10632 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

1The FM Table of Allotments is being corrected

to show the allotment of Channel 252C3 at Oak

Island, North Carolina, in lieu of Long Beach, North

Carolina. The Town of Oak Island was formed in

1999 when the towns of Long Beach and Yaupon

Beach consolidated.

communities. The changes in channel

classifications have been authorized in

response to applications filed by

licensees and permittees operating on

these channels. This action is taken

pursuant to Revision of section

73.3573(a)(1) of the Commission’s Rules

Concerning the Lower Classification of

an FM Allotment, 4 FCC Rcd 2413

(1989), and the Amendment of the

Commission’s Rules to permit FM

Channel and Class Modifications

[Upgrades] by Applications, 8 FCC Rcd

4735 (1993).

DATES: Effective February 16, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kathleen Scheuerle, Mass Media

Bureau, (202) 418–2180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

summary of the Commission’s Report

and Order, adopted January 24, 2001,

and released February 2, 2001. The full

text of this Commission decision is

available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

Commission’s Reference Center, 445

12th Street, SW., Washington, DC. The

complete text of this decision may also

be purchased from the Commission’s

copy contractors, International

Transcription Service, Inc., 1231 20th

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036,

(202) 857–3800, facsimile (202) 857–

3805.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Radio broadcasting.

Part 73 of title 47 of the Code of

Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST

SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 73

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334 and 336.

§ 73.202 [Amended]

2. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM

Allotments under North Carolina, is

amended by removing Long Beach and

Channel 252C3 and adding Oak Island

and Channel 252C3.1

3. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM

Allotments under Oklahoma, is

amended by removing Channel 279C1

and adding Channel 278C1 at Anadarko.

Federal Communications Commission.

John A. Karousos,

Chief, Allocations Branch, Policy and Rules

Division, Mass Media Bureau.

[FR Doc. 01–3960 Filed 2–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 90

[WT Docket No. 96–86; FCC 01–10]

Public Safety Communications

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: In this document, the

Commission amends its rules to

establish operational, technical, and

spectrum requirements for the use of the

interoperability portion of the 700 MHz

public safety band. On February 25,

2000, the Public Safety National

Coordination Committee (NCC) released

a report with recommendations on these

matters. Following the NCC’s report, the

Commission issued a Fourth Notice of

Proposed Rule Making in August 2000.

These final rules are based on the NCC

recommendations, and the comments

the Commission received in response to

those recommendations.

DATES: These rules become effective

March 19, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Connelly, Policy and Rules

Branch, Public Safety and Private

Wireless Division, Wireless

Telecommunications Bureau at (202)

418–0132.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

1. The Commission’s Fourth Report

and Order, WT Docket No. 96–86, FCC

01–10, was adopted January 11, 2001,

and released on January 17, 2001. The

full text of this Commission’s 4th R&O

is available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Reference Center, Room CY–A257,

445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC.

The complete text may be purchased

from the Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service,

Inc., 1231 20th Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20037. The full text

may also be downloaded at: http://

www.fcc.gov/wtb/releases/fcc0110.doc.

Alternative formats are available to

persons with disabilities by contacting

Martha Contee at (202) 418–0260 or

TTY (202) 418–2555.

Summary of the 4th R&O

2. These actions promote and

facilitate the achievement of nationwide

and regional interoperability in the 700

MHz public safety band. These actions

will enable and accommodate the

expeditious development and

deployment of public safety equipment

in this band without compromising our

goal of effective and efficient utilization

of the spectrum. A summary of the

major decisions follows.

3. The Commission concludes that the

states should administer the

interoperability channels, with regional

planning committees (RPCs) assuming

this responsibility if the states decline to

do so. States have until December 31,

2001 to inform the Commission whether

the states or an RPC will administer the

interoperability spectrum. If states

decide to administer the interoperability

spectrum, they will determine the RPC’s

role in reviewing applications for

interoperability spectrum. The

Commission will not require the use of

memoranda of understanding.

4. The Commission will not require

states and RPCs to use a precoordination database at this time. The

Public Safety National Coordination

Committee (NCC) is directed to revisit

this matter once the database is

developed and operational.

5. The Commission determines that

its rules allow sufficient flexibility to

allow state and local governments to

grant federal users access to the 700

MHz interoperability spectrum.

6. The Commission adopts blanket

licensing of mobile and portable units

for all public safety entities if such

entities are eligible to hold a 700 MHz

band license or such entities otherwise

are licensed under Part 90 of our Rules.

7. The Commission rejects a

mandatory trunking requirement, but

permits trunking on eight

interoperability channels on a

secondary, non-interference basis.

Under this plan, the remaining channel

sets are limited to conventional

interoperability operations. Licensees

that use those channels for trunking

must maintain continuous monitoring

so that the channels can be released

immediately when needed for

interoperability communications.

8. The Commission affirms the band

plan it adopted in the Third

Memorandum Opinion and Order in

this proceeding.

9. The Commission will not adopt a

table of channel assignments for the

interoperability channels, believing that

such a table would be cumbersome and

cause undue administrative burden.

10. The Commission will not codify a

new priority scheme for resolving

conflicts when demand for

interoperability channels exceeds

supply of such channels, believing that

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 10633

the states can determine priority use

and resolve disputes.

11. The Commission does not adopt a

rule requiring that all mobile units be

capable of displaying an interoperability

channel label, but it directs the NCC to

consider the development of an industry

standardized scheme for display

labeling.

12. The Commission amends it rules

to designate two of the 700 MHz

interoperability channels as nationwide

calling channels. Public safety entities,

particularly those from ‘‘outside’’ a

given public safety ‘‘system,’’ can use

the calling channels to access the public

safety communications infrastructure in

the area where they are located.

13. The Commission amends its rules

to adopt the Project 25 Phase I standard

as the digital voice standard for

interoperability channels. The

Commission retains its present 4.8

kilobytes per second (kbps) per 6.25 kHz

standard rather than require one voice

channel per 6.25 kHz bandwidth. The

Commission will revisit this issue no

earlier than 2005. The Commission also

determines that any migration path it

adopts will allow stations planned or

built prior to our final decision on this

issue to operate for at least ten years

from the commencement of the system’s

operations. In addition, we will require

that such migration path include a

standard that is backward compatible

with the Project Phase I standard so that

the achievement of interoperability will

not be compromised while these

systems remain in operation.

14. With respect to the General Use

channels, the Commission determines

that any migration path it establishes to

a voice efficiency standard of one voice

channel per 6.25 kHz bandwidth will

allow 12.5 kHz-based systems

constructed and placed in operation

prior to December 31, 2005 to continue

to purchase and deploy 12.5 kHz

equipment for system expansion or

maintenance. The Commission also

determines that such 12.5 kHz systems

will not be required to cease operations

and convert to 6.25kHz technology prior

to December 31, 2015, at the earliest. In

addition, the Commission concludes

that in any specific migration plan for

the General Use channels, the earliest

date the Commission would require new

systems to have 6.25 kHz technology

would be December 31, 2005.

15. The Commission amends its rules

to reserve two interoperability channels

for data transmission and set a standard

for data transmission. The Commission

concludes that the Project 25 suite of

standards is the correct data

interoperability standard. Finally, end

user equipment can be single purpose:

units designed for data-only

applications are not required to be

voice-capable, and voice-only

applications need not have data

transmission capability.

16. The Commission allows

encryption on the interoperability

channels, except the two nationwide

calling channels. The Commission

adopts TIA/EIA IS 102 AAAAA Project

25 DES encryption protocol as the

encryption standard.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis:

17. As required by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA), an Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA)

was incorporated into the Fourth Notice

of Proposed Rule Making (Fourth

Notice) of this proceeding. The

Commission sought written public

comment on the IRFA. The present

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(FRFA) conforms to the RFA.

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the

Fourth Report and Order

18. Our objective is to promote the

early and efficient use of public safety

spectrum in the frequencies at 764–776

MHz and 794–806 MHz (the 700 MHz

band). Specifically, this action will:

promote spectrum efficiency through

allowing secondary trunking on the

Interoperability channels; assist in

delineating the roles of Regional

Planning Committees (RPCs) and

establishment of State Interoperability

Executive Committees (SIECs); promote

efficient administration of the

Interoperability channels by state or

local entities; designate calling

channels; permit encryption on the

Interoperability channels; and establish

digital voice standards and efficiency

standards for the Interoperability

channels, and digital data standards and

channel reservation for the

Interoperability channels.

B. Summary of Significant Issues Raised

by Public Comments in Response to the

IRFA

19. No comments were submitted in

response to the IRFA. Some comments,

however, raised issues that may be of

particular concern to small entities,

including Interoperability standards,

migration, and administration. Other

issues include equipment display

characteristics. The Commission

carefully considered all comments in

reaching the decision set forth herein,

and each decision consider any impact

on small entities.

C. Description and Estimate of the

Number of Small Entities to Which

Rules Will Apply

20. 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

the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA

generally defines ‘‘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 ‘‘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 operations; and

(3) satisfies any additional criteria

established by the Small Business

Administration (SBA). A small

organization is generally ‘‘any not-forprofit enterprise which is independently

owned and operated and is not

dominant in its field. Nationwide, as of

1992, there were approximately 275,801

small organizations. ‘‘Small

governmental jurisdiction’’ generally

means ‘‘governments of cities, counties,

towns, townships, villages, school

districts, or special districts, with a

population of less than 50,000.’’ As of

1992, there were approximately 85,006

such jurisdictions in the United States.

This number includes 38,978 counties,

cities, and towns; of these, 37,566, or

ninety-six percent, have populations of

fewer than 50,000. The Census Bureau

estimates that this ratio is

approximately accurate for all

governmental entities. Thus, of the

85,006 governmental entities, we

estimate that 81,600 (ninety-one

percent) are small entities.

21. Public Safety Radio Pool

Licensees. As a general matter, Public

Safety Radio Pool licensees include

police, fire, local government, forestry

conservation, highway maintenance,

and emergency medical services.

Spectrum in the 700 MHz band for

public safety services is governed by 47

U.S.C. 337. Non-Federal governmental

entities as well as private businesses are

licensees for these services. All

governmental entities with populations

of less than 50,000 fall within the

definition of a small entity.

22. Radio and Television Equipment

Manufacturers. We anticipate that at

least six radio equipment manufacturers

will be affected by our decisions in this

proceeding. According to the SBA’s

regulations, a radio and television

broadcasting and communications

equipment manufacturer must have 750

or fewer employees in order to qualify

10634 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

as a small business concern. Census

Bureau data indicate that there are 858

U.S. firms that manufacture radio and

television broadcasting and

communications equipment, and that

778 of these firms have fewer than 750

employees and would therefore be

classified as small entities. We do not

have information that indicates how

many of the six radio equipment

manufacturers associated with this

proceeding are among these 778 firms.

However, Motorola and Ericsson, two of

the six manufacturers, are major,

nationwide radio equipment

manufacturers, and, thus, we conclude

that these manufacturers would not

qualify as small businesses.

23. Television Stations. This

proceeding will affect full service TV

station licensees (Channels 60–69), TV

translator facilities, and low power TV

(LPTV) stations. The SBA defines a TV

broadcasting station that has no more

than $10.5 million in annual receipts as

a small business. TV broadcasting

stations consist of establishments

primarily engaged in broadcasting

visual programs by TV to the public,

except cable and other pay TV services.

Included in this industry are

commercial, religious, educational, and

other TV stations. Also included are

establishments primarily engaged in TV

broadcasting and which produce taped

TV program materials. Separate

establishments primarily engaged in

producing taped TV program materials

are classified under another SIC

number.

24. There were 1,509 TV stations

operating in the Nation in 1992. That

number has remained fairly constant as

indicated by the approximately 1,551

operating TV broadcasting stations in

the Nation as of February 28, 1997. For

1992, the number of TV stations that

produced less than $10.0 million in

revenue was 1,155 establishments, or

approximately 77 percent of the 1,509

establishments. There are currently 95

full service analog TV stations, either

operating or with approved construction

permits on channels 60–69. In the DTV

Proceeding, we adopted a DTV Table

that provides only 15 allotments for

DTV stations on channels 60–69 in the

continental United States. There are

seven DTV allotments in channels 60–

69 outside the continental United

States. Thus, the rules will affect

approximately 117 TV stations;

approximately 90 of those stations may

be considered small businesses. These

estimates may overstate the number of

small entities since the revenue figures

on which they are based do not include

or aggregate revenues from non-TV

affiliated companies. We recognize that

the rules may also impact minorityowned and women-owned stations,

some of which may be small entities. In

1995, minorities owned and controlled

37 (3.0 percent) of 1,221 commercial TV

stations in the United States. According

to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, in

1987 women owned and controlled 27

(1.9 percent) of 1,342 commercial and

non-commercial TV stations in the

United States.

25. There are currently 4,977 TV

translator stations and 1,952 LPTV

stations. Approximately 1,309 low

power TV and TV translator stations are

on channels 60–69, which could be

affected by policies in this proceeding.

The Commission does not collect

financial information of any broadcast

facility and the Department of

Commerce does not collect financial

information on these broadcast

facilities. We will assume for present

purposes, however, that most of these

broadcast facilities, including LPTV

stations, could be classified as small

businesses. As indicated earlier,

approximately 77 percent of TV stations

are designated under this analysis as

potentially small businesses. Given this,

LPTV and TV translator stations would

not likely have revenues that exceed the

SBA maximum to be designated as

small businesses.

D. Description of Projected Reporting,

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance

Requirements

26. The Fourth Report and Order

adopts rules that will entail reporting,

recordkeeping, and/or third-party

consultation, including the requirement

that a state notify the Commission

regarding the state’s intentions

regarding administration of the

Interoperability channels. The

Commission believes, however, that

these requirements are the minimum

needed. For example, the Fourth Report

and Order requires that, while public

safety entities are not required to enter

into a formal Memoranda of

Understanding (MOUs) with a state

regarding use of Interoperability

channels, applicants must secure

approval from the state. To minimize

any Federally-imposed paperwork

burden, we have left the procedure for

such an agreement up to the state.

Because we are requiring monitoring of

the Interoperability channels, there is

the possibility that additional resources

may be required. This type of

monitoring may be routine for some,

while others may require additional

resources. In any event, we believe the

impact will not be substantial.

E. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and

Significant Alternatives Considered

27. The RFA requires an agency to

describe any significant alternatives that

it has considered in reaching its

proposed approach, which may include

the following four alternatives (among

others): (1) the establishment of

differing compliance or reporting

requirements or timetables that take into

account the resources available to small

entities; (2) the clarification,

consolidation, or simplification of

compliance or reporting requirements

under the rule for small entities; (3) the

use of performance, rather than design,

standards; and (4) an exemption from

coverage of the rule, or any part thereof,

for small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603.

28. The NCC, comprised of

representatives from government, the

public safety community, and the

communications equipment

manufacturing industry, was chartered

by the Commission as a Federal

Advisory Committee, effective February

25, 1999. The NCC made

recommendations concerning various

issues addressed in the Fourth Notice.

We note that in several instances, to

benefit all entities, including small

entities, we did not propose a particular

recommendation.

29. In formulating the rules in the

Fourth Report and Order, we reduced

economic burdens wherever possible.

The regulatory burdens that we adopted

are necessary to ensure that the public

receives the public safety benefits of

innovative new services in a prompt

and efficient manner. For example, we

adopted technical and operational rules

that will promote competition in the

equipment market. We believe that the

rules must be as competitively and

technologically neutral as possible, in

order to allow for competing equipment

designs and to avoid hindering future

innovative technological developments.

We note that tighter technical

specifications generally allow more

intense spectrum use, but may result in

higher equipment costs. Conversely,

although wider tolerances may allow

manufacturers to use less costly

component parts in transmitting

equipment, they also may result in less

efficient spectrum use. With these

considerations in mind, we believe that

the technical regulations we adopt

herein provide a reasonable balance of

these concerns.

30. Under the regional planning

process, frequency coordination is

competitive. Frequency coordination is

the process by which a private

organization recommends to the

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 10635

Commission the most appropriate

frequencies for private land mobile

radio service applicants. Frequency

coordinators provide a valuable service

to the Commission by eliminating

common application errors, thereby

improving the quality of the

applications and resolving potential

interference problems at the source. We

continue to believe that the

encouragement of competition among

coordinators promotes cost-based

pricing of coordination services and

provides incentives for enhancing

service quality. Therefore, we will

continue to allow any of the certified

public safety coordinators to provide

coordination in the 700 MHz band.

31. Recognizing the budgetary

constraints that public safety entities

face as a matter of course, we have

adopted rules that encourage broadbased efforts, such as projects on the

state and regional level, to coordinate

and consolidate operations that are

critical to meeting the needs of public

safety with cost effective, spectrallyefficient radio systems. For example, we

have adopted permissive trunking on

certain public safety channels in the 700

MHz band. Trunked systems provide

service to many governmental entities in

a specific geographic area and offer a

higher degree of efficiency than some

smaller, non-trunked systems. A

difficulty in establishing these types of

shared systems is that they require

individual agencies to surrender some

autonomy in return for the efficiencies

and better coverage of a larger system.

In addition, the funding required to

develop the infrastructure necessary to

support some of the newer technologies

is often too great to permit small public

safety agencies to participate in new,

sophisticated, spectrum efficient,

wireless radio systems. These same

agencies, however, might be able to

participate in a county-wide or statewide system. For these, and other

reasons, we encourage the use of shared

systems in the public safety community.

Report to Congress: The Commission

will send a copy of the Fourth Report

and Order, including this FRFA, in a

report to be sent to Congress pursuant

to the SBREFA, see 5 U.S.C.

801(a)(1)(A). In addition, the

commission will send a copy of the

Fourth Report and Order, including this

FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration. In addition, the Fourth

Report and Order and FRFA (or

summaries thereof) will be published in

the Federal Register. See 5 U.S.C.

604(b).

Ordering Clause

Authority for the issuance of this

Fourth Report and Order and Fifth

Notice of Proposed Rule Making is

contained in Sections 4(i), 4(j), 7(a), 302,

303(b), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 307(e),

332(a), and 332(c) of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

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

157(a), 302, 303(b), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r),

307(e), 332(a), 332(c).

Part 90 of the Commission’s Rules, 47

CFR Part 90 is amended as specified in

the rule changes.

This Fourth Report and Order will be

effective March 19, 2001.

The Commission’s Consumer

Information Bureau, Reference

Information Center, shall send a copy of

this Fourth Report and Order and Fifth

Notice of Proposed Rule Making,

including the Final and Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analyses, to the

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small

Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 90

Communications equipment, Radio.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

Final Rules

For the reasons discussed, 47 CFR

part 90 is amended as follows:

PART 90—PRIVATE LAND MOBILE

RADIO SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 90

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Sections 4(i), 11, 303(g), 303(r),

and 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act of

1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 161,

303(g), 303(r), 332(c)(7).

2. Section 90.179 is amended by

adding paragraph (j) to read as follows:

§ 90.179 Shared use of radio stations.

* * * * *

(j) On the Interoperability Channels in

the 700 MHz Public Safety Band (See

90.531(b)(1)), hand-held and vehicular

units operated by any licensee holding

a license in the 700 MHz Public Safety

Band or by any licensee for any public

safety frequency pursuant to part 90 of

the Commission’s rules may

communicate with or through land

stations without further authorization

and without a sharing agreement.

3. Section 90.421 is amended by

adding paragraph (a)(3) to read as

follows:

§ 90.421 Operation of mobile units in

vehicles not under the control of the

licensee.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(3) On the Interoperability Channels

in the 700 MHz Public Safety Band (See

§ 90.531(b)(1)), hand-held and vehicular

transmitters may be operated by any

licensee holding a license in the 700

MHz Public Safety Band or by any

licensee holding a license for any other

public safety frequency pursuant to part

90 of the Commission’s rules. Therefore,

individual licenses are not required for

hand-held and vehicular transmitters in

the 700 MHz Band.

4. Section 90.525 is added to read as

follows:

§ 90.525 Administration of Interoperability

channels

(a) States are responsible for

administration of the Interoperability

channels in the 764–776 MHz and 794–

806 MHz frequency bands. Base and

control stations must be licensed

individually. A public safety entity

meeting the requirements of § 90.523

may operate mobile or portable units on

the Interoperability channels in the

764–776 MHz and 794–806 MHz

frequency bands without a specific

authorization from the Commission

provided it holds a part 90 license. All

persons operating mobile or portable

units under this authority are

responsible for compliance with part 90

of these rules and other applicable

federal laws.

(b) License applications for

Interoperability channels in the 764–776

MHz and 794–806 MHz frequency

bands must be approved by a state-level

agency or organization responsible for

administering state emergency

communications. States may hold the

licenses for Interoperability channels or

approve other qualified entities to hold

such licenses. States may delegate the

approval process for Interoperability

channels to another entity, such as

regional planning committees.

5. Section 90.531 is amended by

adding paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through

(b)(1)(iii) and (b)(7), and by revising

paragraphs (b)(2) and (d) to read as

follows:

§ 90.531 Band plan.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(i) Narrowband data Interoperability

channels. The following channel pairs

are reserved nationwide for the express

purpose of data transmission only: 279/

1239, 280/1240, 921/1881, and 922/

1882.

(ii) Narrowband calling

Interoperability channels. The following

channel pairs are dedicated nationwide

for the express purpose of

10636 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 33 / Friday, February 16, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

Interoperability calling only: 39/999, 40/

1000, 681/1641, and 682/1642. They

may not be used primarily for routine,

day-to-day communications. Encryption

is prohibited on the designated calling

channels.

(iii) Narrowband trunking

Interoperability channels. The following

interoperability channel pairs may be

combined with the appropriate adjacent

secondary trunking channel pairs and

used in the trunked mode on a

secondary basis to conventional

interoperability operations: 23/983, 24/

984, 63/1023, 64/1024, 103/1063, 104/

1064, 143/1103, 144/1104, 183/1143,

184/1144, 223/1183, 224/1184, 263/

1223, 264/1124, 303/1263 and 304/

1264. For every ten general use channels

trunked at a station, entities may obtain

a license to operate in the trunked mode

on two of the above contiguous

Interoperability channel pairs. The

maximum number of Interoperability

channel pairs that can be trunked at any

one location is eight.

(2) Narrowband reserve channels. The

following narrowband channels are

undesignated and reserved: 37, 38, 77,

78, 117, 118, 157, 158, 197, 198, 221,

222, 237, 238, 277, 278, 317, 318, 643,

644, 659, 660, 683, 684, 699, 700, 723,

724, 739, 740, 763, 764, 779, 780, 803,

804, 819, 820, 843, 844, 859, 860, 883,

884, 899, 900, 923, 924, 939, 940, 997,

998, 1037, 1038, 1077, 1078, 1117, 1118,

1157, 1158, 1181, 1182, 1197, 1198,

1237, 1238, 1277, 1278, 1603, 1604,

1619, 1620, 1643, 1644, 1659, 1660,

1683, 1684, 1699, 1700, 1723, 1724,

1739, 1740, 1763, 1764, 1779, 1780,

1803, 1804, 1819,1820, 1843, 1844,

1859, 1860, 1883, 1884, 1899, 1900.

* * * * *

(7) Secondary trunking channels. The

following channels pairs are reserved

for secondary trunking operations: 21/

981, 22/982, 61/1021, 62/1022, 101/

1061, 102/1062, 141/1101, 142/1102,

181/1141, 182/1142, 221/1181, 222/

1182, 261/1221, 262/1222, 301/1261

and 302/1262. They may be used only

in combination with the appropriate

adjacent Interoperability channel pairs

specified in (b)(1)(iii) of this section in

trunked systems.

* * * * *

(d) Combining channels. Except as

noted in this section, at the discretion

of the appropriate regional planning

committee, contiguous channels may be

used in combination in order to

accommodate requirements for larger

bandwidth emissions, in accordance

with this paragraph. Interoperability

channels may not be combined with

channels in another group except for

channels for secondary trunking

channels.

6. Section 90.531(b)(2) is amended by

removing the following channels: 21,

22, 37, 38, 61, 62, 77, 78, 101, 102, 141,

142, 181, 182, 221, 222, 261, 262, 277,

278, 301, 302, 317, 318, 981, 982,997,

998,1021, 1022, 1037, 1038, 1061, 1062,

1101, 1102,1141, 1142, 1181, 1182,

1221, 1222, 1237, 1238, 1261, 1262,

1277, and 1278.

7. Section 90.537 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 90.537 Trunking requirement.

(a) General use channels. All systems

using six or more narrowband channels

in the 764–776 MHz and 794–806 MHz

frequency bands must be trunked

systems, except for those described in

paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) Interoperability channels.

Trunking is permitted only on

Interoperability channels specified in

§ 90.531(b)(1)(iii). Trunked use must be

strictly on a secondary, non-interference

basis to conventional operations. The

licensee must monitor and immediately

release these channels when they are

needed for interoperability purposes.

8. Section 90.547 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 90.547 Interoperability channel capability

requirement.

Except as noted below, mobile and

portable transmitters operating in the

764–776 MHz and 794–806 MHz

frequency bands must be capable of

operating on all of the designated

nationwide narrowband Interoperability

channels pursuant to the standards

specified in this part.

(a) Mobile and portable transmitters

that are designed to operate only on the

Low Power Channels specified in

§§ 90.531(b)(3) and (b)(4) are exempt

from this Interoperability channel

requirement.

(b) Mobile and portable transmitters

that are designed to operate only on the

narrowband data Interoperability

channels specified in § 90.531 (b)(1)(i)

are exempt from this Interoperability

channel requirement.

(c) Mobile and portable transmitters

that are designed to operate only in the

voice mode do not have to operate on

the narrowband data Interoperability

channels specified in § 90.531 (b)(1)(i).

9. Section 90.548 is added to read as

follows:

§ 90.548 Interoperability technical

standards.

(a) Transmitters operating on those

narrowband channels in the 764–776

and 794–806 MHz band designated for

interoperability (See 90.531) shall

conform to the following technical

standards:

(1) Transmitters designed for voice

operation shall include a 12.5 kHz

bandwidth mode of operation

conforming to the following standards:

ANSI/TIA/EIA 102.BAAA–1 (common

air interface) for operation in the 12.5

kHz FDM mode; ANSI/TIA/EIA

102.BABA (vocoder).

(2) Transmitters designed for data

transmission shall include a 12.5 kHz

bandwidth mode of operation

conforming to the following standards:

ANSI/TIA/EIA 102.BAEA (data

overview); ANSI/TIA/EIA 102.BAEB

(packet data specification); ANSI/TIA/

EIA 102.BAEC (circuit data

specification); ANSI/TIA/EIA 102.BAEA

(radio control protocol); ANSI/TIA/EIA

102.BAAA–1 (common air interface) for

operation in the 12.5 kHz FDM mode.

(b) Copies of the standards listed in

this Section that are incorporated by

reference can be purchased from the

American National Standards Institute,

Washington, DC Headquarters, 1819 L

Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC

20036.

(c) Copies of the standards listed in

this Section that are incorporated by

reference may be inspected at the

Federal Communications Commission,

445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC

(Reference Information Center) or at the

Office of the Federal Register, 800

North Capitol Street, NW, Suite 700,

Washington DC.

10. Section 90.553 is added to read as

follows:

§ 90.553 Encryption.

(a) Encryption is permitted on all but

the two nationwide Interoperability

calling channels. Radios employing

encryption must have a readily

accessible switch or other readily

accessible control that permits the radio

user to disable encryption.

(b) If Encryption is employed then the

following encryption protocol must be

used: TIA/EIA IS AAAA–A Project 25

DES.

(c) Copies of the standards listed in

this Section that are incorporated by

reference can be purchased from TIA/

EIA, 2500 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington,

VA, 22201, or Global Engineering

Documents, 155 Inverness Way East,

Englewood, CO 80112.

[FR Doc. 01–4027 Filed 2–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P