Source: http://www.fcc.gov/document/emission-maskanalog-capability-requirements-public-safety-channels
Timestamp: 2014-07-14 16:27:09
Document Index: 356825934

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90', 'art 90']

Emission Mask/Analog Capability Requirements on Public Safety Channels | FCC.gov
Home / Business & Legal / Commission Documents / Emission Mask/Analog Capability Requirements on Public Safety ChannelsCommission Document	Print
Emission Mask/Analog Capability Requirements on Public Safety Channels
Word DocumentPDF DocumentText Document	Released: August 27, 2013
FCC 13-117
Emission Mask Requirements for Digital ) PS Docket No. 13-209
Technologies on 800 MHz NPSPAC Channels; ) RM-11663
Analog FM Capability on Mutual Aid and )
Adopted: August 23, 2013
Comment Date: [45 days after date of publication in the Federal Register]Reply Comment Date: [60 days after date of publication in the Federal Register]
II. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................... 2III. NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING .......................................................................................... 8
A. Emission Mask................................................................................................................................. 9B. Analog FM Capability ................................................................................................................... 16C. Limitation on 800 MHz NPSPAC Applications and Equipment Authorizations During the Pendency of the Proceeding........................................................................................................... 20
IV. PROCEDURAL MATTERS................................................................................................................ 22
A. Ex Parte Rules Permit-But-Disclose........................................................................................... 22B. Comment Period and Procedures................................................................................................... 23C. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis........................................................................................... 29D. Paperwork Reduction Analysis...................................................................................................... 30E. Further Information........................................................................................................................ 31
V. ORDERING CLAUSES....................................................................................................................... 32APPENDIX A Proposed RulesAPPENDIX B Initial Regulatory Flexibility AnalysisAPPENDIX C List of Commenters
In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), initiated in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed by Harris Corporation (Harris),1 we propose to require digital technologies, including but not limited to Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) based technologies, to comply with Emission Mask H when operated in the 800 MHz National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) 1 Petition for Rulemaking of Harris Corporation, filed April 30, 2012 (Harris Petition). Federal Communications Commission
band (806-809/851-854 MHz).2 We also propose to require equipment to have analog FM capability when operating on 800 MHz, VHF, and UHF public safety mutual aid and interoperability channels. We believe that these proposals could help safeguard public safety licensees in the NPSPAC band from adjacent-channel interference and to preserve interoperability. II.
In September 2012, the Commission adopted the TETRA Report and Order in WT Docket No. 11-69, which modified Part 90 of the Commission's rules to permit the certification and use of TETRA equipment in certain Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) bands.3 TETRA is a digital trunked radio technology that operates with Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) in four time slots within a 25 kilohertz channel.4 TETRA has been widely implemented in countries outside the United States, including for public safety communications, and is widely recognized as a spectrally efficient technology.5 However, prior to the TETRA Report and Order, TETRA was not authorized for use in the United States because: (1) TETRA emissions exceeded certain emission masks specified in Section 90.210 of the Commission's rules,6 and (2) TETRA uses a 22 kilohertz standard channel bandwidth that exceeded the 20 kilohertz maximum bandwidth for UHF and 800 MHz equipment specified in Section 90.209 of the Commission's rules.7
In the TETRA Report and Order, the Commission modified these rules to allow TETRA operations in the UHF band and the non-NPSPAC portion of the 800 MHz band, concluding that TETRA poses minimal risk of causing harmful interference in these bands.8 However, the Commission declined to allow TETRA operation in the 800 MHz NPSPAC band or the narrowband portion of the 700 MHz 2 The NPSPAC band is allocated for exclusive public safety use on a regional basis. It is referred to as the NPSPAC band because the Commission's order allocating the band to public safety incorporated many recommendations of the National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee. See Development and Implementation of a Public Safety National Plan and Amendment of Part 90 to Establish Service Rules and Technical Standards for Use of the 821824/866869 MHz Bands by the Public Safety Services, Gen. Docket 87-112, Report and Order, 3 FCC Rcd 905 (1987) (NPSPAC Report and Order). 3 See Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to Permit Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) Technology,WT Docket No. 11-69, ET Docket No. 09-234, Report and Order, 27 FCC Rcd 11569 (2012) (TETRA Report and Order). On July 2, 2013, the Commission clarified that the TETRA Report and Order permits TETRA on all channels between 809-824/854-869 MHz, including non-NPSPAC public safety category channels. SeeAmendment of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to Permit Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) Technology, WT Docket No. 11-69, Order on Reconsideration, FCC 13-91 (rel. Jul. 2, 2013). 4 Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission's Rules to Permit Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) Technology, WT Docket No. 11-69, ET Docket No. 09-234, Order on Clarification, 26 FCC Rcd 13360, 13361 2 (Clarification Order).
5 See http://www.tetrahealth.info/worldCountries.htm (last accessed April 23, 2013).6 47 C.F.R. 90.210. An emission mask is the technical specification that limits the distribution of power of a radio transmitter as a function of frequency. See Development of Operational, Technical and Spectrum Requirements for Meeting Federal, State and Local Public Safety Agency Communication Requirements Through the Year 2010, First Report and Order and Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WT Docket No. 96-86, 14 FCC Rcd 152, 213 n.337 (1998). Emission masks provide an important technical parameter that affects the efficient use of a frequency band by limiting emissions from one channel into adjacent channels. 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review - 47 C.F.R. Part 90 - Private Land Mobile Radio Services, WT Docket No. 98-182, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, 15 FCC Rcd 16673, 16689 33 (2000). 7 47 C.F.R. 90.209.8 TETRA Report and Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 11572 5.
public safety band.9 The Commission noted that TETRA equipment is not interoperable with equipment commonly used in the NPSPAC band and does not conform to the interoperability standard for the 700 MHz narrowband public safety band interoperability channels.10 The Commission also noted that because the NPSPAC band has 25 kilohertz bandwidth channels that are spaced 12.5 kilohertz apart, NPSPAC systems are more susceptible to adjacent channel interference than other bands that use 25 kilohertz spacing between 25 kHz channels.11
During the course of the TETRA rulemaking proceeding, several parties submitted filings disputing whether the Commission's existing rules allowed operation of so-called "low-power" TETRA equipment in the NPSPAC band.12 "Low-power" TETRA (also sometimes called "reduced power" TETRA) refers to technology that uses the TETRA waveform but operates at less than the 22 kilohertz bandwidth associated with the TETRA standard.13 One wireless equipment manufacturer, PowerTrunk, Inc. (PowerTrunk) developed a low-power TETRA technology that it contended should be permitted to operate in the NPSPAC band under existing rules. PowerTrunk noted that its technology uses the TETRA waveform but operates with a 20 kilohertz bandwidth, which complies with the maximum bandwidth allowed under Section 90.209 of the Commission's rules.14 PowerTrunk also asserted that its technology complied with one of two emission mask limitations applicable to the NPSPAC band. Specifically, PowerTrunk contended that, while its technology did not comply with Emission Mask H, the stricter of the two emission masks, it complied with Emission Mask B, a more relaxed emission mask applicable to NPSPAC band transmitters equipped with audio low-pass filters.15 PowerTrunk asserted that its equipment did incorporate low-pass audio filters, and, therefore, that compliance with Emission Mask B was sufficient to allow operation in the NPSPAC band.16 5.
In its Petition and related ex parte filings, Harris disputed PowerTrunk's assertion that its low-power TETRA technology should be allowed to operate in the NPSPAC band. Harris asserted that PowerTrunk's technology would cause interference if used in the NPSPAC band unless it conformed to the more stringent Emission Mask H, and that PowerTrunk's claim of compliance with Emission Mask B was an attempt to take advantage of a "loophole" in the Commission's rules.17 Harris also asserted that PowerTrunk's technology would not support interoperable communications because it lacks analog FM 9 Id. at 11572 5-6. 10 Id. at 11569 4.11 Id. at 11573-74 9.12 See, e.g., Letter from Patrick Sullivan, Harris Corp. to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WT Docket 11-69, ET Docket No. 09-234 (March 16, 2012); Letter from Jose Martin, Executive Vice President, PowerTrunk, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WT Docket 11-69, ET Docket No. 09-234, (March 23, 2012) (PowerTrunk March 23 Ex Parte).
13 The terms "low-power" and "reduced-power" TETRA are not strictly accurate descriptions of the TETRA-based technology developed by PowerTrunk and others, which uses narrower bandwidth but operates with transmitter power output comparable to standard TETRA systems. Letter from Kevin Krufky, Alcatel-Lucent Corp. to Marlene Dortch, Secretary, FCC (March 23, 2012); PowerTrunk March 23 Ex Parte. Nevertheless, because the term "low-power TETRA" is in common usage, we use it herein to refer to modified TETRA technology such as PowerTrunk's that operates at 20 kilohertz bandwidth, which PowerTrunk more recently has identified as "TI D-LMR." Power Trunk Reply to Petition for Reconsideration, FCC ID WT7PTRNKTBSR75800, Mar 21, 2013.
14 PowerTrunk March 23 Ex Parte at 6.15 Id. at 5-6. Transmitters equipped with an audio low-pass filter are permitted to comply with Emission Mask B when operating on NPSPAC channels. See 47 C.F.R. 90.210. 16PowerTrunk March 23 Ex Parte at 6. 17 Harris Petition at 1. 3
capability, which is widely used to support interoperability in the VHF, UHF and 800 MHz public safety bands.18 Harris therefore requested that the Commission initiate a rulemaking (1) to require all digital equipment operating in the NPSPAC band to conform to Emission Mask H rather than Emission Mask B and (2) to require all digital equipment operating in the VHF, UHF, and 800 MHz bands to include an analog FM mode.19 Harris also requested that the Commission impose an immediate freeze on applications to use equipment that did not meet these proposed requirements.20 6.
In May 2012, the Commission issued a Public Notice seeking comment on the Harris Petition.21 In comments filed in response to the Public Notice, Alcatel-Lucent and PowerTrunk asked the Commission to dismiss the Harris Petition, claiming that