely related to its 

conductive power. In fact, TRP is product of 

antenna radiation efficiency, er, and conductive 

power P (TRP = erP) and depending on antenna 

efficiency, TRP can be virtually the same as the 

conductive power P. See W.L. Stutzman and Gary 

A. Thiele, Antenna Theory and Design, 2013, 

equations 13–40 and 2–155. 

13 47 CFR 30.203(a). The Commission will also 

add the existing definition of ‘‘maximum conducted 

output power’’ contained in its part 15 rules into 

its part 30 rules. See 47 CFR 30.2. 14See Nokia Reply Comments (citing Basic 

Certification Requirements and Measurement 

Procedures for Upper Microwave Flexible Use 

Services (UMFUS) Devices, FCC Office of 

Engineering and Technology Laboratory Division, 

Knowledge Database (KDB) publication, KDB 

842590 D01 (Apr. 20, 2021) https://apps.fcc.gov/ 

kdb/GetAttachment.html?id=

yV3FexQrXZMe%2F42JGriFdg. 

for clutter losses from nearby buildings, 

mitigate the need for more stringent 

limits.’’ Arguing that indoor small cells 

are not governed by the WRC–19 

agreement limits, CTIA contends that, 

because ‘‘indoor small cells are installed 

inside of buildings, the mobile signal 

level is already reduced by hundreds to 

thousands of times . . . [and] as a 

result, the commercial mobile signals 

will be negligible at the satellite 

receiver, making tighter emissions levels 

for indoor small cells unnecessary.’’ TMobile agrees that exempting indoor 

small-cell systems would not harm 

passive sensors in the 23.6–24.0 GHz 

band because ‘‘indoor small-cell 

systems operate inside buildings at a 

lower power, making them subject to 

building attenuation.’’ It maintains that, 

‘‘[d]ue to the propagation characteristics 

of signals from indoor small-cell 

systems, it is unlikely that those signals 

would propagate outdoors and even be 

recognized by, let alone cause harmful 

interference to, passive sensors.’’ 

24. Other commenters oppose an 

exemption from the Resolution 750 

limits for indoor small-cell systems. 

IEEE GRSS notes that ‘‘[m]icrowave 

signals are not necessarily attenuated by 

all building materials at these 

frequencies, and there is no assurance 

that equipment built for indoor use may 

not be improperly installed in an 

outdoor setting.’’ CORF recommends 

against such an exemption, 

‘‘particularly for low-cost devices that 

may be deployed in large numbers,’’ and 

it agrees that, while these devices 

typically operate at lower power, 

building entry loss serves to reduce 

emissions to a ‘‘lower but not 

necessarily acceptable level.’’ Similarly, 

NASA argues that, while indoor 

operations may provide additional 

signal blockage of those signals to 

NASA’s passive sensors, this issue was 

not studied during WRC–19 to 

determine the potential impact from 

indoor small-cell operations on NASA 

missions. NASA further notes that 

‘indoor-only’ use limitations are 

difficult to enforce, and expressed 

concern that even a very small amount 

of hardware operating outside may pose 

impacts to NASA mission success. 

25. The Commission concludes that 

the current record is insufficient to 

support exempting indoor base stations 

from the Resolution 750 limits, and 

decline to do so at this time. The current 

maximum power for UMFUS base 

stations is +75 dBm/100 MHz Although 

some indoor operations may operate at 

lower power levels, and while there 

may be some power level at which 

indoor operations could be safely 

exempted, the Commission lacks a 

sufficient record on which to craft such 

an exemption. Although the Notice 

asked parties advocating for indoor 

exemption from Resolution 750 to 

provide technical justification, no 

studies addressing the factors the 

Commission would need to evaluate 

with respect to such an exemption were 

presented. These factors would include, 

for example: (1) propagation/penetration 

losses at 24 GHz, (2) the effect of 

building materials on such propagation/ 

penetration losses, especially materials 

used in ceilings and roofs, since the 

receivers being protected are in the sky, 

and (3) the sensitive nature of the 

observations being made in the passive 

band. Given the insufficiency of the 

record, the Commission declines to 

exempt indoor small-cell equipment 

from the Resolution 750 limits at this 

time. 

D. Measurement of Unwanted Emissions 

26. In the 24 GHz Notice, the 

Commission proposed to allow 

compliance with the unwanted 

emissions limits for the 23.6–24.0 GHz 

band to be demonstrated using TRP 

measurements, given that Resolution 

750 specifies the limits in terms of TRP. 

Total radiated power is a measure of 

how much power is radiated by an 

antenna when the antenna is connected 

to an actual radio (or transmitter). TRP 

is an active measurement in that a 

powered transmitter is used to transmit 

through the antenna. The total received 

power is calculated and summed up 

over all possible angles (hence, it is a 

spherical or three dimensional 

measurement).11 The Notice also sought 

comment on whether to permit use of 

conductive power measurements as 

well. Maximum conducted output 

power measurements do not take into 

account the efficiency of the antenna.12

27. The Commission will allow the 

use of both TRP and maximum 

conductive output power measurements 

to ensure compliance with the limits on 

emissions into the 23.6–24 GHz band, 

consistent with the part 30 rules 

applicable in other UMFUS bands.13 As 

CTIA and Nokia observe, OET has 

issued a knowledge database (‘‘KDB’’) 

document that permits both TRP and 

maximum conducted output power 

measurement procedures to demonstrate 

regulatory compliance for UMFUS 

devices.14 In the Commission’s 

experience, maximum conducted output 

power measurements have worked well 

in these bands, and allowing use of 

either TRP or maximum conducted 

output power measurements would 

provide equipment manufacturers with 

maximum flexibility as they develop 

equipment for the 24 GHz band. The 

Commission sees no reason to treat the 

24 GHz band differently from other 

UMFUS bands. 

28. The Commission finds the 

arguments that certain commenters have 

raised against allowing conductive 

power measurements to be 

unpersuasive. The Commission 

acknowledges, as IEEE GRSS, NTIA, 

NOAA, and NASA point out, that the 

WRC–19 studies relied on TRP to 

develop the Resolution 750 standards. 

By itself, however, that fact does not 

mean that maximum conducted output 

power measurements cannot be used to 

demonstrate compliance. NASA argues 

that conductive power methodology 

does not provide an accurate 

characterization of the aggregate effects 

of systems’ components on the 

measurement results, and it asserts that 

TRP and conductive power 

measurements methodologies may 

produce different quantitative limits for 

unwanted emissions. The Commission 

notes that conductive power 

measurements are more conservative 

than TRP. In other words, if a 

conductive power measurement shows 

compliance, the corresponding TRP 

measurement will demonstrate 

compliance as well (although the 

converse will not necessarily be true). 

Accordingly, allowing conductive 

power measurements does not present a 

substantial risk that noncompliant 

equipment will be placed into the 

marketplace. 

29. In addition, parties against 

allowing conductive power 

measurements argue that the TRP 

methodology is clearly understood, and 

NOAA points to Ericsson’s prior 

statement that it does not anticipate 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 100861 

15The rules the Commission adopts in this item 

will be effective 30 days after Federal Register 

publication of the item. 

difficulties performing TRP 

measurements. While there is broad 

support for allowing TRP 

measurements, such measurements 

require use of an anechoic chamber, 

which imposes additional costs, and 

may not be available to all stakeholders. 

The Commission disagrees with NASA’s 

claim that using measurement 

techniques other than TRP would 

require significant further technical 

analysis. The Commission has allowed 

licensees and equipment manufacturers 

to perform conductive power 

measurements in other UMFUS bands 

for many years, pursuant to the KDB 

guidance discussed above, and using 

conductive power to measure 

compliance with the Resolution 750 

limits does not present any unique new 

issues. While AGU, AMS and NWA 

argue that the calculations required for 

OOBE measurements are not 

straightforward and allowing the use of 

multiple measurement methods by the 

industry ‘‘would only contribute to the 

difficulty,’’ they do not precisely 

explain what they perceive the 

difficulty to be. Finally, CORF argues 

that many 24 GHz devices will not have 

clean access to an antenna port, and 

even devices with access to the 

radiating element’s port may radiate 

unintentionally from other parts of the 

equipment being tested. In those cases 

where there is no clear access to an 

antenna port, the Commission 

anticipates that TRP will be used. So 

long as equipment manufacturers follow 

the guidance the Commission has 

issued, the Commission sees no reason 

why conductive power measurements 

cannot work here, as they do in other 

UMFUS bands. Accordingly, the 

Commission will allow compliance with 

the emissions limits for equipment 

certification in the 24 GHz band to be 

demonstrated by measurements 

showing that either TRP or maximum 

conducted output power is within the 

limits set in Resolution 750. 

E. Timetable for Application of WRC–19 

Limits 

30. Phase 1 to Phase 2 Transition 

Timetable. Having decided to transition 

to the WRC–19 Resolution 750 OOBE 

limit regime for the 24 GHz band, the 

Commission must still determine when 

that transition will take place—i.e., the 

appropriate timetable for moving to 

stricter limits, as well as how it will 

occur—and the practical steps necessary 

for transitioning equipment to the 

stricter limits. The Notice proposed to 

apply the new Resolution 750 unwanted 

emissions limits on the timetable 

adopted at WRC–19. This timing is set 

forth in two footnotes to Resolution 750, 

that state: a A limit of ¥39 dB(W/200 MHz) will 

apply to IMT base stations brought into 

use after 1 September 2027. This limit 

will not apply to IMT base stations 

which have been brought into use prior 

to this date. For those IMT base stations, 

the limit of ¥33 dB(W/200 MHz) will 

continue to apply after this date. 

and 

b A limit of ¥35 dB(W/200 MHz) will 

apply to IMT mobile stations brought 

into use after 1 September 2027. This 

limit will not apply to IMT mobile 

stations which have been brought into 

use prior to this date. For those IMT 

mobile stations, the limit of ¥29 dB(W/ 

200 MHz) will continue to apply after 

this date. 

31. The Commission adopts the WRC– 

19 timetable as proposed in the Notice. 

The first phase limits (¥33 dBW/200 

MHz for base stations, ¥29 dBW/200 

MHz for mobile stations) will apply as 

of the effective date of the rules,15 and 

the second phase limits (¥39 dBW/200 

MHz for base stations, ¥35 dBW/200 

MHz for mobile stations) will apply to 

all deployments brought into use (i.e., 

constructed and operating) after 

September 1, 2027. This schedule 

strikes an appropriate balance between 

protecting weather and scientific 

observations and promoting deployment 

in the 24 GHz band. Various 

commenters support adopting the WRC– 

19 schedule. Moreover, the Commission 

wishes to incentivize the work of 

manufacturers like Ericsson, which 

asserts it has already produced 

equipment meeting the Phase 1 limit. 

32. The Commission declines to 

accelerate the effective date of the Phase 

2 standards, as requested by NOAA, 

IEEE GRSS, and AGU/AMS/NWA. 

There is considerable uncertainty as to 

when equipment meeting Phase 2 

standards will be available. 

Implementing Phase 2 standards 

prematurely could make it impractical 

for licensees to deploy in the band. 

Finally, while WRC–19 contemplated 

that there could be a longer period (up 

to eight years) where Phase 1 equipment 

could be deployed, in fact deployments 

will be required to comply with Phase 

2 in fewer than three years. 

Accordingly, it appears that the number 

of deployments using Phase 1 

equipment may be lower than originally 

contemplated at WRC–19. 

33. The Commission also rejects TMobile’s suggestion that the more 

stringent Phase 2 limits should only 

apply to equipment ‘‘authorized for 

use’’ after September 1, 2027, but that 

equipment could be ‘‘brought into use’’ 

after that date even if it was certified 

prior to that date and only complied 

with the Phase 1 limits. T-Mobile argues 

that purchased and certified equipment 

that only meets the Phase 1 limit but is 

unused due to certain delays beyond the 

control of the provider should be 

allowed be installed even after 

September 1, 2027; in other words, that 

providers should be permitted to use 

any equipment that was manufactured 

and sold before September 1, 2027, 

indefinitely under the Phase 1 limits so 

long as that equipment has been 

approved for use by the Commission 

prior to that date. The Commission 

disagrees with this position because the 

Commission believes this could act as 

an incentive for entities to stock up on 

equipment that met the Phase 1 limit in 

order to deploy this equipment at their 

leisure during Phase 2, effectively 

allowing an ‘end-run’ around the very 

concept of implementing the Phase 2 

limit after September 1, 2027. TMobile’s interpretation is plainly 

inconsistent with what was 

contemplated at WRC–19. From the 

perspective of the ITU, equipment that 

is certified but also ‘‘brought into use’’ 

prior to September 1, 2027, will be 

‘grandfathered’—i.e., allowed to 

continue to operate at the prior 

emissions limits even after 

implementation of the stricter emissions 

limits regime. But there is indeed a 

defined limit based on when equipment 

is ‘brought into use.’ As the Commission 

stated in the Notice, 

Because the unwanted emission limits for 

base stations and mobile stations will change 

after September 1, 2027 under our proposal, 

equipment certifications based on 

compliance with the first phase limits would 

expire on that date. Any equipment 

remaining in the supply chain—i.e. in 

warehouses or in transit—would then be 

illegal to sell or install under our rules. 

34. The Commission reiterates that, 

under the rules the Commission adopts, 

any equipment ‘‘brought into use’’ after 

September 1, 2027 must be ‘‘authorized 

for use’’—i.e., certified for use— 

according to the Phase 2 limits of 

Resolution 750. The Commission also 

rejects IEEE GRSS’s argument that the 

ITU intended that ‘‘all base station 

equipment that does not comply with 

the –39 dBW/200 MHz limit should be 

modified or removed by September 1, 

2028.’’ If Phase 1 equipment was 

brought into use on August 31, 2027, it 

can continue to operate after September 

1, 2027 per the ITU’s footnote 

clarifications, even though it may not 

meet the increased OOBE limits. The 


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Commission finds that it serves the 

public interest to use the ITU’s footnote 

clarifications for a clear and effective 

application of the time table for the 

limits. 

35. Certification of Phase 1 

Equipment. The Commission also 

sought comment in the Notice on how 

to transition equipment deployed under 

the Phase 1 limits and to incentivize 

early and timely development and 

deployment of Phase 2 equipment. The 

Notice pointed to the equipment 

authorization program for RF devices as 

one tool meant to ensure compliance 

with the technical rules. RF devices 

must comply with the Commission’s 

technical and equipment authorization 

requirements before they can be 

imported into or marketed in the United 

States. Because under the Commission’s 

proposal, the unwanted emissions limits 

for base stations and mobile stations 

will change on September 1, 2027, 

equipment certifications based on 

compliance with the first phase limits 

would no longer be granted on or after 

this date. Furthermore, as noted above, 

any equipment remaining in the supply 

chain—i.e. in warehouses or in transit— 

would then be illegal to sell or install 

under the rules. In the Notice, the 

Commission sought comment on 

whether it should prohibit the grant of 

new equipment certifications for, or the 

importation of, equipment not 

complying with the Phase 2 unwanted 

emissions limits at a date prior to 

September 1, 2027, as a means of both 

preventing equipment certified as 

complying only with Phase 1 limits 

from remaining in the supply chain—in 

warehouses or in transit—or being 

brought into use after September 1, 

2027. As an example, the Commission 

stated that it could cease granting new 

equipment certifications or cease 

permitting importation of equipment 

only meeting the first phase limit after 

March 1, 2027, or six months prior to 

implementation of the second phase 

limits. 

36. The Commission declines to 

accelerate the deadline for equipment 

certification of Phase 1 equipment since 

the Commission does not believe that it 

would incentivize the early 

development and deployment of Phase 

2 equipment, but instead may place 

additional burdens on large and small 

equipment manufacturers and carriers 

planning their own affairs. The benefits 

touted by proponents of setting an 

earlier certification deadline rely on 

arguments that the Commission does 

not find persuasive in light of the 

licensing and compliance paradigm it 

now clarifies. Under the interpretation 

of Resolution 750 limits for the 24 GHz 

band that the Commission adopts and 

incorporates into its rules, equipment 

meeting the Phase 1 limits can be 

brought into use up through September 

1, 2027, and can remain in use 

thereafter. Accordingly, the Commission 

sees no need to stop certifying Phase 1 

equipment before September 1, 2027. 

The Commission emphasizes that the 

September 1, 2027 deadline for bringing 

Phase 1 equipment into use is firm, and 

equipment manufacturers and licensees 

must keep that firm deadline in mind 

when deciding to develop or to 

purchase Phase 1 equipment. Any 

decision to develop or to purchase 

equipment that does not meet Phase 2 

emissions limits close to the September 

1, 2027 deadline will be solely at the 

risk of the equipment manufacturer or 

licensee, and the Commission presumes 

that it will plan accordingly. This 

decision trusts equipment 

manufacturers and carriers to structure 

their own affairs, gives them a welldefined timeline to do so, and removes 

any disincentive for manufacturers to 

prematurely cease producing equipment 

that meets Phase 1. 

37. Requiring Phase 1 Equipment to 

Transition to Phase 2. The Commission 

also sought comment in the Notice on 

what should happen with Phase 1 

equipment still operating after the Phase 

2 deadline. NTIA, NOAA, and NASA 

advocate that equipment modified or 

replaced after September 1, 2027, must 

meet the more stringent Phase 2 OOBE 

levels. AGU/AMS/NWA, IEEE GRSS, 

and NOAA ask that base station and 

user equipment that does not comply 

with the ¥39 dBW/200 MHz limit be 

given a sunset date of September 1, 

2028, by which it must be modified/ 

retrofitted to meet the more stringent 

limits or removed. 

38. The Commission declines to 

establish a hard date by which Phase 1 

equipment brought into use on or prior 

to September 1, 2027, must comply with 

the Phase 2 limits, subject to certain 

conditions, as explained further below. 

Establishing a hard sunset date would 

be inconsistent with the WRC–19 

framework, which contemplates that 

Phase 1 equipment brought into use 

prior to September 1, 2027, could be 

operated indefinitely. Furthermore, the 

proponents of a hard sunset date have 

not offered any technical justification 

for such a sunset date, nor have they 

cited any factor that was allegedly not 

considered at WRC–19. 

39. Rather, the Commission will adopt 

NTIA’s proposal to require that 

equipment modified or replaced after 

September 1, 2027, must meet the more 

stringent Phase 2 emissions limits, 

clarified by CTIA and T-Mobile’s 

suggestion that, for purposes of this 

requirement, only base station 

modifications that affect emission 

characteristics would constitute a 

‘‘modification’’ requiring compliance 

with the Phase 2 limits. The 

Commission believes these decisions 

strike the appropriate balance between 

granting licensees flexibility and being 

consistent with the decisions made at 

WRC–19. On the one hand, allowing 

licensees to make ‘‘modifications’’ to 

equipment without restriction could 

result in equipment that is substantially 

different from what is initially deployed 

not being subject to the Phase 2 limits. 

On the other hand, there are many sorts 

of routine modifications that could be 

made to equipment that would have no 

impact on the equipment’s compliance 

with the Resolution 750 limits. As CTIA 

notes, requiring that any modification 

trigger compliance with the Phase 2 

limits would be overly broad and would 

effectively preclude licensees from 

making any changes to existing 

deployments without purchasing and 

installing entirely new equipment. The 

Commission sees no reason why those 

sorts of routine modifications should 

trigger a requirement to replace that 

equipment. Since the emission 

characteristics are critical here, the 

Commission concludes that only 

modifications that would change the 

emission characteristics of the 

equipment would constitute a 

‘‘modification’’ that would trigger a 

requirement to comply with the Phase 2 

emissions limits. The Commission also 

concludes that any equipment that is 

completely replaced after September 1, 

2027 should be treated as if it is newly 

installed and therefore subject to the 

post-September 1, 2027 emissions limits 

of the ITU Resolution 750. 

III. Final Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis 

40. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 

(RFA), an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA) was incorporated in the 

Modifying Emissions Limits for the 

24.25–24.45 GHz and 24.75–25.25 GHz 

Band, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(Notice) released in December 2023. The 

Commission sought written public 

comment on the proposals in the Notice, 

including comment on the IRFA. No 

comments were filed addressing the 

IRFA. This present Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) conforms to 

the RFA. 

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the Final 

Rules 

41. The Report and Order adopted by 

the Commission implements certain 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 100863 

decisions regarding the 24.25–27.5 GHz 

band made in the World 

Radiocommunication Conference held 

by the International Telecommunication 

Union (ITU) in 2019 (WRC–19). The 

Commission aligns part 30 of its rules 

for mobile operations with the 

Resolution 750 limits on unwanted 

emissions into the passive 23.6–24.0 

GHz band that were adopted at WRC– 

19, and specifically the Commission: (1) 

applies the Resolution 750 unwanted 

OOBE limits to all mobile operations; 

(2) declines to adopt limits more 

stringent than those imposed by 

Resolution 750; (3) declines to apply the 

Resolution 750 limits to fixed 

operations, including point-to-point and 

point-to-multipoint systems; (4) 

declines to exempt indoor small-cell 

equipment from the Resolution 750 

limits; (5) allows the demonstration of 

compliance with the unwanted 

emissions limits for the 23.6–24.0 GHz 

band using both conducted power 

measurement methodology in addition 

to the Total Radiated Power (TRP) 

methodology; and (6) sets the timetable 

for application of Resolution 750 limits. 

These rule changes and decisions will 

promote international harmonization, 

help to facilitate the protection of 

passive sensors used for weather 

forecasting and scientific research in the 

23.6 GHz-24.0 GHz band, while 

continuing to promote flexible 

commercial use of the 24.25–24.45 GHz 

and 24.75–25.25 GHz bands 

(collectively, 24 GHz band). 

B. Summary of Significant Issues Raised 

by Public Comments in Response to the 

IRFA 

42. There were no comments filed 

that specifically addressed the proposed 

rules and policies presented in the 

IRFA. 

C. Response to Comments by the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration 

43. Pursuant to the Small Business 

Jobs Act of 2010, which amended the 

RFA, the Commission is required to 

respond to any comments filed by the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration (SBA), and to 

provide a detailed statement of any 

change made to the proposed rules as a 

result of those comments. The Chief 

Counsel did not file any comments in 

response to the proposed rules in this 

proceeding. 

D. Description and Estimate of the 

Number of Small Entities to Which the 

Rules Will Apply 

44. The RFA directs agencies to 

provide a description of and, where 

feasible, an estimate of the number of 

small entities that may be affected by 

rules adopted herein. The RFA generally 

defines the term ‘‘small entity’’ as 

having the same meaning as the terms 

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

and ‘‘small governmental 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 SBA. 

45. Small Businesses, Small 

Organizations, Small Governmental 

Jurisdictions. The Commission’s actions, 

over time, may affect small entities that 

are not easily categorized at present. 

The Commission therefore describes, at 

the outset, three broad groups of small 

entities that could be directly affected 

herein. First, while there are industry 

specific size standards for small 

businesses that are used in the 

regulatory flexibility analysis, according 

to data from the Small Business 

Administration’s (SBA) Office of 

Advocacy, in general a small business is 

an independent business having fewer 

than 500 employees. These types of 

small businesses represent 99.9% of all 

businesses in the United States, which 

translates to 33.2 million businesses. 

46. Next, the type of small entity 

described as a ‘‘small organization’’ is 

generally ‘‘any not-for-profit enterprise 

which is independently owned and 

operated and is not dominant in its 

field.’’ The Internal Revenue Service 

(IRS) uses a revenue benchmark of 

$50,000 or less to delineate its annual 

electronic filing requirements for small 

exempt organizations. Nationwide, for 

tax year 2022, there were approximately 

530,109 small exempt organizations in 

the U.S. reporting revenues of $50,000 

or less according to the registration and 

tax data for exempt organizations 

available from the IRS. 

47. Finally, the small entity described 

as a ‘‘small governmental jurisdiction’’ 

is defined generally as ‘‘governments of 

cities, counties, towns, townships, 

villages, school districts, or special 

districts, with a population of less than 

fifty thousand.’’ U.S. Census Bureau 

data from the 2022 Census of 

Governments indicate there were 90,837 

local governmental jurisdictions 

consisting of general purpose 

governments and special purpose 

governments in the United States. Of 

this number, there were 36,845 general 

purpose governments (county, 

municipal, and town or township) with 

populations of less than 50,000 and 

11,879 special purpose governments 

(independent school districts) with 

enrollment populations of less than 

50,000. Accordingly, based on the 2022 

U.S. Census of Governments data, the 

Commission estimates that at least 

48,724 entities fall into the category of 

‘‘small governmental jurisdictions.’’ 

48. Wireless Telecommunications 

Carriers (except Satellite). This industry 

comprises establishments engaged in 

operating and maintaining switching 

and transmission facilities to provide 

communications via the airwaves. 

Establishments in this industry have 

spectrum licenses and provide services 

using that spectrum, such as cellular 

services, paging services, wireless 

internet access, and wireless video 

services. The SBA size standard for this 

industry classifies a business as small if 

it has 1,500 or fewer employees. U.S. 

Census Bureau data for 2017 show that 

there were 2,893 firms in this industry 

that operated for the entire year. Of that 

number, 2,837 firms employed fewer 

than 250 employees. Additionally, 

based on Commission data in the 2022 

Universal Service Monitoring Report, as 

of December 31, 2021, there were 594 

providers that reported they were 

engaged in the provision of wireless 

services. Of these providers, the 

Commission estimates that 511 

providers have 1,500 or fewer 

employees. Consequently, using the 

SBA’s small business size standard, 

most of these providers can be 

considered small entities. 

49. Fixed Microwave Services. Fixed 

microwave services include common 

carrier, private-operational fixed, and 

broadcast auxiliary radio services. They 

also include the Upper Microwave 

Flexible Use Service (UMFUS), 

Millimeter Wave Service (70/80/90 

GHz), Local Multipoint Distribution 

Service (LMDS), the Digital Electronic 

Message Service (DEMS), 24 GHz 

Service, Multiple Address Systems 

(MAS), and Multichannel Video 

Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS), 

where in some bands licensees can 

choose between common carrier and 

non-common carrier status. Wireless 

Telecommunications Carriers (except 

Satellite) is the closest industry with a 

SBA small business size standard 

applicable to these services. The SBA 

small size standard for this industry 

classifies a business as small if it has 

1,500 or fewer employees. U.S. Census 

Bureau data for 2017 show that there 

were 2,893 firms that operated in this 

industry for the entire year. Of this 

number, 2,837 firms employed fewer 

than 250 employees. Thus under the 

SBA size standard, the Commission 

estimates that a majority of fixed 


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microwave service licensees can be 

considered small. 

50. Additionally, since the 

Commission does not collect data on the 

number of employees for licensees 

providing these services, at this time the 

Commissions not able to estimate the 

number of licensees with active licenses 

that would qualify as small under the 

SBA’s small business size standard. 

51. Satellite Telecommunications. 

This industry comprises firms 

‘‘primarily engaged in providing 

telecommunications services to other 

establishments in the 

telecommunications and broadcasting 

industries by forwarding and receiving 

communications signals via a system of 

satellites or reselling satellite 

telecommunications.’’ Satellite 

telecommunications service providers 

include satellite and earth station 

operators. The SBA small business size 

standard for this industry classifies a 

business with $44 million or less in 

annual receipts as small. U.S. Census 

Bureau data for 2017 show that 275 

firms in this industry operated for the 

entire year. Of this number, 242 firms 

had revenue of less than $25 million. 

Additionally, based on Commission 

data in the 2022 Universal Service 

Monitoring Report, as of December 31, 

2021, there were 65 providers that 

reported they were engaged in the 

provision of satellite 

telecommunications services. Of these 

providers, the Commission estimates 

that approximately 42 providers have 

1,500 or fewer employees. 

Consequently, using the SBA’s small 

business size standard, a little more 

than half of these providers can be 

considered small entities. 

52. All Other Telecommunications. 

This industry is comprised of 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing specialized 

telecommunications services, such as 

satellite tracking, communications 

telemetry, and radar station operation. 

This industry also includes 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing satellite terminal stations and 

associated facilities connected with one 

or more terrestrial systems and capable 

of transmitting telecommunications to, 

and receiving telecommunications from, 

satellite systems. Providers of internet 

services (e.g. dial-up ISPs) or Voice over 

internet Protocol (VoIP) services, via 

client-supplied telecommunications 

connections are also included in this 

industry. The SBA small business size 

standard for this industry classifies 

firms with annual receipts of $40 

million or less as small. U.S. Census 

Bureau data for 2017 show that there 

were 1,079 firms in this industry that 

operated for the entire year. Of those 

firms, 1,039 had revenue of less than 

$25 million. Based on this data, the 

Commission estimates that the majority 

of ‘‘All Other Telecommunications’’ 

firms can be considered small. 

53. Radio and Television 

Broadcasting and Wireless 

Communications Equipment 

Manufacturing. This industry comprises 

establishments primarily engaged in 

manufacturing radio and television 

broadcast and wireless communications 

equipment. Examples of products made 

by these establishments are: 

transmitting and receiving antennas, 

cable television equipment, GPS 

equipment, pagers, cellular phones, 

mobile communications equipment, and 

radio and television studio and 

broadcasting equipment. The SBA small 

business size standard for this industry 

classifies businesses having 1,250 

employees or less as small. U.S. Census 

Bureau data for 2017 show that there 

were 656 firms in this industry that 

operated for the entire year. Of this 

number, 624 firms had fewer than 250 

employees. Thus, under the SBA size 

standard, the majority of firms in this 

industry can be considered small. 

E. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

54. The Report and Order expands the 

compliance obligations of Resolution 

750’s emissions limits to all mobile 

operations in the 24 GHz band. 

However, the adoption of the Resolution 

750 emissions limits, emissions limits 

measurement methodology and 

emissions limits effective date 

timetables will not impose any new 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on small or other entities. No comments 

were filed in this proceeding regarding 

the specific implications of the 

Commission’s proposals, including any 

associated costs, on small entities. In 

assessing the cost of compliance for 

small entities, at this time the 

Commission is not in a position to 

determine whether these actions will 

require small entities to hire 

professionals to comply, and cannot 

quantify the cost of compliance with the 

rule changes that were adopted. The 

Commission notes, as the Commission 

did in the IRFA addressing the proposal, 

that comments in response to the Public 

Notice that raised concerns about 

increased costs if Resolution 750 

emissions limits are adopted, have been 

taken into consideration. 

F. Steps Taken To Minimize the 

Significant Economic Impact on Small 

Entities, and Significant Alternatives 

Considered 

55. The RFA requires an agency to 

provide ‘‘a description of the steps the 

agency has taken to minimize the 

significant economic impact on small 

entities . . . including a statement of 

the factual, policy, and legal reasons for 

selecting the alternative adopted in the 

final rule and why each one of the other 

significant alternatives to the rule 

considered by the agency which affect 

the impact on small entities was 

rejected.’’ 

56. In making its determinations 

regarding the rules adopted in the 

Report and Order, the Commission has 

sought data on the costs and economic 

impact of the proposals and approaches 

discussed in the Notice in order to allow 

the Commission to better evaluate 

options and alternatives for 

minimization of any significant 

economic impact on small entities if 

Resolution 750 emissions limits and 

effective date timetables were adopted. 

57. Based on the record in this 

proceeding, the Commission’s adoption 

of Resolution 750 emissions limits 

strives to strike the appropriate balance 

between protecting passive sensing 

satellite operations and facilitating use 

of the 24 GHz band. For example, in the 

Report and Order, the Commission 

considered, but ultimately declined to 

adopt rules accelerating the deadline for 

equipment certification of Phase 1 

equipment. In taking that step, the 

Commission minimized significant 

economic and administrative burdens 

on small equipment manufacturers and 

carriers seeking to plan their own 

affairs. Additionally, the Commission 

could have developed and adopted its 

own emissions limits and related 

requirements which may have included 

emissions limits that were more or less 

strict than the Resolution 750 emissions 

limits. The Commission could have also 

simply maintained the existing rules. 

However, all commenters—including 

the weather community, scientific 

community, mobile operators, 

equipment manufacturers, Federal 

agencies, and other commentors, some 

of which are small entities—agreed that 

the Commission should align its rules 

with Resolution 750 to protect 

extremely sensitive passive satellite 

operations, facilitate the continued 

development and deployment of 5G in 

the U.S., promote international 

harmonization, enable equipment 

manufacturers to provide globally 

marketable equipment, and to be 

consistent with U.S. policy relating to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 100865 

Radio Regulations. Thus, the 

synchronicity between the Resolution 

750 emissions limits and the 

Commission’s part 30 rules appears to 

be the best course of action, although 

small entities that hold licenses subject 

to these rules may incur increased 

deployment costs to comply with the 

more stringent Resolution 750 emissions 

limits. 

58. In the alternative, if the 

Commission were to propose and adopt 

its own emissions limits, particularly if 

the emissions limits were stricter than 

both the existing emissions limits and 

Resolution 750 emissions limits, small 

entities could be subjected to 

significantly increased compliance costs 

without any of the above-mentioned 

benefits. Further, if the Commission 

were to propose and adopt less stringent 

emissions limit requirements or if the 

Commission simply maintained the 

existing requirements, its rules may not 

provide the necessary protections for 

passive satellite operations to operate in 

the 24 GHz band and might make it 

difficult for EESS to make observations 

free from harmful interference, thereby 

jeopardizing the accuracy of critical 

weather forecasting and climatology 

data. Instead, the Commission believes 

adoption of the Resolution 750 

emissions limits, which were carefully 

considered andthe product of extensive 

industry collaboration, is the right 

approach and any potential burdens are 

outweighed by the benefits of protecting 

passive observations in the 23.6–24.0 

GHz band, including improvements in 

weather forecasting. 

59. The Commission received several 

comments regarding applying the 

emissions limits to indoor small cell 

operations. CTIA noted that doing so 

would impose significant regulatory 

costs on manufacturers to obtain 

equipment certification and could delay 

deployment, without conferring 

additional benefit to EESS. Ericsson 

explained that ‘‘[t]he Resolution 750 

limits are not necessary to protect 

adjacent services from indoor small cell 

systems and applying them would only 

add production costs that hinder the 

deployment of small cell systems in the 

band.’’ As discussed in the Report and 

Order, the Commission found that the 

record was insufficient to support 

exempting indoor base stations, and 

decided to apply the Resolution 750 

limits to indoor small-cell mobile 

equipment. While commenters noted 

that doing so would be unnecessary to 

reduce the risk of interference and may 

be costly—commenters did not include 

specifics, figures, or examples in their 

filings. As the Commission noted, while 

an argument could be made for 

exempting indoor base stations, doing 

so would require further record 

development on an appropriate power 

level for indoor base stations. On the 

current record, it is unclear to what 

extent exempting indoor base stations 

from the Resolution 750 limits would be 

useful or what sort of cost alleviation— 

if any—may occur. 

60. The Commission also received 

comments regarding implementation 

timeline and requirements. AT&T and 

Qualcomm noted that an accelerated 

timeline would be ‘‘impractical and 

costly,’’ for stakeholders. For this reason 

and others discussed in the Report and 

Order, the Commission adopted the 

Resolution 750 unwanted emissions 

limits on the timeframes adopted at 

WRC–19. The first phase limits (¥33 

dBW for base stations, ¥29 dBW for 

mobile stations) will apply as of the 

effective date of the rules, and the 

second phase limits (¥39 dBW for base 

stations, ¥35 dBW for mobile stations) 

will apply to all deployments after 

September 1, 2027. 

61. AT&T further stated that requiring 

24 GHz licensees to replace existing 

equipment before they intend to place 

Phase 2 equipment into service would 

be costly and inefficient, which would 

discourage deployments before the 

Phase 2 compliance date. As discussed, 

to the extent that equipment meeting 

only the Phase 1 emissions limit is 

installed sometime on or prior to 

September 1, 2027, the Commission 

adopted NTIA’s proposal that it ‘‘require 

base station and user equipment 

modified or replaced after September 

2027 to comply with the post-September 

2027 emissions limits.’’ But due to cost 

and inefficiency concerns expressed, the 

Commission added the clarification that 

only equipment that undergoes 

replacement, or modifications that 

change the emission characteristics of 

the equipment would constitute a 

‘‘modification or replacement’’ 

triggering the requirement that this 

equipment must be Phase 2 compliant. 

IV. Ordering Clauses 

62. Accordingly, it is ordered, 

pursuant to sections 4(i), 301, 302, 

303(r), 308, 309, and 333 of the 

Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 

154(i), 301, 302a, 303(r), 308, 309, 333, 

that this Report and Order is hereby 

adopted. 

63. It is further ordered that sections 

2.106 and 30.203 of the Commission’s 

rules are amended as specified in the 

Final Rules (below) of the Report and 

Order, and such rule amendments will 

become effective 30 days after the date 

of publication in the Federal Register. 

64. It is further ordered that the 

Commission’s Office of the Secretary, 

shall send a copy of this Report and 

Order, including the Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration. 

65. It is further ordered that the Office 

of the Managing Director, Performance 

Program Management, shall send a copy 

of this Report and Order in a report to 

be sent to Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office pursuant to the 

Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 

801(a)(1)(A). 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Parts 2 and 

30 

Communications common carriers, 

Communications equipment. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

Final Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 CFR parts 2 and 

30 as follows: 

PART 2—FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS 

AND RADIO TREATY MATTERS; 

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2 

continues to read as follows: 

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

336, unless otherwise noted. 

■ 2. Amend § 2.106, in the Table of 

Frequency Allocations, by revising 

pages 54 and 55 in paragraph (a) and 

adding paragraph (c)(146) to read as 

follows: 

§ 2.106 Table of Frequency Allocations. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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BILLING CODE 6712–01–C 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * (146) US146 In the bands 24.25–24.45 

GHz and 24.75–27.5 GHz, the maximum 


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conducted output power or the total 

radiated power (TRP) of emissions from 

stations in the mobile service in any 200 

MHz of the band 23.6–24 GHz shall not 

exceed ¥33 dBW/200 MHz for base 

stations and ¥29 dBW/200 MHz for 

mobile stations, and for stations brought 

into use after September 1, 2027, the 

maximum conducted output power or 

TRP shall not exceed ¥39 dBW/200 

MHz for base stations and ¥35 dBW/ 

200 MHz for mobile stations. If 

equipment brought into use on or prior 

to September 1, 2027 is replaced, or 

modified in a manner that changes the 

emissions characteristics of the 

equipment, the equipment must then 

comply with the ¥39 dBW/200 MHz 

limit for base stations and ¥35 dBW/ 

200 MHz limit for mobile stations. 

* * * * * 

PART 30—UPPER MICROWAVE 

FLEXIBLE USE SERVICE 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 30 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 153, 154, 

301, 303, 304, 307, 309, 310, 316, 332, 1302, 

unless otherwise noted. 

■ 4. Amend § 30.2 by adding in 

alphabetical order the definition of 

‘‘Maximum Conducted Output Power’’ 

to read as follows: 

§ 30.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Maximum Conducted Output Power. 

The total transmit power delivered to all 

antennas and antenna elements 

averaged across all symbols in the 

signaling alphabet when the transmitter 

is operating at its maximum power 

control level. Power must be summed 

across all antennas and antenna 

elements. The average must not include 

any time intervals during which the 

transmitter is off or is transmitting at a 

reduced power level. If multiple modes 

of operation are possible (e.g., 

alternative modulation methods), the 

maximum conducted output power is 

the highest total transmit power 

occurring in any mode. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 30.203 by revising the 

section heading and adding paragraph 

(d) to read as follows: 

§ 30.203 Emissions limits. 

* * * * * 

(d)(1) In addition to the limits noted 

in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this 

section, for licensees operating mobile 

equipment in the 24.25–24.45 GHz or 

24.75–25.25 GHz bands, the maximum 

conducted output power or the total 

radiated power of emissions in any 200 

MHz of the 23.6–24.0 GHz band shall 

not exceed ¥33 dBW (for base stations) 

or ¥29 dBW (for mobile stations). 

(2) For mobile equipment brought into 

use after September 1, 2027, the 

maximum conducted output power or 

the total radiated power of emissions in 

any 200 MHz of the 23.6–24.0 GHz band 

shall not exceed ¥39 dBW (for base 

stations) or ¥35 dBW (for mobile 

stations). If equipment brought into use 

on or prior to September 1, 2027 is 

replaced, or modified in a manner that 

changes the emissions characteristics of 

the equipment, the equipment must 

then comply with the emissions limits 

in this paragraph (d). 

[FR Doc. 2024–29313 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Parts 11, 73, and 74 

[MB Docket No. 20–401; FCC 24–121; FR 

ID 267137] 

Program Originating FM Broadcast 

Booster Stations 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal 

Communications Commission 

(Commission) adopts a Second Report 

and Order and Order on 

Reconsideration (Second R&O) on 

processing, licensing, and service rules 

that will allow voluntary, limited use of 

FM booster stations to originate content 

on a permanent basis. This action builds 

upon an April 2024 Commission action 

which permitted experimental use of 

program originating boosters subject to 

adoption of such rules. The rule changes 

are needed to expand the potential uses 

of FM booster stations, which 

previously could not originate 

programming. The intended effect is to 

allow radio broadcasters to provide 

more relevant localized programming 

and information to different zones 

within their service areas. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

January 13, 2025 except for the 

amendments in instruction 5 (47 CFR 

73.3526) instruction 6 (47 CFR 73.3527), 

instruction 9 (74.1204), and instruction 

10 (47 CFR 74.1206), which are delayed 

indefinitely. The Commission will 

announce the effective date of the 

amendments to 47 CFR 73.3526, 

73.3527, 74.1204, and 74.1206 in the 

Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Albert Shuldiner, Chief, Media Bureau, 

Audio Division, (202) 418–2721, 

Albert.Shuldiner@fcc.gov; Irene 

Bleiweiss, Attorney, Media Bureau, 

Audio Division, (202) 418–2785, 

Irene.Bleiweiss@fcc.gov. For additional 

information concerning the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) information 

collection requirements contained in 

this document, contact Cathy Williams 

at (202) 418–2918, Cathy.Williams@

fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Second 

Report and Order (Second R&O), MB 

Docket No. 20–401; FCC 24–121, 

adopted on November 21, 2024, and 

released on November 22, 2024. The full 

text of this document will be available 

via the FCC’s website at https://

docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC24-121A1.pdf. Documents will be 

available electronically in ASCII, 

Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat. 

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). Prior documents that the 

Commission published in this 

proceeding include a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking at 86 FR 1909 (January 11, 

2021), a Report and Order at 89 FR 

26786 (April 16, 2024), and a Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at 89 FR 

26847 (April 16, 2024). 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

Analysis 

This Second R&O may contain new or 

modified information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public 

Law 104–13. All such new or modified 

information collections will be 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review under 

section 3507(d) of the PRA. 44 U.S.C. 

3507(d). OMB, the general public, and 

other Federal agencies are invited to 

comment on any new or modified 

information collection requirements 

contained in this proceeding. In 

addition, we note that pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002 (Pub. L. 107–198, 116 Stat 729 

(2002) (codified at 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4)), 

the Commission previously sought 

specific comment on how it might 

further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 employees. 

Appendix C of the Second R&O assesses 

the effects of the required collection of 

information on these small entities. 


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