13102 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 1995 / Proposed Rules

State City/town/county Source of flooding Location

#Depth in feet above

ground. *Elevation in feet

(NGVD)

Existing Modified

Maps available for inspection at the Department of Community Planning and Development, 75 North Bonson Street, Platteville, Wisconsin.

Send comments to Ms. Rosemarie E. Kulow, Platteville City Manager, 75 North Bonson Street, P.O. Box 780, Platteville, Wisconsin 53818–

0780.

Wisconsin .............. Verona (City) Dane

County.

Badger Mill Creek ............. Approximately 1,300 feet downstream of

Bruce Street.

*937 *939

Approximately 740 feet upstream of the

upstream corporate limits.

*950 *951

Dry Tributary to Badger

Mill Creek.

Approximately 1,200 feet downstream of

the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.

None *938

Approximately 1,200 feet upstream of Edward Street.None *973

Maps available for inspection at the Building Inspection Department, 116 Paoli Street, Verona, Wisconsin.

Send comments to The Honorable Arthur Cresson, Mayor of the City of Verona, P.O. Box 930188, Verona, Wisconsin 53593–0188.

Wisconsin .............. Watertown (City)

Dodge and Jefferson Counties.

Rock River ........................ At downstream corporate limits ................

Approximately 0.9 mile upstream of

Oconomowoc Avenue ...........................

*793

None

*792

*826

Silver Creek ...................... At Spaulding Street ................................... *812 *813

At upstream corporate limits ..................... None *824

Maps available for inspection at the Engineering Department, 106 Jones Street, Watertown, Wisconsin.

Send comments to The Honorable Frederick Smith, Mayor of the City of Watertown, 106 Jones Street, Watertown, Wisconsin 53094.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No.

83.100, ‘‘Flood Insurance.’’)

Dated: March 1, 1995.

Richard T. Moore,

Associate Director for Mitigation.

[FR Doc. 95–5974 Filed 3–9–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6718–03–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Chapter I

[ET Docket No. 94–32; FCC No. 95–47]

Allocation of Spectrum Below 5 GHz

Transferred From Federal Government

Use

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This Second Notice of

Proposed Rule Making, proposes rules

to govern assignment and use of the 50

megahertz of spectrum transferred from

Federal Government use to private use

and allocated in the companion First

Report and Order, published elsewhere

in this issue. This action is necessary to

comply with provisions of the Omnibus

Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993

(Reconciliation Act), that require the

Commission to allocate, and propose

regulations to assign, this spectrum

within 18 months of adoption of the

Reconciliation Act. Our goal in taking

this action is to provide for use of

spectrum transferred from Federal

Government to private sector use in a

way that will benefit the public by

providing for the introduction of new

services and devices and enhance

existing services and devices.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or

before March 20, 1995, and reply

comments must be filed on or before

April 4, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, 1919 M St., NW.,

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen Rackley, Wireless

Telecommunication Bureau, (202) 418–

0620.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Second

Notice of Proposed Rule Making, ET

Docket No. 94–32, FCC No. 95–47,

adopted February 7, 1995, and released

February 17, 1995 (Notice). The full text

of this Notice is available for inspection

during normal business hours in the

Records Room of the Federal

Communications Commission, Room

239, 1919 M St., NW., Washington, DC.

The complete text may be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

ITS, Inc., 2100 M St., NW., Suite 140,

Washington, DC 20037, telephone (202)

857–3800.

Summary of Second Notice of Proposed

Rule Making

1. By this action, the Commission

proposes rules governing the use of 50

megahertz of spectrum, at 2390–2400

MHz, 2402–2417 MHz, and 4660–4685

MHz, that has been transferred from

Federal Government to private sector

use. In the First Report and Order, the

Commission allocated the 2390–2400

MHz band for use by unlicensed

Personal Communications Services

(PCS) devices, provided for continued

use of the 2402–2417 MHz band by

devices operating in accordance with

Part 15 of the Commission’s Rules

allocated both of these bands for use by

the Amateur service on a primary basis,

and allocated the 4660–4685 MHz band

for use by Fixed and Mobile services.

2390–2400 MHz

2. Because the Commission already

has rules in place governing unlicensed

PCS, the Notice does not seek additional

comment on services rules. The Notice,

however, seeks comment on whether

some allowance should be made to

accommodate operations that combine

use of the 2390–2400 MHz with the

adjacent 2400–2483.5 MHz band for use

as a single, large Part 15 band. The

Notice proposes to specifically prohibit

aeronautical use of unlicensed PCS

devices operating at 2390–2400 MHz as

requested by some commenters, but

does not proposed to restrict use of

unlicensed PCS devices in the vicinity

of the National Astronomy and

Ionospheric Center. Finally, the Notice

requests comment on whether it is

unnecessary to propose any formal

standards for sharing between

unlicensed PCS and Amateur service,

whether there is a need to restrict

certain uses by either the Amateur
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 1995 / Proposed Rules 13103

service or unlicensed PCS devices that

might be particularly disruptive, or

whether the Commission should seek to

implement rules for coordination of

Amateur/PCS use.

2402–2417 MHz

3. Both the Amateur service and Part

15 devices operating at 2402–2417 MHz

continue to be governed in accordance

with current applicable technical and

operational rules. However, the

Commission seeks comment on whether

any changes should be made to the

Commission’s rules to facilitate use of

this band by the Amateur service and

Part 15 devices.

4660–4685 MHz

A. Service Rules

4. The Notice proposes to create the

General Wireless Communications

Service (GWCS), a new service for

licensing of the 4660–4685 MHz band,

which would allow a licensee to

provide any Fixed or Mobile service,

consistent with the allocation of this

band and the Commission’s proposed

rules described below. The Notice also

seeks comment on the possibility of

better accommodating the needs of users

by prescribing rules that provide for

utilization of the 4660–4685 MHz

frequency band only by specific

services.

B. Use of Spectrum

5. The Notice tentatively concludes

that the principal use of this spectrum

under the proposed General Wireless

Communications Service will involve or

is reasonably likely to involve the

receipt by the licensee of compensation

from subscribers in return for enabling

those subscribers to receive or transmit

communications signals, thus enabling

the Commission to propose competitive

bidding as the assignment method for

this spectrum. To help the Commission

make an accurate determination

regarding the extent to which this

spectrum will be used for subscriberbased services, the Notice requests that

commenters describe their spectrum

needs and provide an indication of the

degree of competition expected within a

particular geographic service area,

because the likelihood of subscriber use

may vary among geographic areas.

C. Assignment Methods

6. Sections 309(j)(1) and 309(j)(2) of

the Communications Act permit

auctions where mutually exclusive

applications for initial licenses or

construction permits are accepted for

filing by the Commission and where the

principal use of the spectrum will

involve or is reasonably likely to

involve the receipt by the licensee of

compensation from subscribers in return

for enabling those subscribers to receive

or transmit communications signals. As

described in the preceding section, the

Commission believes that the principal

use of this spectrum will meet these

requirements. In order to comply with

Section 309(j)(2)(b) of the

Communications Act, the Notice also

tentatively concludes that the use of

competitive bidding to assign licenses

in the 4660–4685 MHz band bill

promote the objectives described in

Sections 1 and 309(j)(3) of the

Communications Act. Thus, the

Commission tentatively concludes that

competitive bidding should be used to

award licenses in the 4660–4685 MHz

band in the new General Wireless

Communications Service if mutually

exclusive applications are filed.

7. Although the Notice proposes the

use of a system of competitive bidding

to assign licenses for the General

Wireless Communications Service in the

4660–4685 MHz band, the Commission

also seeks comment regarding whether

the Commission should utilize a

different assignment method.

8. One important aspect of any

assignment method is determining

whether applications are mutually

exclusive. The Notice proposes to use a

30-day filing window or other

application cut-off method to allow for

competing initial applications. The

Notice seeks comment on this proposal,

particularly whether some other type of

filing group would be more appropriate

for determining whether initial

applications are mutually exclusive.

D. Channelization; Aggregation

9. The Notice proposes that the 4660–

4685 MHz band be licensed in five

blocks, each of which would be 5

megahertz wide. Based on available

information about the likely services to

be provided in this band, the

Commission tentatively concludes that

no licensee would need more than 15

megahertz in a single market area.

Therefore, the Notice proposes to limit

a single entity from obtaining more than

three of these blocks in a single

geographic licensing area. The

Commission also proposes that,

regardless of the specific service to be

provided, this spectrum will not count

against the 45 MHz spectrum cap that

applies to certain commercial mobile

radio service (CMRS) licensees.

E. License Area

10. The Notice proposes that all

licenses issued in the GWCS be based

on Major Trading Areas (MTA). The

Commission does not propose to restrict

the number of MTAs in which a party

may obtain a license. Because an MTA

may be too large for some licensees, the

Notice proposes to permit licensees to

lease the rights to operate a general

wireless communication system within

portions of their authorized geographic

service area or transfer a portion of their

license to geographically partition their

service area, allowing another party to

be licensed in the partitioned area.

11. If the Commission determines that

a mix of subscriber, non-subscriber, and

private-based services is likely in the

4660–4685 MHz band, the Commission

may issue licenses based on different

geographic regions for different portions

of the bands or for different areas of the

Nation. Commenters that seek spectrum

for non-subscriber based services should

address the issue of whether the

Commission should allow licensees to

sell or lease their excess capacity and

specify under what circumstances such

transfer or lease would be allowed.

F. Eligibility

12. If the Commission determines that

it is reasonably likely that the services

to be provided will be commercial

services, the Notice proposes no

restrictions on eligibility to apply for

licenses in this band other than those

foreign ownership restrictions that

apply to CMRS and common carrier

fixed system licensees, and the

restriction on foreign governments or

their representatives related to the

holding of private service licenses.

G. Competitive Bidding Issues

13. The Notice proposed that, to the

extent that the Commission determines

that it is reasonably likely that some or

all of the 4660–4685 MHz band will be

used for services that meet the criteria

for issuing licenses pursuant to

auctions, the Commission will use

auctions to issue licenses. The

Commission believes that simultaneous

multiple round bidding should be the

preferred method for licensing of the

proposed 5 MHz-wide MTA spectrum

blocks. The Notice tentatively concludes

that simultaneous multiple round

bidding is most likely to award MTA

licenses to bidders who value them the

most highly and who are most likely to

deploy new technologies and services

rapidly. The Notice asks commenters to

address this tentative conclusion and

whether any other competitive bidding

designs might be more appropriate for

the licensing of this spectrum.

14. In addition, the Notice also seeks

comments on which blocks should be

auctioned together, the intervals

between rounds in each auction, and the

sequencing of each auction. The
13104 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 1995 / Proposed Rules

Commission’s tentative view is that all

255 licenses (51 MTA licenses on each

of 5 spectrum blocks) should be

auctioned simultaneously because of the

relatively high value and significant

interdependence of the licenses.

15. The Commission also seeks

comment on bidding procedures to be

used in the 4660–4685 MHz auctions,

including bid increments, duration of

bidding rounds, stopping rules, and

activity rules. The Notice generally

proposes to follow the procedural,

payment, and penalty rules established

in Subpart Q of Part I of the

Commission’s Rules, but seeks comment

on whether any service-specific

modifications of these rules are needed

based on the particular characteristics of

the 4660–4685 MHz band licenses.

16. In keeping with the general

parameters set forth in the Competitive

Bidding docket, PP Docket No. 93–253,

the Notice proposes specific measures

and eligibility criteria for small

businesses, rural telephone companies,

and minority- and women-owned

businesses (collectively, ‘‘designated

entities’’) in the 4660–4685 MHz band

designed to ensure that such entities are

given the opportunity to participate

both in the competitive bidding process

and in the provision of service in the

4660–4685 MHz band.

H. Technical Rules

17. The fact that the Commission is

proposing a new radio service for this

band that can be used to provide any

mobile or fixed communications

service, regardless of whether that

service is subscriber based or not, argues

for general minimal technical

restrictions. Specifically, the Notice

proposes to limit the field strength at

licensees’ service area boundaries to 55

dBu unless licensees operating in

adjacent areas agree to higher field

strengths along their mutual border. The

Notice does not propose to establish

adjacent-channel interference limits at

the frequency boundaries between

licensees in this band, but the

Commission would encourage licensees

to resolve adjacent channel interference

problems. The Commission, however,

proposes to require licensees to

attenuate the power below the

transmitter power (P) by at least 43 plus

101og10(P) or 80 decibels, whichever is

less, for any emission at the edges of the

4660–4685 MHz band. The Notice also

requests comment on whether a

maximum transmitter power or

maximum effective radiated power is

necessary or whether licensees should

be permitted to use any power that they

believe is appropriate, provided that

they do not exceed the maximum

permissible field strength at the border

of their licensed area. Commenters

should also specifically address the

need for out of band emission at the

edges of the entire 4660–4685 MHz.

I. License Term

18. For services in the 4660–4685

MHz band, the Notice proposes to

establish a term of 10 years for licenses

in this band, with a renewal expectancy

based on that of PCS and cellular

telephone licensees. The Commission

notes, however, the commenters have

proposed using this band for auxiliary

broadcast service and the statute

requires that the term of any license for

the operation of any auxiliary broadcast

station or equipment must be

concurrent with the term of the license

for such primary television station.

Therefore, commenters should address

whether the Commission should allow

differing license terms in this band.

J. Construction Requirements

19. The Notice proposes to require

build-out rules modeled on those

adopted for broadband PCS.

Specifically, the Commission proposes

that within five years, licensees in this

band offer service to one-third of the

population in the area in which they are

licensed. Further, licensee would have

to serve two-thirds of the population in

the area in which they are licensed

within ten years of being licensed.

Failure by any licensee to meet these

construction requirements will result in

forfeiture of the license and the licensee

will be ineligible to regain it.

K. Regulatory Status

20. The Communications Act and

Commission regulation often apply

differing requirements based on the type

of service and the regulatory status of

licensees. In addition recent changes to

the Communications Act have created

different standards for Fixed and Mobile

services for determining the regulatory

status of a licensee.

21. The Commission has decided to

propose a new GWCS for the 4660–4685

band that would allow licensees to

provide a variety or combination of

Fixed and Mobile services. Under this

service, both Fixed and Mobile

applications would be permitted and an

individual licensee could provide a

number of Fixed and Mobile services.

The commission notes that, under the

proposed approach, it may be difficult

to determine the regulatory status of

each licensee. The Notice proposes to

rely on applicants to specifically

identify the type of service or services

they intend to provide, and that they

include sufficient detail to enable the

Commission to determine if the service

will be Fixed or Mobile, and whether it

will be offered as a commercial mobile

radio service, a private mobile radio

service, a common carrier Fixed service,

or a private Fixed service. The Notice

requests comment on the most efficient

manner in which to administer the

requirements of the Communications

Act and the Commission’s rules, and

grant licensees as much operational

flexibility as possible.

22. The Notice requests comment on

whether the Commission should

develop a new application long form for

this GWCS or require an applicant to be

responsible for filing the appropriate

license application based upon the

nature of the service designated by the

applicant. Based on the showing made

in the application form and actual

service provided, the licensee would be

subject to those rules and statutory

requirements that apply to such service.

L. Licensing Issues

23. The Notice requests comment on

whether the Commission is required or

should find it is in the public interest

to adopt additional licensing rules in

order to comply with the statutory

requirement that the Commission adopt

assignment rules before August 10,

1995. For example, because some

licensees may provide common carrier

service, the Notice seeks comment on

whether the Commission should adopt

public notice and petition to deny

procedures for some or all applicants in

the 4660–4685 MHz band. The Notice

requests comment on whether any

existing application or regulatory fees

would apply if the Commission

develops a new service. In addition, the

Notice requests comment on specific

rules the Commission should adopt in

order to implement Section 310(d) of

the Communications Act for purposes of

licensing services in the 4660–4685

MHz frequency

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

1. Reason for Action: The proposals

for technical rules, service rules, and

licensing mechanisms proposed in the

Notice are for use of spectrum that has

been transferred from Federal

Government to private sector use. The

Commission adopted allocations for this

spectrum on February 7, 1995.

Accordingly, these proposals are

necessary to provide a structure for nonGovernment entities to use the

spectrum.

2. Objectives: The Commission seeks

to provide service rules, technical rules,

and to issue licenses, for use of this

spectrum in a manner that provides the

greatest potential benefit to the public
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 47 / Friday, March 10, 1995 / Proposed Rules 13105

by providing for the introduction of new

services and the enhancement of

existing services. These new and

enhanced services will create new jobs,

foster economic growth, and improve

access to communications by industry

and the American public.

3. Legal Basis: The legal basis for

these rule changes is found in Section

4(i), 303(g), 303(r), 309(j), 322(a), and

403 of the Communications Act of 1934,

as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 303(g),

303(r), 309(j) (332)(a), and 403 and

Section 115(a) of the National

Telecommunications and Information

Administration Organization Act, 47

U.S.C. 925(a).

4. Reporting, Recordkeeping, and

Other Compliance Requirements: The

proposals under consideration in this

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking may

impose certain reporting and

recordkeeping requirements on

licensees and others utilizing this

spectrum.

5. Federal Rules Which Overlap,

Duplicate or Conflict With these Rules:

None.

6. Description, Potential Impact, and

Number of Small Entities Involved:

Many small entities could be positively

affected by this proposal because the

proposal will provide for the

introduction of new, competitive

communications and will foster new

technologies resulting in new jobs,

economic growth, and improved access

to communications by industry,

including small entities. The full extent

of the impact on small entities cannot be

predicted until various issues raised in

the proceeding have been resolved.

After evaluating the comments filed in

response to the Notice, the Commission

will examine further the impact of all

final rules in this proceeding on small

entities and set forth its findings in the

final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.

7. Any Significant Alternatives

Minimizing the Impact on Small Entities

Consistent with the Stated Objectives:

This Second Notice of Proposed Rule

Making solicits comments on a variety

of alternatives, including as to how our

licensing mechanism, service rules, and

technical rules can be structured to

serve a variety of needs.

8. IRFA Comments: The Commission

requests written public comment on the

foregoing Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis. Comments must have a

separate and distinct heading

designating them as responses to the

IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines

specified in the summary above.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–5371 Filed 3–9–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 17

RIN 1018–AC22

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife

and Plants; Notice of Six-Month

Extension and Reopening of Public

Comment Period on the Proposed Rule

to List the Barton Springs Salamander

as an Endangered Species

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension and

reopening of comment period on

proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) gives notice that the

deadline to determine whether the

Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea

sosorum) is an endangered species is

being extended for up to 6 months. The

comment period on the proposal is

reopened.

DATES: The new deadline for final action

on the proposed listing of the Barton

Springs salamander as an endangered

species is August 17, 1995. The

reopened comment period closes May

17, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments and materials

concerning this proposal should be sent

to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

Austin Ecological Services Field Office,

10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200, Austin,

Texas 78758. Comments and materials

received will be available for public

inspection, by appointment, during

normal business hours at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Texas State Administrator, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service, Ecological

Services, 10711 Burnet Road, Suite 200,

Austin, Texas 78758 (telephone [512]

490–0057, fax [512] 490–0974).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The proposed rule to list the Barton

Springs salamander as an endangered

species was published on February 17,

1994 (59 FR 7968). The primary threat

to this species is contamination of the

waters that supply Barton Springs by

potential catastrophic events and

chronic degradation resulting from

urban activities. Also of concern are

disturbances to the salamander’s surface

habitat (the waters in Barton Springs,

Eliza Pool, and Sunken Garden Springs)

and reduced groundwater supplies

resulting from increased groundwater

withdrawal.

The comment period on the proposed

rule originally closed April 18, 1994. It

was reopened May 26, 1994, and closed

July 1, 1994. During the comment

periods and subsequent to the close of

comment on this proposal, the Service

has received recommendations and

information relevant to a final decision

on the listing of the salamander. In

order to adequately incorporate all

available pertinent information in the

deliberation leading to a decision and to

ensure an opportunity for public

comment on as complete an

administrative record as possible, the

deadline for final action on this

proposal is being extended and the

comment period reopened.

The Service has received several

comments regarding the adequacy of

search efforts to determine if the

currently known distribution is

restricted solely to the Barton Springs

complex. Comments received from

scientific experts refer to extensive

search efforts in springs throughout a

several-county area. However, a few

caves were identified that may support

the salamander, but that had not been

adequately surveyed.

On September 19, 1994, the Barton

Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation

District submitted a report titled, Barton

Springs/Edwards Aquifer Hydrogeology

and Water Quality, to the Service. The

report appears to contain significant

new information regarding water quality

throughout the Barton Springs/Edwards

Aquifer system. Water quality data

contained in this report may provide

important information on the effects of

existing and historical land use on water

quality, and potential threats to the

Barton Springs salamander. The Service

considers it important that this report be

entered into the record and made

available for public comment before a

final decision is made on the listing.

In October 1994 the Texas Parks and

Wildlife Department appointed an

Aquatic Biological Advisory Team

specifically to consider the conservation

and research needs of three species of

Eurycea, including the Barton Springs

salamander. The team will not report its

findings and recommendations for

several more months; the Service

believes that this team’s results should

be considered in reaching a final listing

decision.

In February 1995 the Governor of

Texas requested that the Secretary of the