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Title 47 → Chapter I → Subchapter A → Part 1 → Subpart F → Subject Group
§1.911 Station files.
Applications, notifications, correspondence, electronic filings and other material, and copies of authorizations, comprising technical, legal, and administrative data relating to each station in the Wireless Radio Services are maintained by the Commission in ULS. These files constitute the official records for these stations and supersede any other records, database or lists from the Commission or other sources.
[63 FR 68922, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.913 Application and notification forms; electronic and manual filing.
(a) Application and notification forms. Applicants, licensees, and spectrum lessees (see §1.9003) shall use the following forms and associated schedules for all applications and notifications:
(1) FCC Form 601, Application for Authorization in the Wireless Radio Services. FCC Form 601 and associated schedules are used to apply for initial authorizations, modifications to existing authorizations, amendments to pending applications, renewals of station authorizations, special temporary authority, notifications, requests for extension of time, and administrative updates.
(2) FCC Form 602, Wireless Radio Services Ownership Form. FCC Form 602 is used by applicants and licensees in auctionable services to provide and update ownership information as required by §§1.919, 1.948, 1.2112, and any other section that requires the submission of such information.
(3) FCC Form 603, Application for Assignment of Authorization or Transfer of Control. FCC Form 603 is used by applicants and licensees to apply for Commission consent to assignments of existing authorizations, to apply for Commission consent to transfer control of entities holding authorizations, to notify the Commission of the consummation of assignments or transfers, and to request extensions of time for consummation of assignments or transfers. It is also used for Commission consent to partial assignments of authorization, including partitioning and disaggregation.
(4) FCC Form 605, Quick-form Application for Authorization for Wireless Radio Services. FCC Form 605 is used to apply for Amateur, Ship, Aircraft, and General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) authorizations, as well as Commercial Radio Operator Licenses.
(5) FCC Form 608, Notification or Application for Spectrum Leasing Arrangement. FCC Form 608 is used by licensees and spectrum lessees (see §1.9003) to notify the Commission regarding spectrum manager leasing arrangements and to apply for Commission consent for de facto transfer leasing arrangements pursuant to the rules set forth in part 1, subpart X. It is also used to notify the Commission if a licensee or spectrum lessee establishes a private commons (see §1.9080).
(6) FCC Form 609, Application to Report Eligibility Event. FCC Form 609 is used by licensees to apply for Commission approval of reportable eligibility events, as defined in §1.2114.
(b) Electronic filing. Except as specified in paragraph (d) of this section or elsewhere in this chapter, all applications and other filings using the application and notification forms listed in this section or associated schedules must be filed electronically in accordance with the electronic filing instructions provided by ULS. For each Wireless Radio Service that is subject to mandatory electronic filing, this paragraph is effective on July 1, 1999, or six months after the Commission begins use of ULS to process applications in the service, whichever is later. The Commission will announce by public notice the deployment date of each service in ULS.
(1) Attachments to applications and notifications should be uploaded along with the electronically filed applications and notifications whenever possible. The files, other than the ASCII table of contents, should be in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) whenever possible.
(2) Any associated documents submitted with an application or notification must be uploaded as attachments to the application or notification whenever possible. The attachment should be uploaded via ULS in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) whenever possible.
(c) Auctioned license applications. Auctioned license applications, as defined in §1.907 of this part, shall also comply with the requirements of subpart Q of this part and the applicable Commission orders and public notices issued with respect to each auction for a particular service and spectrum.
(d) Manual filing. (1) ULS Forms 601, 603, 605, and 608 may be filed manually or electronically by applicants and licensees in the following services:
(i) The part 90 Private Land Mobile Radio services for shared spectrum, spectrum in the public safety pool below 746 MHz, and spectrum in the public safety allocation above 746 MHz, except those filed by Commission-certified frequency coordinators;
(ii) The part 97 Amateur Radio Service, except those filed by Volunteer Examination Coordinators;
(iii) The part 95 General Mobile Radio Service and Personal Radio Service (excluding 218-219 MHz service);
(iv) The part 80 Maritime Services (excluding the VHF 156-162 MHz Public Coast Stations);
(v) The part 87 Aviation Services;
(vi) Part 13 Commercial Radio Operators (individual applicants only; commercial operator license examination managers must file electronically, see §13.13(c) of this part); and
(vii) Part 101 licensees who are also members of any of the groups listed in paragraph (d)(1)(i) through (d)(1)(vi) of this section.
(2) Manually filed applications must be submitted to the Commission at the appropriate address with the appropriate filing fee. The addresses for filing and the fee amounts for particular applications are listed in Subpart G of this part, and in the appropriate fee filing guide for each service available from the Commission's Forms Distribution Center by calling 1-800-418-FORM (3676).
(3) Manually filed applications requiring fees as set forth at Subpart G, of this part must be filed in accordance with §0.401(b).
(4) Manually filed applications that do not require fees must be addressed and sent to Federal Communications Commission, 1270 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325-7245.
(5) Standard forms may be reproduced and the copies used in accordance with the provisions of §0.409 of this chapter.
(6) Attachments to manually filed applications may be filed on a standard 3.5 magnetic diskette formatted to be readable by high density floppy drives operating under MS-DOS (version 3.X or later compatible versions). Each diskette submitted must contain an ASCII text file listing each filename and a brief description of the contents of each file and format for each document on the diskette. The files on the diskette, other than the table of contents, should be in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) whenever possible. All diskettes submitted must be legibly labelled referencing the application and its filing date.
(e) Applications requiring prior coordination. Parties filing applications that require frequency coordination shall, prior to filing, complete all applicable frequency coordination requirements in service-specific rules contained within this chapter. After appropriate frequency coordination, such applications may be electronically filed via ULS or, if filed manually, must be forwarded to the appropriate address with the appropriate filing fee (if applicable) in accordance with subparagraph (d). Applications filed by the frequency coordinator on behalf of the applicant must be filed electronically.
(f) Applications for Amateur licenses. Each candidate for an amateur radio operator license which requires the applicant to pass one or more examination elements must present the administering Volunteer Examiners (VE) with all information required by the rules prior to the examination. The VEs may collect the information required by these rules in any manner of their choosing, including creating their own forms. Upon completion of the examination, the administering VEs will immediately grade the test papers and will then issue a certificate for successful completion of an amateur radio operator examination (CSCE) if the applicant is successful. The VEs will send all necessary information regarding a candidate to the Volunteer-Examiner Coordinator (VEC) coordinating the examination session. Applications filed with the Commission by VECs must be filed electronically via ULS. All other applications for amateur service licenses may be submitted manually to FCC, 1270 Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325-7245, or may be electronically filed via ULS. Feeable requests for vanity call signs must be filed in accordance with §0.401 of this chapter or electronically filed via ULS.
(g) Section 337 Requests. Applications to provide public safety services submitted pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 337 must be filed on the same form and in the same manner as other applications for the requested frequency(ies), except that applicants must select the service code reflective of the type of service the applicant intends to provide.
[63 FR 68922, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 66 FR 55, Jan. 2, 2001; 67 FR 34851, May 16, 2002; 68 FR 42995, July 21, 2003; 68 FR 66276, Nov. 25, 2003; 69 FR 77549, Dec. 27, 2004; 71 FR 26251, May 4, 2006; 78 FR 23152, Apr. 18, 2013; 78 FR 25160, Apr. 29, 2013]
Effective Date Notes: 1. At 69 FR 77549, Dec. 27, 2004, §1.913(a)(5) was added. This paragraph contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
2. At 78 FR 23152, Apr. 18, 2013, §1.913(d)(1)(vi) was revised. This paragraph contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
§1.915 General application requirements.
(a) General requirement. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, for all Wireless Radio Services, station licenses, as defined in section 308(a) of the Communications Act, as amended, operator licenses, modifications or renewals of licenses, assignments or transfers of control of station licenses or any rights thereunder, and waiver requests associated with any of the foregoing shall be granted only upon an application filed pursuant to §§1.913 through 1.917 of this part.
(b)(1) Exception for emergency filings. The Commission may grant station licenses, or modifications or renewals thereof, without the filing of a formal application in the following cases:
(i) an emergency found by the Commission to involve danger to life or property or to be due to damage to equipment;
(ii) a national emergency proclaimed by the President or declared by the Congress and during the continuance of any war in which the United States is engaged, when such action is necessary for the national defense or security or otherwise in furtherance of the war effort; or
(iii) an emergency where the Commission finds that it would not be feasible to secure renewal applications from existing licensees or otherwise to follow normal licensing procedures.
(2) No such authorization shall be granted for or continue in effect beyond the period of the emergency or war requiring it. The procedures to be followed for emergency requests submitted under this subparagraph are the same as for seeking special temporary authority under §1.931 of this part. After the end of the period of emergency, the party must submit its request by filing the appropriate FCC form in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section.
[63 FR 68923, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.917 Who may sign applications.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, applications, amendments, and related statements of fact required by the Commission must be signed as follows (either electronically or manually, see paragraph (d) of this section): (1) By the applicant, if the applicant is an individual; (2) by one of the partners if the applicant is a partnership; (3) by an officer, director, or duly authorized employee, if the applicant is a corporation; (4) by a member who is an officer, if the applicant is an unincorporated association; or (5) by the trustee if the applicant is an amateur radio service club. Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact filed on behalf of eligible government entities such as states and territories of the United States, their political subdivisions, the District of Columbia, and units of local government, including unincorporated municipalities, must be signed by a duly elected or appointed official who is authorized to do so under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction.
(b) Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact required by the Commission may be signed by the applicant's attorney in case of the applicant's physical disability or absence from the United States, or by applicant's designated vessel master when a temporary permit is requested for a vessel. The attorney shall, when applicable, separately set forth the reason why the application is not signed by the applicant. In addition, if any matter is stated on the basis of the attorney's or master's belief only (rather than knowledge), the attorney or master shall separately set forth the reasons for believing that such statements are true. Only the original of applications, amendments, and related statements of fact need be signed.
(c) Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact need not be signed under oath. Willful false statements made therein, however, are punishable by fine and imprisonment, 18 U.S.C. 1001, and by appropriate administrative sanctions, including revocation of station license pursuant to 312(a)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
(d) “Signed,” as used in this section, means, for manually filed applications only, an original hand-written signature or, for electronically filed applications only, an electronic signature. An electronic signature shall consist of the name of the applicant transmitted electronically via ULS and entered on the application as a signature.
§1.919 Ownership information.
(a) Applicants or licensees in Wireless Radio Services that are subject to the ownership reporting requirements of §1.2112 shall use FCC Form 602 to provide all ownership information required by the chapter.
(b) Any applicant or licensee that is subject to the reporting requirements of §1.2112 or §1.2114 shall file an FCC Form 602, or file an updated form if the ownership information on a previously filed FCC Form 602 is not current, at the time it submits:
(1) An initial application for authorization (FCC Form 601);
(2) An application for license renewal (FCC Form 601);
(3) An application for assignment of authorization or transfer of control (FCC Form 603); or
(4) A notification of consummation of a pro forma assignment of authorization or transfer of control (FCC Form 603) under the Commission's forbearance procedures (see §1.948(c) of this part).
(5) An application reporting any reportable eligibility event, as defined in §1.2114.
(d) A single FCC Form 602 may be associated with multiple applications filed by the same applicant or licensee. If an applicant or licensee already has a current FCC Form 602 on file when it files an initial application, renewal application, application for assignment or transfer of control, or notification of a pro forma assignment or transfer, it may certify that it has a current FCC Form 602 on file.
(e) No filing fee is required to submit or update FCC Form 602.
(f) Applicants or licensees in Wireless Radio Services that are not subject to the ownership reporting requirements of §1.2112 are not required to file FCC Form 602. However, such applicants and licensees may be required by the rules applicable to such services to disclose the real party (or parties) in interest to the application, including (as required) a complete disclosure of the identity and relationship of those persons or entities directly or indirectly owning or controlling (or both) the applicant or licensee.
[63 FR 68923, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 68 FR 42995, July 21, 2003; 69 FR 75170, Dec. 15, 2004; 71 FR 26251, May 4, 2006; 79 FR 72150, Dec. 5, 2014]
§1.923 Content of applications.
(a) General. Applications must contain all information requested on the applicable form and any additional information required by the rules in this chapter and any rules pertaining to the specific service for which the application is filed.
(b) Reference to material on file. Questions on application forms that call for specific technical data, or that can be answered yes or no or with another short answer, must be answered on the form. Otherwise, if documents, exhibits, or other lengthy showings already on file with the FCC contain information required in an application, the application may incorporate such information by reference, provided that:
(1) The referenced information has been filed in ULS or, if manually filed outside of ULS, the information comprises more than one “81⁄2 × 11” page.
(2) The referenced information is current and accurate in all material respects; and
(3) The application states specifically where the referenced information can actually be found, including:
(i) The station call sign or application file number and its location if the reference is to station files or previously filed applications;
(ii) The title of the proceeding, the docket number, and any legal citations, if the reference is to a docketed proceeding.
(c) Antenna locations. Applications for stations at fixed locations must describe each transmitting antenna site by its geographical coordinates and also by its street address, or by reference to a nearby landmark. Geographical coordinates, referenced to NAD83, must be specified in degrees, minutes, and seconds to the nearest second of latitude and longitude.
(d) Antenna structure registration. Owners of certain antenna structures must notify the Federal Aviation Administration and register with the Commission as required by part 17 of this chapter. Applications proposing the use of one or more new or existing antenna structures must contain the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number(s) of each structure for which registration is required. To facilitate frequency coordination or for other purposes, the Bureau shall accept for filing an application that does not contain the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number so long as;
(1) The antenna structure owner has filed an antenna structure registration application (FCC Form 854);
(2) The antenna structure owner has provided local notice and the Commission has posted notification of the proposed construction on its Web site pursuant to §17.4(c)(3) and (4) of this chapter; and
(3) The antenna structure owner has obtained a Determination of No Hazard to Aircraft Navigation from the Federal Aviation Administration. In such instances, the applicant shall provide the FCC Form 854 File Number on its application. Once the antenna structure owner has obtained the Antenna Structure Registration Number, the applicant shall amend its application to provide the Antenna Structure Registration Number, and the Commission shall not grant the application before the Antenna Structure Registration Number has been provided. If registration is not required, the applicant must provide information in its application sufficient for the Commission to verify this fact.
(e) Environmental concerns. (1) Environmental processing shall be completed pursuant to the process set forth in §17.4(c) of this chapter for any facilities that use one or more new or existing antenna structures for which a new or amended registration is required by part 17 of this chapter. Environmental review by the Commission must be completed prior to construction.
(2) For applications that propose any facilities that are not subject to the process set forth in §17.4(c) of this chapter, the applicant is required to indicate at the time its application is filed whether or not a Commission grant of the application for those facilities may have a significant environmental effect as defined by §1.1307. If the applicant answers affirmatively, an Environmental Assessment, required by §1.1311 must be filed with the application and environmental review by the Commission must be completed prior to construction.
(f) International coordination. Channel assignments and/or usage under this part are subject to the applicable provisions and requirements of treaties and other international agreements between the United States government and the governments of Canada and Mexico.
(g) Quiet zones. Each applicant is required to comply with the “Quiet Zone” rule (see §1.924).
(h) Taxpayer Identification Number (TINs). Wireless applicants and licensees, including all attributable owners of auctionable licenses as defined by §1.2112 of this part, are required to provide their Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINS) (as defined in 26 U.S.C. 6109) to the Commission, pursuant to the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA). Under the DCIA, the FCC may use an applicant or licensee's TIN for purposes of collecting and reporting to the Department of the Treasury any delinquent amounts arising out of such person's relationship with the Government. The Commission will not publicly disclose applicant or licensee TINs unless authorized by law, but will assign a “public identification number” to each applicant or licensee registering a TIN. This public identification number will be used for agency purposes other than debt collection.
(i) Unless an exception is set forth elsewhere in this chapter, each applicant must specify an address where the applicant can receive mail delivery by the United States Postal Service. This address will be used by the Commission to serve documents or direct correspondence to the applicant.
[63 FR 68924, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 53238, Oct. 1, 1999; 77 FR 3952, Jan. 26, 2012]
§1.924 Quiet zones.
Areas implicated by this paragraph are those in which it is necessary to restrict radiation so as to minimize possible impact on the operations of radio astronomy or other facilities that are highly sensitive to interference. Consent throughout this paragraph means written consent from the quiet zone, radio astronomy, research, and receiving installation entity. The areas involved and procedures required are as follows:
(a) NRAO, NRRO. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize possible interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and at the Naval Radio Research Observatory site at Sugar Grove, Pendleton County, West Virginia.
(1) Applicants and licensees planning to construct and operate a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location within the area bounded by N 39°15′0.4″ on the north, W 78°29′59.0″ on the east, N 37°30′0.4″ on the south, and W 80°29′59.2″ on the west must notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Post Office Box No. 2, Green Bank, West Virginia 24944, in writing, of the technical details of the proposed operation. The notification must include the geographical coordinates of the antenna location, the antenna height, antenna directivity (if any), the channel, the emission type and power.
(2) When an application for authority to operate a station is filed with the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (a)(1) of this section may be made prior to, or simultaneously with the application. The application must state the date that notification in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section was made. After receipt of such applications, the FCC will allow a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the notifications indicated. If an applicant submits written consent from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory, the FCC will process the application without awaiting the conclusion of the 20-day period. For services that do not require individual station authorization, entities that have obtained written consent from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory may begin to operate new or modified facilities prior to the end of the 20-day period. In instances in which notification has been made to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory prior to application filing, the applicant must also provide notice to the quiet zone entity upon actual filing of the application with the FCC. Such notice will be made simultaneous with the filing of the application and shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(3) If an objection is received during the 20-day period from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory, the FCC will, after consideration of the record, take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
(b) Table Mountain. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize possible interference at the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone of the Research Laboratories of the Department of Commerce located in Boulder County, Colorado.
(1) Licensees and applicants planning to construct and operate a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location in the vicinity of Boulder County, Colorado are advised to give consideration, prior to filing applications, to the need to protect the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone from interference. To prevent degradation of the present ambient radio signal level at the site, the Department of Commerce seeks to ensure that the field strengths of any radiated signals (excluding reflected signals) received on this 1800 acre site (in the vicinity of coordinates 40°07′49.9″ North Latitude, 105°14′42.0″ West Longitude) resulting from new assignments (other than mobile stations) or from the modification or relocation of existing facilities do not exceed the values given in the following table:
Field Strength Limits for Table Mountain1
(mV/m)
Power flux density
(dBW/m2)
Below 540 kHz 10 −65.8
540 to 1600 kHz 20 −59.8
1.6 to 470 MHz 10 −65.8
470 to 890 MHz 30 −56.2
890 MHz and above 1 −85.8
1Note: Equivalent values of power flux density are calculated assuming free space characteristic impedance of 376.7Ω (120πΩ).
(2) Advance consultation is recommended, particularly for applicants that have no reliable data to indicate whether the field strength or power flux density figures in the above table would be exceeded by their proposed radio facilities. In general, coordination is recommended for:
(i) Stations located within 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(ii) Stations located within 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) transmitting with 50 watts or more effective radiated power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(iii) Stations located with 16 kilometers (10 miles) transmitting with 1 kW or more ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(iv) Stations located within 80 kilometers (50 miles) transmitting with 25 kW or more ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of Table Mountain Receiving Zone.
(3) Applicants concerned are urged to communicate with the Radio Frequency Manager, Department of Commerce, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305; Telephone: 303-497-4619, Fax: 303-497-6982, E-mail: [email protected], in advance of filing their applications with the Commission.
(4) The FCC will not screen applications to determine whether advance consultation has taken place. However, such consultation may avoid the filing of objections from the Department of Commerce or institution of proceedings to modify the authorizations of stations that radiate signals with a field strength or power flux density at the site in excess of those specified herein.
(c) Federal Communications Commission protected field offices. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize possible interference to FCC monitoring activities.
(1) Licensees and applicants planning to construct and operate a new or modified station at a permanent fixed location in the vicinity of an FCC protected field office are advised to give consideration, prior to filing applications, to the need to avoid interfering with the monitoring activities of that office. FCC protected field offices are listed in §0.121 of this chapter.
(2) Applications for stations (except mobile stations) that could produce on any channel a direct wave fundamental field strength of greater than 10 mV/m (−65.8 dBW/m2 power flux density assuming a free space characteristic impedance of 120π Ω) in the authorized bandwidth at the protected field office may be examined to determine the potential for interference with monitoring activities. After consideration of the effects of the predicted field strength of the proposed station, including the cumulative effects of the signal from the proposed station with other ambient radio field strength levels at the protected field office, the FCC may add a condition restricting radiation toward the protected field office to the station authorization.
(3) In the event that the calculated field strength exceeds 10 mV/m at the protected field office site, or if there is any question whether field strength levels might exceed that level, advance consultation with the FCC to discuss possible measures to avoid interference to monitoring activities should be considered. Prospective applicants may communicate with: Chief, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554.
(4) Advance consultation is recommended for applicants that have no reliable data to indicate whether the field strength or power flux density figure indicated would be exceeded by their proposed radio facilities. In general, coordination is recommended for:
(i) Stations located within 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) of the protected field office;
(ii) Stations located within 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) with 50 watts or more average effective radiated power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the protected field offices.
(iii) Stations located within 16 kilometers (10 miles) with 1 kw or more average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the protected field office;
(iv) Stations located within 80 kilometers (50 miles) with 25 kw or more average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the protected field office;
(v) Advance coordination for stations transmitting on channels above 1000 MHz is recommended only if the proposed station is in the vicinity of a protected field office designated as a satellite monitoring facility in §0.121 of this chapter.
(vi) The FCC will not screen applications to determine whether advance consultation has taken place. However, such consultation may serve to avoid the need for later modification of the authorizations of stations that interfere with monitoring activities at protected field offices.
(d) Notification to the Arecibo Observatory. The requirements in this section are intended to minimize possible interference at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Licensees must make reasonable efforts to protect the Observatory from interference. Licensees planning to construct and operate a new station at a permanent fixed location on the islands of Puerto Rico, Desecheo, Mona, Vieques or Culebra in services in which individual station licenses are issued by the FCC; planning to construct and operate a new station at a permanent fixed location on these islands that may cause interference to the operations of the Arecibo Observatory in services in which individual station licenses are not issued by the FCC; or planning a modification of any existing station at a permanent fixed location on these islands that would increase the likelihood of causing interference to the operations of the Arecibo Observatory must notify the Interference Office, Arecibo Observatory, HC3 Box 53995, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612, in writing or electronically (e-mail address: [email protected]), of the technical parameters of the planned operation. Carriers may wish to use the interference guidelines provided by Cornell University as guidance in designing facilities to avoid interference to the Observatory. The notification must include identification of the geographical coordinates of the antenna location (NAD-83 datum), the antenna height, antenna directivity (if any), proposed channel and FCC Rule Part, type of emission, and effective isotropic radiated power.
(1) In the Amateur radio service:
(i) The provisions of paragraph (d) of this section do not apply to repeaters that transmit on the 1.2 cm or shorter wavelength bands; and
(ii) The coordination provision of paragraph (d) of this section does not apply to repeaters that are located 16 km or more from the Arecibo observatory.
(2) In services in which individual station licenses are issued by the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (d) of this section may be made prior to, or simultaneously with, the filing of the application with the FCC, and at least 20 days in advance of the applicant's planned operation. The application must state the date that notification in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section was made. In services in which individual station licenses are not issued by the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (d) of this section should be sent at least 45 days in advance of the applicant's planned operation. In the latter services, the Interference Office must inform the FCC of a notification by an applicant within 20 days if the Office plans to file comments or objections to the notification. After the FCC receives an application from a service applicant or is informed by the Interference Office of a notification from a service applicant, the FCC will allow the Interference Office a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the application or notification. If an applicant submits written consent from the Interference Office, the FCC will process the application without awaiting the conclusion of the 20-day period. For services that do not require individual station authorization, entities that have obtained written consent from the Interference Office may begin to operate new or modified facilities prior to the end of the 20-day period. In instances in which notification has been made to the Interference Office prior to application filing, the applicant must also provide notice to the Interference Office upon actual filing of the application with the FCC. Such notice will be made simultaneous with the filing of the application and shall comply with the requirements of paragraph (d) of this section.
(3) If an objection to any planned service operation is received during the 20-day period from the Interference Office, the FCC will take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
(4) The provisions of paragraph (d) of this section do not apply to operations that transmit on frequencies above 15 GHz.
(2) Those portions of California and Nevada that are south of latitude 37°10′ N.;
(3) That portion of Texas that is west of longitude 104° W.; or
(i) 322 kilometers (km) of 30°30′ N., 86°30′ W.
(ii) 322 km of 28°21′ N., 80°43′ W.
(iii) 322 km of 34°09′ N., 119°11′ W.
(iv) 240 km of 39°08′ N., 121°26′ W.
(v) 200 km of 31°25′ N., 100°24′ W.
(vi) 200 km of 32°38′ N., 83°35′ W.
(vii) 160 km of 64°17′ N., 149°10′ W.
(viii) 160 km of 48°43′ N., 97°54′ W.
(ix) 160 km of 41°45′ N., 70°32′ W.
(1) No application seeking authority for fixed stations, under parts 74, 78, or 101 of this chapter, supporting the operations of Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPD) in the 17.7-17.8 GHz band or to operate in the 17.8-19.7 GHz band for any service will be accepted for filing if the proposed station is located within 20 km (or within 55 km if the modification application is for an outdoor low power operation pursuant to §101.147(r)(14) of this chapter) of Denver, CO (39°43′ N., 104°46′ W.) or Washington, DC (38°48′ N., 76°52′ W.).
(A) Between latitudes 41°30′ N. and 38°30′ N. and between longitudes 103°10′ W. and 106°30′ W.
(B) Between latitudes 38°30′ N. and 37°30′ N. and between longitudes 105°00′ W. and 105°50′ W.
(C) Between latitudes 40°08′ N. and 39°56′ N. and between longitudes 107°00′ W. and 107°15′ W.
(A) Between latitudes 38°40′ N. and 38°10′ N. and between longitudes 78°50′ W. and 79°20′ W.
(B) Within 178 km of 38°48′ N., 76°52′ W.
(A) Between latitudes 34°39′ N. and 34°00′ N. and between longitudes 118°52′ W. and 119°24′ W.
(B) Within 200 km of 35°44′ N., 120°45′ W.
(iv) Guam area: Within 100 km of 13°35′ N., 144°51′ E.
Note to §1.924(f): The coordinates cited in this section are specified in terms of the “North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).”
(g) GOES. The requirements of this paragraph are intended to minimize harmful interference to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite earth stations receiving in the band 1670-1675 MHz, which are located at Wallops Island, Virginia; Fairbanks, Alaska; and Greenbelt, Maryland.
(1) Applicants and licensees planning to construct and operate a new or modified station within the area bounded by a circle with a radius of 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) that is centered on 37°56′44″ N, 75°27′37″ W (Wallops Island) or 64°58′22″ N, 147°30′04″ W (Fairbanks) or within the area bounded by a circle with a radius of 65 kilometers (40.4 miles) that is centered on 39°00′02″ N, 76°50′29″ W (Greenbelt) must notify the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the proposed operation. For this purpose, NOAA maintains the GOES coordination Web page at http://www.osd.noaa.gov/radio/frequency.htm, which provides the technical parameters of the earth stations and the point-of-contact for the notification. The notification shall include the following information: Requested frequency, geographical coordinates of the antenna location, antenna height above mean sea level, antenna directivity, emission type, equivalent isotropically radiated power, antenna make and model, and transmitter make and model.
(2) Protection. (i) Wallops Island and Fairbanks. Licensees are required to protect the Wallops Island and Fairbanks sites at all times.
(ii) Greenbelt. Licensees are required to protect the Greenbelt site only when it is active. Licensees should coordinate appropriate procedures directly with NOAA for receiving notification of times when this site is active.
(3) When an application for authority to operate a station is filed with the FCC, the notification required in paragraph (f)(1) of this section should be sent at the same time. The application must state the date that notification in accordance with paragraph (f)(1) of this section was made. After receipt of such an application, the FCC will allow a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the notification.
(4) If an objection is received during the 20-day period from NOAA, the FCC will, after consideration of the record, take whatever action is deemed appropriate.
Note to §1.924: Unless otherwise noted, all coordinates cited in this section are specified in terms of the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
[63 FR 68924, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 67 FR 6182, Feb. 11, 2002; 67 FR 13224, Mar. 21, 2002; 67 FR 41852, June 20, 2002; 67 FR 71111, Nov. 29, 2002; 69 FR 17957, Apr. 6, 2004; 70 FR 31372, June 1, 2005; 71 FR 69046, Nov. 29, 2006; 73 FR 25420, May 6, 2008; 75 FR 62932, Oct. 13, 2010; 80 FR 38823, July 7, 2015]
§1.925 Waivers.
(a) Waiver requests generally. The Commission may waive specific requirements of the rules on its own motion or upon request. The fees for such waiver requests are set forth in §1.1102 of this part.
(b) Procedure and format for filing waiver requests. (1) Requests for waiver of rules associated with licenses or applications in the Wireless Radio Services must be filed on FCC Form 601, 603, or 605.
(2) Requests for waiver must contain a complete explanation as to why the waiver is desired. If the information necessary to support a waiver request is already on file, the applicant may cross-reference the specific filing where the information may be found.
(3) The Commission may grant a request for waiver if it is shown that:
(i) The underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not be served or would be frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of the requested waiver would be in the public interest; or
(ii) In view of unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, or the applicant has no reasonable alternative.
(4) Applicants requiring expedited processing of their request for waiver shall clearly caption their request for waiver with the words “WAIVER—EXPEDITED ACTION REQUESTED.”
(c) Action on Waiver Requests. (i) The Commission, in its discretion, may give public notice of the filing of a waiver request and seek comment from the public or affected parties.
(ii) Denial of a rule waiver request associated with an application renders that application defective unless it contains an alternative proposal that fully complies with the rules, in which event, the application will be processed using the alternative proposal as if the waiver had not been requested. Applications rendered defective may be dismissed without prejudice.
[63 FR 68926, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.926 Application processing; initial procedures.
Applications are assigned file numbers and service codes in order to facilitate processing. Assignment of a file number to an application is for administrative convenience and does not constitute a determination that the application is acceptable for filing. Purpose and service codes appear on the Commission forms.
[63 FR 68927, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.927 Amendment of applications.
(a) Pending applications may be amended as a matter of right if they have not been designated for hearing or listed in a public notice as accepted for filing for competitive bidding, except as provided in paragraphs (b) through (e) of this section.
(b) Applicants for an initial license in auctionable services may amend such applications only in accordance with Subpart Q of this part.
(c) Amendments to non-auction applications that are applied for under Part 101 or that resolve mutual exclusivity may be filed at any time, subject to the requirements of §1.945 of this part.
(d) Any amendment to an application for modification must be consistent with, and must not conflict with, any other application for modification regarding that same station.
(e) Amendments to applications designated for hearing may be allowed by the presiding officer or, when a proceeding is stayed or otherwise pending before the full Commission, may be allowed by the Commission for good cause shown. In such instances, a written petition demonstrating good cause must be submitted and served upon the parties of record.
(f) Amendments to applications are also subject to the service-specific rules in applicable parts of this chapter.
(g) Where an amendment to an application specifies a substantial change in beneficial ownership or control (de jure or de facto) of an applicant, the applicant must provide an exhibit with the amendment application containing an affirmative, factual showing as set forth in §1.948(i)(2).
(h) Where an amendment to an application constitutes a major change, as defined in §1.929, the amendment shall be treated as a new application for determination of filing date, public notice, and petition to deny purposes.
(i) If a petition to deny or other informal objection has been filed, a copy of any amendment (or other filing) must be served on the petitioner. If the FCC has issued a public notice stating that the application appears to be mutually exclusive with another application (or applications), a copy of any amendment (or other filing) must be served on any such mutually exclusive applicant (or applicants).
[63 FR 68927, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 53238, Oct. 1, 1999; 70 FR 61058, Oct. 20, 2005]
§1.928 Frequency coordination, Canada.
(a) As a result of mutual agreements, the Commission has, since May 1950 had an arrangement with the Canadian Department of Communications for the exchange of frequency assignment information and engineering comments on proposed assignments along the Canada-United States borders in certain bands above 30 MHz. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this arrangement involves assignments in the following frequency bands.
30.56-32.00 75.40-76.00
33.00-34.00 150.80-174.00
35.00-36.00 450-470
37.00-38.00 806.00-960.00
39.00-40.00 1850.0-2200.0
42.00-46.00 2450.0-2690.0
47.00-49.60 3700.0-4200.0
72.00-73.00 5925.0-7125.0
10.55-10.68 10.70-13.25
(b) The following frequencies are not involved in this arrangement because of the nature of the services:
156.3 156.95
156.35 157.0 and 161.6
156.4 157.05
156.45 157.1
156.5 157.15
156.55 157.20
156.6 157.25
156.65 157.30
156.7 157.35
156.8 157.40.
(c) Assignments proposed in accordance with the railroad industry radio frequency allotment plan along the United States-Canada borders utilized by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Transport, respectively, may be excepted from this arrangement at the discretion of the referring agency.
(d) Assignments proposed in any radio service in frequency bands below 470 MHz appropriate to this arrangement, other than those for stations in the Domestic Public (land mobile or fixed) category, may be excepted from this arrangement at the discretion of the referring agency if a base station assignment has been made previously under the terms of this arrangement or prior to its adoption in the same radio service and on the same frequency and in the local area, and provided the basic characteristics of the additional station are sufficiently similar technically to the original assignment to preclude harmful interference to existing stations across the border.
(e) For bands below 470 MHz, the areas which are involved lie between Lines A and B and between Lines C and D, which are described as follows:
Line A—Begins at Aberdeen, Wash., running by great circle arc to the intersection of 48 deg. N., 120 deg. W., thence along parallel 48 deg. N., to the intersection of 95 deg. W., thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Duluth, Minn., thence by great circle arc to 45 deg. N., 85 deg. W., thence southward along meridian 85 deg. W., to its intersection with parallel 41 deg. N., thence along parallel 41 deg. N., to its intersection with meridian 82 deg. W., thence by great circle arc through the southernmost point of Bangor, Maine, thence by great circle arc through the southern-most point of Searsport, Maine, at which point it terminates; and
Line B—Begins at Tofino, B.C., running by great circle arc to the intersection of 50 deg. N., 125 deg. W., thence along parallel 50 deg. N., to the intersection of 90 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 45 deg. N., 79 deg. 30′ W., thence by great circle arc through the northernmost point of Drummondville, Quebec (lat: 45 deg. 52′ N., long: 72 deg. 30′ W.), thence by great circle arc to 48 deg. 30′ N., 70 deg. W., thence by great circle arc through the northernmost point of Campbellton, N.B., thence by great circle arc through the northernmost point of Liverpool, N.S., at which point it terminates.
Line C—Begins at the intersection of 70 deg. N., 144 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 60 deg. N., 143 deg. W., thence by great circle arc so as to include all of the Alaskan Panhandle; and
Line D—Begins at the intersection of 70 deg. N., 138 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 61 deg. 20′ N., 139 deg. W., (Burwash Landing), thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 60 deg. 45′ N., 135 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 56 deg. N., 128 deg. W., thence south along 128 deg. meridian to Lat. 55 deg. N., thence by great circle arc to the intersection of 54 deg. N., 130 deg. W., thence by great circle arc to Port Clements, thence to the Pacific Ocean where it ends.
(f) For all stations using bands between 470 MHz and 1000 MHz; and for any station of a terrestrial service using a band above 1000 MHz, the areas which are involved are as follows:
(1) For a station the antenna of which looks within the 200 deg. sector toward the Canada-United States borders, that area in each country within 35 miles of the borders;
(2) For a station the antenna of which looks within the 160 deg. sector away from the Canada-United States borders, that area in each country within 5 miles of the borders; and
(3) The area in either country within coordination distance as described in Recommendation 1A of the Final Acts of the EARC, Geneva, 1963 of a receiving earth station in the other country which uses the same band.
(g) Proposed assignments in the space radiocommunication services and proposed assignments to stations in frequency bands allocated coequally to space and terrestrial services above 1 GHz are not treated by these arrangements. Such proposed assignments are subject to the regulatory provisions of the International Radio Regulations.
(h) Assignments proposed in the frequency band 806-890 MHz shall be in accordance with the Canada-United States agreement, dated April 7, 1982.
[64 FR 53238, Oct. 1, 1999]
§1.929 Classification of filings as major or minor.
Applications and amendments to applications for stations in the wireless radio services are classified as major or minor (see §1.947). Categories of major and minor filings are listed in §309 of the Communications Act of 1934.
(a) For all stations in all Wireless Radio Services, whether licensed geographically or on a site-specific basis, the following actions are classified as major:
(1) Application for initial authorization;
(2) Any substantial change in ownership or control, including requests for partitioning and disaggregation;
(3) Application for renewal of authorization;
(4) Application or amendment requesting authorization for a facility that may have a significant environmental effect as defined in §1.1307, unless the facility has been determined not to have a significant environmental effect through the process set forth in §17.4(c) of this chapter.
(5) Application or amendment requiring frequency coordination pursuant to the Commission's rules or international treaty or agreement;
(6) Application or amendment requesting to add a frequency or frequency block for which the applicant is not currently authorized, excluding removing a frequency.
(b) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes in the Cellular Radiotelephone Service:
(1) Application requesting authorization to expand the Cellular Geographic Service Area (CGSA) of an existing Cellular system or, in the case of an amendment, as previously proposed in an application to expand the CGSA; or
(2) Application or amendment requesting that a CGSA boundary or portion of a CGSA boundary be determined using an alternative method.
(c) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) in this section, the following are major changes applicable to stations licensed to provide base-to-mobile, mobile-to-base, mobile-to-mobile on a site-specific basis:
(1) In the Paging and Radiotelephone Service, Rural Radiotelephone Service and 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio Service (SMR), any change that would increase or expand the applicant's existing composite interference contour.
(2) In the 900 MHz SMR and 220 MHz Service, any change that would increase or expand the applicant's service area as defined in the rule parts governing the particular radio service.
(3) In the Paging and Radiotelephone Service, Rural Radiotelephone Service, Offshore Radiotelephone Service, and Specialized Mobile Radio Service:
(i) Request an authorization or an amendment to a pending application that would establish for the filer a new fixed transmission path;
(ii) Request an authorization or an amendment to a pending application for a fixed station (i.e., control, repeater, central office, rural subscriber, or inter-office station) that would increase the effective radiated power, antenna height above average terrain in any azimuth, or relocate an existing transmitter;
(4) In the Private Land Mobile Radio Services (PLMRS), the remote pickup broadcast auxiliary service, and GMRS systems licensed to non-individuals;
(i) Change in frequency or modification of channel pairs, except the deletion of one or more frequencies from an authorization;
(ii) Change in the type of emission;
(iii) Change in effective radiated power from that authorized or, for GMRS systems licensed to non-individuals, an increase in the transmitter power of a station;
(iv) Change in antenna height from that authorized;
(v) Change in the authorized location or number of base stations, fixed, control, except for deletions of one or more such stations or, for systems operating on non-exclusive assignments in GMRS or the 470-512 MHz, 800 MHz or 900 MHz bands, a change in the number of mobile transmitters, or a change in the area of mobile transmitters, or a change in the area of mobile operations from that authorized;
(vi) Change in the class of a land station, including changing from multiple licensed to cooperative use, and from shared to unshared use.
(d) In the microwave, aural broadcast auxiliary, and television broadcast auxiliary services:
(1) Except as specified in paragraph (d)(2) and (d)(3) of this section, the following, in addition to those filings listed in paragraph (a) of this section, are major actions that apply to stations licensed to provide fixed point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, or multipoint-to-point, communications on a site-specific basis, or fixed or mobile communications on an area-specific basis under part 101 of this chapter:
(i) Any change in transmit antenna location by more than 5 seconds in latitude or longitude for fixed point-to-point facilities (e.g., a 5 second change in latitude, longitude, or both would be minor); any change in coordinates of the center of operation or increase in radius of a circular area of operation, or any expansion in any direction in the latitude or longitude limits of a rectangular area of operation, or any change in any other kind of area operation;
(ii) Any increase in frequency tolerance;
(iii) Any increase in bandwidth;
(iv) Any change in emission type;
(v) Any increase in EIRP greater than 3 dB;
(vi) Any increase in transmit antenna height (above mean sea level) more than 3 meters, except as specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section;
(vii) Any increase in transmit antenna beamwidth, except as specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section;
(viii) Any change in transmit antenna polarization;
(ix) Any change in transmit antenna azimuth greater than 1 degree, except as specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section ; or,
(x) Any change which together with all minor modifications or amendments since the last major modification or amendment produces a cumulative effect exceeding any of the above major criteria.
(2) Changes to transmit antenna location of Multiple Address System (MAS) Remote Units and Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS) User Units are not major.
(3) Changes in accordance with paragraphs (d)(1)(vi), (d)(1)(vii) and (d)(1)(ix) of this section are not major for the following:
(i) Fixed Two-Way MAS on the remote to master path,
(ii) Fixed One-Way Inbound MAS on the remote to master path,
(iii) Multiple Two-Way MAS on the remote to master and master to remote paths,
(iv) Multiple One-Way Outbound MAS on the master to remote path,
(v) Mobile MAS Master,
(vi) Fixed Two-Way DEMS on the user to nodal path, and
(vii) Multiple Two-Way DEMS on the nodal to user and user to nodal paths.
Note to paragraph (d)(3) of §1.929: For the systems and path types described in paragraph (d)(3) of this section, the data provided by applicants is either a typical value for a certain parameter or a fixed value given in the Form instructions.
(e) In addition to those filings listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major actions that apply to stations licensed to provide service in the Air-ground Radiotelephone Service:
(1) Request an authorization to relocate an existing General Aviation ground station; or,
(2) Request the first authorization for a new Commercial Aviation ground station at a location other than those listed in §22.859 of this chapter.
(f) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a), the following are major changes that apply to stations licensed in the industrial radiopositioning stations for which frequencies are assigned on an exclusive basis, Maritime and Aviation services, except Maritime Public Coast VHF (CMRS), Ship and Aircraft stations:
(1) Any change in antenna azimuth;
(2) Any change in beamwidth;
(3) Any change in antenna location;
(4) Any change in emission type;
(5) Any increase in antenna height;
(6) Any increase in authorized power;
(7) Any increase in emission bandwidth.
(g) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a), any change requiring international coordination in the Maritime Public Coast VHF (CMRS) Service is major.
(h) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes that apply to ship stations:
(1) Any request for additional equipment;
(2) A change in ship category;
(3) A request for assignment of a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number; or
(4) A request to increase the number of ships on an existing fleet license.
(i) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes that apply to aircraft stations:
(1) A request to increase the number of aircraft on an existing fleet license; or
(2) A request to change the type of aircraft (private or air carrier).
(j) In addition to those changes listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the following are major changes that apply to amateur licenses:
(1) An upgrade of an existing license; or
(2) A change of call sign.
(k) Any change not specifically listed above as major is considered minor (see §1.947(b). This includes but is not limited to:
(1) Any pro forma assignment or transfer of control;
(2) Any name change not involving change in ownership or control of the license;
(3) Any address and/or telephone number changes;
(4) Any changes in contact person;
(5) Any change to vessel name on a ship station license;
(6) Any change to a site-specific license, except a PLMRS license under part 90, or a license under part 101, where the licensee's interference contours are not extended and co-channel separation criteria are met, except those modifications defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section; or
(7) Any conversion of multiple site-specific licenses into a single wide-area license, except a PLMRS license under part 90 or a license under part 101 of this chapter, where there is no change in the licensee's composite interference contour or service area as defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section.
[63 FR 68927, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 53239, Oct. 1, 1999; 68 FR 12755, Mar. 17, 2003; 70 FR 19306, Apr. 13, 2005; 70 FR 61058, Oct. 20, 2005; 76 FR 70909, Nov. 16, 2011; 77 FR 3952, Jan. 26, 2012; 79 FR 72150, Dec. 5, 2014]
§1.931 Application for special temporary authority.
(a) Wireless Telecommunications Services. (1) In circumstances requiring immediate or temporary use of station in the Wireless Telecommunications Services, carriers may request special temporary authority (STA) to operate new or modified equipment. Such requests must be filed electronically using FCC Form 601 and must contain complete details about the proposed operation and the circumstances that fully justify and necessitate the grant of STA. Such requests should be filed in time to be received by the Commission at least 10 days prior to the date of proposed operation or, where an extension is sought, 10 days prior to the expiration date of the existing STA. Requests received less than 10 days prior to the desired date of operation may be given expedited consideration only if compelling reasons are given for the delay in submitting the request. Otherwise, such late-filed requests are considered in turn, but action might not be taken prior to the desired date of operation. Requests for STA for operation of a station used in a Contraband Interdiction System, as defined in §1.9003, will be afforded expedited consideration if filed at least one day prior to the desired date of operation. Requests for STA must be accompanied by the proper filing fee.
(2) Grant without Public Notice. STA may be granted without being listed in a Public Notice, or prior to 30 days after such listing, if:
(i) The STA is to be valid for 30 days or less and the applicant does not plan to file an application for regular authorization of the subject operation;
(ii) The STA is to be valid for 60 days or less, pending the filing of an application for regular authorization of the subject operation;
(iii) The STA is to allow interim operation to facilitate completion of authorized construction or to provide substantially the same service as previously authorized;
(iv) The STA is made upon a finding that there are extraordinary circumstances requiring operation in the public interest and that delay in the institution of such service would seriously prejudice the public interest; or
(v) The STA is for operation of a station used in a Contraband Interdiction System, as defined in §1.9003.
(3) Limit on STA term. The Commission may grant STA for a period not to exceed 180 days under the provisions of section 309(f) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, (47 U.S.C. 309(f)) if extraordinary circumstances so require, and pending the filing of an application for regular operation. The Commission may grant extensions of STA for a period of 180 days, but the applicant must show that extraordinary circumstances warrant such an extension.
(b) Private Wireless Services. (1) A licensee of, or an applicant for, a station in the Private Wireless Services may request STA not to exceed 180 days for operation of a new station or operation of a licensed station in a manner which is beyond the scope of that authorized by the existing license. See §§1.933(d)(6) and 1.939. Where the applicant, seeking a waiver of the 180 day limit, requests STA to operate as a private mobile radio service provider for a period exceeding 180 days, evidence of frequency coordination is required. Requests for shorter periods do not require coordination and, if granted, will be authorized on a secondary, non-interference basis.
(2) STA may be granted in the following circumstances:
(i) In emergency situations;
(ii) To permit restoration or relocation of existing facilities to continue communication service;
(iii) To conduct tests to determine necessary data for the preparation of an application for regular authorization;
(iv) For a temporary, non-recurring service where a regular authorization is not appropriate;
(v) In other situations involving circumstances which are of such extraordinary nature that delay in the institution of temporary operation would seriously prejudice the public interest.
(3) The nature of the circumstance which, in the opinion of the applicant justifies issuance of STA, must be fully described in the request. Applications for STA must be filed at least 10 days prior to the proposed operation. Applications filed less than 10 days prior to the proposed operation date will be accepted only upon a showing of good cause.
(4) The Commission may grant extensions of STA for a period of 180 days, but the applicant must show that extraordinary circumstances warrant such an extension.
(5) In special situations defined in §1.915(b)(1), a request for STA may be made by telephone or telegraph provided a properly signed application is filed within 10 days of such request.
(6) An applicant for an Aircraft Radio Station License may operate the radio station pending issuance of an Aircraft Radio Station License by the Commission for a period of 90 days under temporary operating authority, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 605.
(7) Unless the Commission otherwise prescribes, a person who has been granted an operator license of Novice, Technician, Technician Plus, General, or Advanced class and who has properly submitted to the administering VEs an application document for an operator license of a higher class, and who holds a CSCE indicating that he/she has completed the necessary examinations within the previous 365 days, is authorized to exercise the rights and privileges of the higher operator class until final disposition of the application or until 365 days following the passing of the examination, whichever comes first.
(8) An applicant for a Ship Radio station license may operate the radio station pending issuance of the ship station authorization by the Commission for a period of 90 days, under a temporary operating authority, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 605.
(9) An applicant for a station license in the Industrial/Business pool (other than an applicant who seeks to provide commercial mobile radio service as defined in Part 20 of this chapter) utilizing an already authorized facility may operate the station for a period of 180 days, under a temporary permit, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 601, after filing an application for a station license together with evidence of frequency coordination, if required, with the Commission. The temporary operation of stations, other than mobile stations, within the Canadian coordination zone will be limited to stations with a maximum of 5 watts effective radiated power and a maximum antenna height of 20 feet (6.1 meters) above average terrain.
(10) An applicant for a radio station license under Part 90, Subpart S, of this chapter (other than an applicant who seeks to provide commercial mobile radio service as defined in part 20 of this chapter) to utilize an already existing Specialized Mobile Radio System (SMR) facility or to utilize an already licensed transmitter may operate the radio station for a period of up to 180 days, under a temporary permit. Such request must be evidenced by a properly executed certification of FCC Form 601 after the filing of an application for station license, provided that the antenna employed by the control station is a maximum of 20 feet (6.1 meters) above a man-made structure (other than an antenna tower) to which it is affixed.
(11) An applicant for an itinerant station license, an applicant for a new private land mobile radio station license in the frequency bands below 470 MHz or in the 769-775/799-805 MHz, the 806-824/851-866 MHz band, or the one-way paging 929-930 MHz band (other than a commercial mobile radio service applicant or licensee on these bands) or an applicant seeking to modify or acquire through assignment or transfer an existing station below 470 MHz or in the 769-775/799-805 MHz, the 806-824/851-866 MHz band, or the one-way paging 929-930 MHz band may operate the proposed station during the pendency of its application for a period of up to 180 days under a conditional permit. Conditional operations may commence upon the filing of a properly completed application that complies with §90.127 if the application, when frequency coordination is required, is accompanied by evidence of frequency coordination in accordance with §90.175 of this chapter. Operation under such a permit is evidenced by the properly executed Form 601 with certifications that satisfy the requirements of §90.159(b).
(12) An applicant for a General Mobile Radio Service system license, sharing a multiple-licensed or cooperative shared base station used as a mobile relay station, may operate the system for a period of 180 days, under a Temporary Permit, evidenced by a properly executed certification made on FCC Form 605.
[63 FR 68928, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 76 FR 70909, Nov. 16, 2011; 82 FR 22759, May 18, 2017; 83 FR 61089, Nov. 27, 2018]
§1.933 Public notices.
(a) Generally. Periodically, the Commission issues Public Notices in the Wireless Radio Services listing information of public significance. Categories of Public Notice listings are as follows:
(1) Accepted for filing. Acceptance for filing of applications and major amendments thereto.
(2) Actions. Commission actions on pending applications previously listed as accepted for filing.
(3) Environmental considerations. Special environmental considerations as required by Part 1 of this chapter.
(4) Informative listings. Information that the Commission, in its discretion, believes to be of public significance. Such listings do not create any rights to file petitions to deny or other pleadings.
(b) Accepted for filing public notices. The Commission will issue at regular intervals public notices listing applications that have been received by the Commission in a condition acceptable for filing, or which have been returned to an applicant for correction. Any application that has been listed in a public notice as acceptable for filing and is (1) subject to a major amendment, or (2) has been returned as defective or incomplete and resubmitted to the Commission, shall be listed in a subsequent public notice. Acceptance for filing shall not preclude the subsequent dismissal of an application as defective.
(c) Public notice prior to grant. Applications for authorizations, major modifications, major amendments to applications, and substantial assignment or transfer applications for the following categories of stations and services shall be placed on Public Notice as accepted for filing prior to grant:
(1) Wireless Telecommunications Services.
(2) Industrial radiopositioning stations for which frequencies are assigned on an exclusive basis.
(3) Aeronautical enroute stations.
(4) Aeronautical advisory stations.
(5) Airport control tower stations.
(6) Aeronautical fixed stations.
(7) Alaska public fixed stations.
(8) Broadband Radio Service; and
(9) Educational Broadband Service.
(d) No public notice prior to grant. The following types of applications, notices, and other filings need not be placed on Public Notice as accepted for filing prior to grant:
(1) Applications or notifications concerning minor modifications to authorizations or minor amendments to applications.
(2) Applications or notifications concerning non-substantial (pro forma) assignments and transfers.
(3) Consent to an involuntary assignment or transfer under section 310(b) of the Communications Act.
(4) Applications for licenses under section 319(c) of the Communications Act.
(5) Requests for extensions of time to complete construction of authorized facilities.
(6) Requests for special temporary authorization not to exceed 30 days where the applicant does not contemplate the filing of an application for regular operation, or not to exceed 60 days pending or after the filing of an application for regular operation.
(7) Requests for emergency authorizations under section 308(a) of the Communications Act.
(8) Any application for temporary authorization under section 101.31(a) of this chapter.
(9) Any application for authorization in the Private Wireless Services.
[63 FR 68929, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 69 FR 72026, Dec. 10, 2004]
§1.934 Defective applications and dismissal.
(a) Dismissal of applications. The Commission may dismiss any application in the Wireless Radio Services at the request of the applicant; if the application is mutually exclusive with another application that is selected or granted in accordance with the rules in this part; for failure to prosecute or if the application is found to be defective; if the requested spectrum is not available; or if the application is untimely filed. Such dismissal may be “without prejudice,” meaning that the Commission may accept from the applicant another application for the same purpose at a later time, provided that the application is otherwise timely. Dismissal “with prejudice” means that the Commission will not accept another application from the applicant for the same purpose for a period of one year. Unless otherwise provided in this part, a dismissed application will not be returned to the applicant.
(1) Dismissal at request of applicant. Any applicant may request that its application be withdrawn or dismissed. A request for the withdrawal of an application after it has been listed on Public Notice as tentatively accepted for filing is considered to be a request for dismissal of that application without prejudice.
(i) If the applicant requests dismissal of its application with prejudice, the Commission will dismiss that application with prejudice.
(ii) If the applicant requests dismissal of its application without prejudice, the Commission will dismiss that application without prejudice, unless it is an application for which the applicant submitted the winning bid in a competitive bidding process.
(2) If an applicant who is a winning bidder for a license in a competitive bidding process requests dismissal of its short-form or long-form application, the Commission will dismiss that application with prejudice. The applicant will also be subject to default payments under Subpart Q of this part.
(b) Dismissal of mutually exclusive applications not granted. The Commission may dismiss mutually exclusive applications for which the applicant did not submit the winning bid in a competitive bidding process.
(c) Dismissal for failure to prosecute. The Commission may dismiss applications for failure of the applicant to prosecute or for failure of the applicant to respond substantially within a specified time period to official correspondence or requests for additional information. Such dismissal may be with prejudice in cases of non-compliance with §1.945. The Commission may dismiss applications with prejudice for failure of the applicant to comply with requirements related to a competitive bidding process.
(d) Dismissal as defective. The Commission may dismiss without prejudice an application that it finds to be defective. An application is defective if:
(1) It is unsigned or incomplete with respect to required answers to questions, informational showings, or other matters of a formal character;
(2) It requests an authorization that would not comply with one or more of the Commission's rules and does not contain a request for waiver of these rule(s), or in the event the Commission denies such a waiver request, does not contain an alternative proposal that fully complies with the rules;
(3) The appropriate filing fee has not been paid; or
(4) The FCC Registration Number (FRN) has not been provided.
(5) It requests a vanity call sign and the applicant has pending another vanity call sign application with the same receipt date.
(e) Dismissal because spectrum not available. The Commission may dismiss applications that request spectrum which is unavailable because:
(1) It is not allocated for assignment in the specific service requested;
(2) It was previously assigned to another licensee on an exclusive basis or cannot be assigned to the applicant without causing harmful interference; or
(3) Reasonable efforts have been made to coordinate the proposed facility with foreign administrations under applicable international agreements, and an unfavorable response (harmful interference anticipated) has been received.
(f) Dismissal as untimely. The Commission may dismiss without prejudice applications that are premature or late filed, including applications filed prior to the opening date or after the closing date of a filing window, or after the cut-off date for a mutually exclusive application filing group.
(g) Dismissal for failure to pursue environmental review. The Commission may dismiss license applications (FCC Form 601) associated with proposed antenna structure(s) subject to §17.4(c) of this chapter, if pending more than 60 days and awaiting submission of an Environmental Assessment or other environmental information from the applicant, unless the applicant has provided an affirmative statement reflecting active pursuit during the previous 60 days of environmental review for the proposed antenna structure(s). To avoid potential dismissal of its license application, the license applicant must provide updates every 60 days unless or until the applicant has submitted the material requested by the Bureau.
[63 FR 68930, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 66 FR 47895, Sept. 14, 2001; 71 FR 66461, Nov. 15, 2006; 77 FR 3952, Jan. 26, 2012; 82 FR 41545, Sept. 1, 2017]
§1.935 Agreements to dismiss applications, amendments or pleadings.
Parties that have filed applications that are mutually exclusive with one or more other applications, and then enter into an agreement to resolve the mutual exclusivity by withdrawing or requesting dismissal of the application(s), specific frequencies on the application or an amendment thereto, must obtain the approval of the Commission. Parties that have filed or threatened to file a petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading against an application and then seek to withdraw or request dismissal of, or refrain from filing, the petition, either unilaterally or in exchange for a financial consideration, must obtain the approval of the Commission.
(a) The party withdrawing or requesting dismissal of its application (or specific frequencies on the application), petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading or refraining from filing a pleading must submit to the Commission a request for approval of the withdrawal or dismissal, a copy of any written agreement related to the withdrawal or dismissal, and an affidavit setting forth:
(1) A certification that neither the party nor its principals has received or will receive any money or other consideration in excess of the legitimate and prudent expenses incurred in preparing and prosecuting the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading in exchange for the withdrawal or dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading, or threat to file a pleading, except that this provision does not apply to dismissal or withdrawal of applications pursuant to bona fide merger agreements;
(2) The exact nature and amount of any consideration received or promised;
(3) An itemized accounting of the expenses for which it seeks reimbursement; and
(4) The terms of any oral agreement related to the withdrawal or dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading, or threat to file a pleading.
(b) In addition, within 5 days of the filing date of the applicant's or petitioner's request for approval, each remaining party to any written or oral agreement must submit an affidavit setting forth:
(1) A certification that neither the applicant nor its principals has paid or will pay money or other consideration in excess of the legitimate and prudent expenses of the petitioner in exchange for withdrawing or dismissing the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading; and
(2) The terms of any oral agreement relating to the withdrawal or dismissal of the application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading.
(c) No person shall make or receive any payments in exchange for withdrawing a threat to file or refraining from filing a petition to deny, informal objection, or any other pleading against an application. For the purposes of this section, reimbursement by an applicant of the legitimate and prudent expenses of a potential petitioner or objector, incurred reasonably and directly in preparing to file a petition to deny, will not be considered to be payment for refraining from filing a petition to deny or an informal objection. Payments made directly to a potential petitioner or objector, or a person related to a potential petitioner or objector, to implement non-financial promises are prohibited unless specifically approved by the Commission.
(1) Affidavits filed pursuant to this section must be executed by the filing party, if an individual; a partner having personal knowledge of the facts, if a partnership; or an officer having personal knowledge of the facts, if a corporation or association.
(2) Each application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading is deemed to be pending before the Commission from the time the petition to deny is filed with the Commission until such time as an order or correspondence of the Commission granting, denying or dismissing it is no longer subject to reconsideration by the Commission or to review by any court.
(3) “Legitimate and prudent expenses” are those expenses reasonably incurred by a party in preparing to file, filing, prosecuting and/or settling its application, petition to deny, informal objection or other pleading for which reimbursement is sought.
(4) “Other consideration” consists of financial concessions, including, but not limited to, the transfer of assets or the provision of tangible pecuniary benefit, as well as non-financial concessions that confer any type of benefit on the recipient.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any payments made or received in exchange for withdrawing a short-form application for a Commission authorization awarded through competitive bidding shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in §1.2105(c) of this chapter.
[63 FR 68931, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.937 Repetitious or conflicting applications.
(a) Where the Commission has, for any reason, dismissed with prejudice or denied any license application in the Wireless Radio Services, or revoked any such license, the Commission will not consider a like or new application involving service of the same kind to substantially the same area by substantially the same applicant, its successor or assignee, or on behalf of or for the benefit of the original parties in interest, until after the lapse of 12 months from the effective date of final Commission action.
(c) If an appeal has been taken from the action of the Commission dismissing with prejudice or denying any application in the Wireless Radio Services, or if the application is subsequently designated for hearing, a like application for service of the same type to the same area, in whole or in part, filed by that applicant or by its successor or assignee, or on behalf or for the benefit of the parties in interest to the original application, will not be considered until the final disposition of such appeal.
(d) While an application is pending, any subsequent inconsistent or conflicting application submitted by, on behalf of, or for the benefit of the same applicant, its successor or assignee will not be accepted for filing.
[63 FR 68931, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 68 FR 25842, May 14, 2003]
§1.939 Petitions to deny.
(a) Who may file. Any party in interest may file with the Commission a petition to deny any application listed in a Public Notice as accepted for filing, whether as filed originally or upon major amendment as defined in §1.929 of this part.
(1) For auctionable license applications, petitions to deny and related pleadings are governed by the procedures set forth in §1.2108 of this part.
(2) Petitions to deny for non-auctionable applications that are subject to petitions under §309(d) of the Communications Act must comply with the provisions of this section and must be filed no later than 30 days after the date of the Public Notice listing the application or major amendment to the application as accepted for filing.
(b) Filing of petitions. Petitions to deny and related pleadings may be filed electronically via ULS. Manually filed petitions to deny must be filed with the Office of the Secretary, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. Attachments to manually filed applications may be filed on a standard 31⁄4 ″ magnetic diskette formatted to be readable by high density floppy drives operating under MS-DOS (version 3.X or later compatible versions). Each diskette submitted must contain an ASCII text file listing each filename and a brief description of the contents of each file on the diskette. The files on the diskette, other than the table of contents, should be in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) whenever possible. Petitions to deny and related pleadings must reference the file number of the pending application that is the subject of the petition.
(c) Service. A petitioner shall serve a copy of its petition to deny on the applicant and on all other interested parties pursuant to §1.47. Oppositions and replies shall be served on the petitioner and all other interested parties.
(d) Content. A petition to deny must contain specific allegations of fact sufficient to make a prima facie showing that the petitioner is a party in interest and that a grant of the application would be inconsistent with the public interest, convenience and necessity. Such allegations of fact, except for those of which official notice may be taken, shall be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof.
(e) Petitions to deny amended applications. Petitions to deny a major amendment to an application may raise only matters directly related to the major amendment that could not have been raised in connection with the application as originally filed. This paragraph does not apply to petitioners who gain standing because of the major amendment.
(f) Oppositions and replies. The applicant and any other interested party may file an opposition to any petition to deny and the petitioner may file a reply thereto in which allegations of fact or denials thereof, except for those of which official notice may be taken, shall be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof. Time for filing of oppositions and replies is governed by §1.45 of this part for non-auctionable services and §1.2108 of this part for auctionable services.
(g) Dismissal of petition. The Commission may dismiss any petition to deny that does not comply with the requirements of this section if the issues raised become moot, or if the petitioner or his/her attorney fails to appear at a settlement conference pursuant to §1.956 of this part. The reasons for the dismissal will be stated in the dismissal letter or order. When a petition to deny is dismissed, any related responsive pleadings are also dismissed
(h) Grant of petitioned application. If a petition to deny has been filed and the Commission grants the application, the Commission will dismiss or deny the petition by issuing a concise statement of the reason(s) for dismissing or denying the petition, disposing of all substantive issues raised in the petition.
[63 FR 68931, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 53240, Oct. 1, 1999; 70 FR 61058, Oct. 20, 2005; 71 FR 15619, Mar. 29, 2006; 74 FR 68544, Dec. 28, 2009]
§1.945 License grants.
(a) License grants—auctionable license applications. Procedures for grant of licenses that are subject to competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications Act are set forth in §§1.2108 and 1.2109 of this part.
(b) License grants—non-auctionable license applications. No application that is not subject to competitive bidding under §309(j) of the Communications Act will be granted by the Commission prior to the 31st day following the issuance of a Public Notice of the acceptance for filing of such application or of any substantial amendment thereof, unless the application is not subject to §309(b) of the Communications Act.
(c) Grant without hearing. In the case of both auctionable license applications and non-mutually exclusive non-auctionable license applications, the Commission will grant the application without a hearing if it is proper upon its face and if the Commission finds from an examination of such application and supporting data, any pleading filed, or other matters which it may officially notice, that:
(1) There are no substantial and material questions of fact;
(2) The applicant is legally, technically, financially, and otherwise qualified;
(3) A grant of the application would not involve modification, revocation, or non-renewal of any other existing license;
(4) A grant of the application would not preclude the grant of any mutually exclusive application; and
(5) A grant of the application would serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity.
(d) Grant of petitioned applications. The FCC may grant, without a formal hearing, an application against which petition(s) to deny have been filed. If any petition(s) to deny are pending (i.e., have not been dismissed or withdrawn by the petitioner) when an application is granted, the FCC will deny the petition(s) and issue a concise statement of the reason(s) for the denial, disposing of all substantive issues raised in the petitions.
(e) Partial and conditional grants. The FCC may grant applications in part, and/or subject to conditions other than those normally applied to authorizations of the same type. When the FCC does this, it will inform the applicant of the reasons therefor. Such partial or conditional grants are final unless the FCC revises its action in response to a petition for reconsideration. Such petitions for reconsideration must be filed by the applicant within thirty days after the date of the letter or order stating the reasons for the partial or conditional grant, and must reject the partial or conditional grant and return the instrument of authorization.
(f) Designation for hearing. If the Commission is unable to make the findings prescribed in subparagraph (c), it will formally designate the application for hearing on the grounds or reasons then obtaining and will notify the applicant and all other known parties in interest of such action.
(1) Orders designating applications for hearing will specify with particularity the matters in issue.
(2) Parties in interest, if any, who are not notified by the Commission of its action in designating a particular application for hearing may acquire the status of a party to the proceeding by filing a petition for intervention showing the basis of their interest not more than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register of the hearing issues or any substantial amendment thereto.
(3) The applicant and all other parties in interest shall be permitted to participate in any hearing subsequently held upon such applications. Hearings may be conducted by the Commission or by the Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, or, in the case of a question which requires oral testimony for its resolution, an Administrative Law Judge. The burden of proceeding with the introduction of evidence and burden of proof shall be upon the applicant, except that with respect to any issue presented by a petition to deny or a petition to enlarge the issues, such burdens shall be as determined by the Commission or the Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
[63 FR 68932, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.946 Construction and coverage requirements.
(a) Construction and commencement of service requirements. For each of the Wireless Radio Services, requirements for construction and commencement of service or commencement of operations are set forth in the rule part governing the specific service. For purposes of this section, the period between the date of grant of an authorization and the date of required commencement of service or operations is referred to as the construction period.
(b) Coverage and substantial service requirements. In certain Wireless Radio Services, licensees must comply with geographic coverage requirements or substantial service requirements within a specified time period. These requirements are set forth in the rule part governing each specific service. For purposes of this section, the period between the date of grant of an authorization and the date that a particular degree of coverage or substantial service is required is referred to as the coverage period.
(c) Termination of authorizations. If a licensee fails to commence service or operations by the expiration of its construction period or to meet its coverage or substantial service obligations by the expiration of its coverage period, its authorization terminates automatically (in whole or in part as set forth in the service rules), without specific Commission action, on the date the construction or coverage period expires.
(d) Licensee notification of compliance. A licensee who commences service or operations within the construction period or meets its coverage or substantial services obligations within the coverage period must notify the Commission by filing FCC Form 601. The notification must be filed within 15 days of the expiration of the applicable construction or coverage period. Where the authorization is site-specific, if service or operations have begun using some, but not all, of the authorized transmitters, the notification must show to which specific transmitters it applies.
(e) Requests for extension of time. Licensees may request to extend a construction period or coverage period by filing FCC Form 601. The request must be filed before the expiration of the construction or coverage period.
[63 FR 68933, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 69 FR 46397, Aug. 3, 2004; 71 FR 52749, Sept. 7, 2006; 72 FR 48842, Aug. 24, 2007]
§1.947 Modification of licenses.
(a) All major modifications, as defined in §1.929 of this part, require prior Commission approval. Applications for major modifications also shall be treated as new applications for determination of filing date, Public Notice, and petition to deny purposes.
(b) Licensees may make minor modifications to station authorizations, as defined in §1.929 of this part (other than pro forma transfers and assignments), as a matter of right without prior Commission approval. Where other rule parts permit licensees to make permissive changes to technical parameters without notifying the Commission (e.g., adding, modifying, or deleting internal sites), no notification is required. For all other types of minor modifications (e.g., name, address, point of contact changes), licensees must notify the Commission by filing FCC Form 601 within thirty (30) days of implementing any such changes.
(c) Multiple pending modification applications requesting changes to the same or related technical parameters on an authorization are not permitted. If a modification application is pending, any additional changes to the same or related technical parameters may be requested only in an amendment to the pending modification application.
(d) Any proposed modification that requires a fee as set forth at part 1, subpart G, of this chapter must be filed in accordance with §1.913.
[63 FR 68933, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 53240, Oct. 1, 1999]
§1.948 Assignment of authorization or transfer of control, notification of consummation.
(a) General. Except as provided in this section, authorizations in the Wireless Radio Services may be assigned by the licensee to another party, voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, or the control of a licensee holding such authorizations may be transferred, only upon application to and approval by the Commission.
(b) Limitations on transfers and assignments. (1) A change from less than 50% ownership to 50% or more ownership shall always be considered a transfer of control.
(2) In other situations a controlling interest shall be determined on a case-by-case basis considering the distribution of ownership, and the relationships of the owners, including family relationships.
(3) Designated Entities, as defined in §1.2110(a) of this part, must comply with §§1.2110 and 1.2111 of this part when seeking to assign or transfer control of an authorization.
(4) Stations must meet all applicable requirements regarding transfers and assignments contained in the rules pertaining to the specific service in which the station is licensed.
(5) Licenses, permits, and authorizations for stations in the Amateur, Commercial Operator and Personal Radio Services (except 218-219 MHz Service) may not be assigned or transferred, unless otherwise stated.
(c) Application required. In the case of an assignment of authorization or transfer of control, the assignor must file an application for approval of the assignment on FCC Form 603. If the assignee or transferee is subject to the ownership reporting requirements of §1.2112, the assignee or transferee must also file an updated FCC Form 602 or certify that a current FCC Form 602 is on file.
(1) In the case of a non-substantial (pro forma) transfer or assignment involving a telecommunications carrier, as defined in §153(44) of the Communications Act, filing of the Form 603 and Commission approval in advance of the proposed transaction is not required, provided that:
(i) the affected license is not subject to unjust enrichment provisions under subpart Q of this part;
(ii) the transfer or assignment does not involve a proxy contest; and
(iii) the transferee or assignee provides notice of the transaction by filing FCC Form 603 within 30 days of its completion, and provides any necessary updates of ownership information on FCC Form 602.
(2) In the case of an involuntary assignment or transfer, FCC Form 603 must be filed no later than 30 days after the event causing the involuntary assignment or transfer.
(d) Notification of consummation. In all Wireless Radio Services, licensees are required to notify the Commission of consummation of an approved transfer or assignment using FCC Form 603. The assignee or transferee is responsible for providing this notification, including the date the transaction was consummated. For transfers and assignments that require prior Commission approval, the transaction must be consummated and notification provided to the Commission within 180 days of public notice of approval, and notification of consummation must occur no later than 30 days after actual consummation, unless a request for an extension of time to consummate is filed on FCC Form 603 prior to the expiration of this 180-day period. For transfers and assignments that do not require prior Commission approval, notification of consummation must be provided on FCC Form 603 no later than 30 days after consummation, along with any necessary updates of ownership information on FCC Form 602.
(e) Partial assignment of authorization. If the authorization for some, but not all, of the facilities of a radio station in the Wireless Radio Services is assigned to another party, voluntarily or involuntarily, such action is a partial assignment of authorization. To request Commission approval of a partial assignment of authorization, the assignor must notify the Commission on FCC Form 603 of the facilities that will be deleted from its authorization upon consummation of the assignment.
(f) Partitioning and disaggregation. Where a licensee proposes to partition or disaggregate a portion of its authorization to another party, the application will be treated as a request for partial assignment of authorization. The assignor must notify the Commission on FCC Form 603 of the geographic area or spectrum that will be deleted from its authorization upon consummation of the assignment.
(g) Involuntary transfer and assignment. In the event of the death or legal disability of a permittee or licensee, a member of a partnership, or a person directly or indirectly in control of a corporation which is a permittee or licensee, the Commission shall be notified promptly of the occurrence of such death or legal disability. Within 30 days after the occurrence of such death or legal disability (except in the case of a ship or amateur station), an application shall be filed for consent to involuntary assignment of such permit or license, or for involuntary transfer of control of such corporation, to a person or entity legally qualified to succeed to the foregoing interests under the laws of the place having jurisdiction over the estate involved. The procedures and forms to be used are the same procedures and forms as those specified in paragraph (b) of this section. In the case of Ship, aircraft, Commercial Operator, Amateur, and Personal Radio Services (except for 218-219 MHz Service) involuntary assignment of licenses will not be granted; such licenses shall be surrendered for cancellation upon the death or legal disability of the licensee. Amateur station call signs assigned to the station of a deceased licensee shall be available for reassignment pursuant to §97.19 of this chapter.
(h) Disclosure requirements. Applicants for transfer or assignment of licenses in auctionable services must comply with the disclosure requirements of §§1.2111 and 1.2112 of this part.
(i) Trafficking. Applications for approval of assignment or transfer may be reviewed by the Commission to determine if the transaction is for purposes of trafficking in service authorizations.
(1) Trafficking consists of obtaining or attempting to obtain an authorization for the principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale of the authorization rather than for the provision of telecommunication services to the public or for the licensee's own private use.
(2) The Commission may require submission of an affirmative, factual showing, supported by affidavit of persons with personal knowledge thereof, to demonstrate that the assignor did not acquire the authorization for the principal purpose of speculation or profitable resale of the authorization. This showing may include, for example, a demonstration that the proposed assignment is due to changed circumstances (described in detail) affecting the licensee after the grant of the authorization, or that the proposed assignment is incidental to a sale of other facilities or a merger of interests.
(j) Processing of applications. Applications for assignment of authorization or transfer of control relating to the Wireless Radio Services will be processed pursuant either to general approval procedures or the immediate approval procedures, as discussed herein.
(1) General approval procedures. Applications will be processed pursuant to the general approval procedures set forth in this paragraph unless they are submitted and qualify for the immediate approval procedures set forth in paragraph (j)(2) of this section.
(i) To be accepted for filing under these general approval procedures, the application must be sufficiently complete and contain all necessary information and certifications requested on the applicable form, FCC Form 603, including any information and certifications (including those of the proposed assignee or transferee relating to eligibility, basic qualifications, and foreign ownership) required by the rules of this chapter and any rules pertaining to the specific service for which the application is filed, and must include payment of the required application fee(s) (see §1.1102).
(ii) Once accepted for filing, the application will be placed on public notice, except no prior public notice will be required for applications involving authorizations in the Private Wireless Services, as specified in §1.933(d)(9).
(iii) Petitions to deny filed in accordance with section 309(d) of the Communications Act must comply with the provisions of §1.939, except that such petitions must be filed no later than 14 days following the date of the public notice listing the application as accepted for filing.
(iv) No later than 21 days following the date of the public notice listing an application as accepted for filing, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (Bureau) will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine to subject the application to further review. For applications for which no prior public notice is required, the Bureau will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine to subject the application to further review no later than 21 days following the date on which the application has been filed, if filed electronically, and any required application fee has been paid (see §1.1102); if filed manually, the Bureau will affirmatively consent to the application, deny the application, or determine to subject the application to further review no later than 21 days after the necessary data in the manually filed application is entered into ULS.
(v) If the Bureau determines to subject the application to further review, it will issue a public notice so indicating. Within 90 days following the date of that public notice, the Bureau will either take action upon the application or provide public notice that an additional 90-day period for review is needed.
(vi) Consent to the application is not deemed granted until the Bureau affirmatively acts upon the application.
(vii) Grant of consent to the application will be reflected in a public notice (see §1.933(a)) promptly issued after the grant.
(viii) If any petition to deny is filed, and the Bureau grants the application, the Bureau will deny the petition(s) and issue a concise statement of the reason(s) for denial, disposing of all substantive issues raised in the petition(s).
(2) Immediate approval procedures. Applications that meet the requirements of paragraph (j)(2)(i) of this section qualify for the immediate approval procedures.
(i) To qualify for the immediate approval procedures, the application must be sufficiently complete, contain all necessary information and certifications (including those relating to eligibility, basic qualifications, and foreign ownership), and include payment of the requisite application fee(s), as required for an application processed under the general approval procedures set forth in paragraph (j)(1) of this section, and also must establish, through certifications, that the following additional qualifications are met:
(A) The license does not involve spectrum licensed in a Wireless Radio Service that may be used to provide interconnected mobile voice and/or data services under the applicable service rules and that would, if assigned or transferred, create a geographic overlap with spectrum in any licensed Wireless Radio Service (including the same service) in which the proposed assignee or transferee already holds a direct or indirect interest of 10% or more (see §1.2112), either as a licensee or a spectrum lessee, and that could be used by the assignee or transferee to provide interconnected mobile voice and/or data services;
(B) The licensee is not a designated entity or entrepreneur subject to unjust enrichment requirements and/or transfer restrictions under applicable Commission rules (see §§1.2110 and 1.2111, and §§24.709, 24.714, and 24.839 of this chapter); and,
(C) The assignment or transfer of control does not require a waiver of, or declaratory ruling pertaining to, any applicable Commission rules, and there is no pending issue as to whether the license is subject to revocation, cancellation, or termination by the Commission.
(ii) Provided that the application establishes that it meets all of the requisite elements to qualify for these immediate approval procedures, consent to the assignment or transfer of control will be reflected in ULS. If the application is filed electronically, consent will be reflected in ULS on the next business day after the filing of the application; if filed manually, consent will be reflected in ULS on the next business day after the necessary data in the manually filed application is entered into ULS. Consent to the application is not deemed granted until the Bureau affirmatively acts upon the application.
(iii) Grant of consent to the application under these immediate approval procedures will be reflected in a public notice (see §1.933(a)) promptly issued after the grant, and is subject to reconsideration (see §§1.106(f), 1.108, 1.113).
[63 FR 68933, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 62120, Nov. 16, 1999; 68 FR 42995, July 21, 2003; 68 FR 66276, Nov. 25, 2003; 69 FR 77549, Dec. 27, 2004; 69 FR 77944, Dec. 29, 2004; 76 FR 17349, Mar. 29, 2011; 81 FR 90745, Dec. 15, 2015]
Effective Date Note: At 69 FR 77549, Dec. 27, 2004, §1.948(j)(2) was revised. This paragraph contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
§1.949 Application for renewal of authorization.
(a) Filing requirements. Applications for renewal of authorizations in the Wireless Radio Services must be filed no later than the expiration date of the authorization, and no sooner than 90 days prior to the expiration date. Renewal applications must be filed on the same form as applications for initial authorization in the same service, i.e., FCC Form 601 or 605.
(b) Common expiration date. Licensees with multiple authorizations in the same service may request a common date on which such authorizations expire for renewal purposes. License terms may be shortened by up to one year but will not be extended.
(c) Implementation. Covered Site-based Licenses, except Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service (part 101, subpart I, of this chapter), and Covered Geographic Licenses in the 600 MHz Service (part 27, subpart N, of this chapter); 700 MHz Commercial Services (part 27, subpart F); Advanced Wireless Services (part 27, subpart L) (AWS-3 (1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz) and AWS-4 (2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz) only); Citizens Broadband Radio Service (part 96, subpart C, of this chapter); and H Block Service (part 27, subpart K) must comply with paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section. All other Covered Geographic Licenses must comply with paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section beginning on January 1, 2023. Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service (part 101, subpart I) must comply with paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section beginning on October 1, 2018.
(d) Renewal Standard. An applicant for renewal of an authorization of a Covered Site-based License or a Covered Geographic License must demonstrate that over the course of the license term, the licensee(s) provided and continue to provide service to the public, or operated and continue to operate the license to meet the licensee(s)' private, internal communications needs.
(e) Safe harbors. An applicant for renewal will meet the Renewal Standard if it can certify that it has satisfied the requirements of one of the following safe harbors:
(1) Covered Site-based Licenses. (i) The applicant must certify that it is continuing to operate consistent with its most recently filed construction notification (or most recent authorization, when no construction notification is required).
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of service occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Site-based License.
(2) Geographic licenses—commercial service. (i) For an applicant in its initial license term with an interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its interim performance requirement and that over the portion of the license term following the interim performance requirement, the applicant continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its interim performance requirement; and the licensee has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in its initial license term with no interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in any subsequent license term, the applicant must certify that it continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of service required by its final performance requirement through the end of any subsequent license terms.
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of service occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Geographic License.
(3) Geographic licenses—private systems. (i) For an applicant in its initial license term with an interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its interim performance requirement and that over the portion of the license term following the interim performance requirement, the applicant continues to use its facilities to further the applicant's private business or public interest/public safety needs at or above the level required to meet its interim performance requirement; and the applicant has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of operation required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in its initial license term with no interim performance requirement, the applicant must certify that it has met its final performance requirement and continues to use its facilities to provide at least the level of operation required by its final performance requirement through the end of the license term. For an applicant in any subsequent license term, the applicant must certify that it continues to use its facilities to further the applicant's private business or public interest/public safety needs at or above the level required to meet its final performance requirement.
(ii) The applicant must certify that no permanent discontinuance of operation occurred during the license term. This safe harbor may be used by any Covered Geographic License.
(4) Partitioned or disaggregated license without a performance requirement. (i) The applicant must certify that it continues to use its facilities to provide service or to further the applicant's private business or public interest/public safety needs.
(f) Renewal Showing. If an applicant for renewal cannot meet the Renewal Standard in paragraph (d) of this section by satisfying the requirements of one of the safe harbors in paragraph (e) of this section, it must make a Renewal Showing, independent of its performance requirements, as a condition of renewal. The Renewal Showing must specifically address the Renewal Standard by including a detailed description of the applicant's provision of service (or, when allowed under the relevant service rules or pursuant to waiver, use of the spectrum for private, internal communication) during the entire license period and address, as applicable:
(1) The level and quality of service provided by the applicant (e.g., the population served, the area served, the number of subscribers, the services offered);
(2) The date service commenced, whether service was ever interrupted, and the duration of any interruption or outage;
(3) The extent to which service is provided to rural areas;
(4) The extent to which service is provided to qualifying tribal land as defined in §1.2110(e)(3)(i) of this chapter; and
(5) Any other factors associated with the level of service to the public.
(g) Regulatory Compliance Certification. An applicant for renewal of an authorization in the Wireless Radio Services identified in paragraph (d) of this section must make a Regulatory Compliance Certification certifying that it has substantially complied with all applicable FCC rules, policies, and the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
(h) Consequences of denial. If the Commission, or the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau acting under delegated authority, finds that a licensee has not met the Renewal Standard under paragraph (d) of this section, or that its Regulatory Compliance Certification under paragraph (g) of this section is insufficient, its renewal application will be denied, and its licensed spectrum will return automatically to the Commission for reassignment (by auction or other mechanism). In the case of certain services licensed site-by-site, the spectrum will revert automatically to the holder of the related overlay geographic-area license. To the extent that an AWS-4 licensee also holds the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) rights for the affected license area, the MSS protection rule in §27.1136 of this chapter will no longer apply in that license area.
[82 FR 41545, Sept. 1, 2017, as amended at 83 FR 63095, Dec. 7, 2018]
Effective Date Note: At 82 FR 41545, Sept. 1, 2017, §1.949 was revised. This section contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
§1.950 Geographic partitioning and spectrum disaggregation.
(a) Definitions. The terms “county and county equivalent,” “geographic partitioning,” and “spectrum disaggregation” as used in this section are defined as follows:
(1) County and county equivalent. The terms county and county equivalent as used in this part are defined by Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 6-4, which provides the names and codes that represent the counties and other entities treated as equivalent legal and/or statistical subdivisions of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions and freely associated areas of the United States. Counties are the “first-order subdivisions” of each State and statistically equivalent entity, regardless of their local designations (county, parish, borough, etc.). Thus, the following entities are equivalent to counties for legal and/or statistical purposes: The parishes of Louisiana; the boroughs and census areas of Alaska; the District of Columbia; the independent cities of Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; that part of Yellowstone National Park in Montana; and various entities in the possessions and associated areas. The FIPS codes and FIPS code documentation are available online at http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/index.htm.
(2) Geographic partitioning. Geographic partitioning is the assignment of a geographic portion of a geographic area licensee's license area.
(3) Spectrum disaggregation. Spectrum disaggregation is the assignment of portions of blocks of a geographic area licensee's spectrum.
(b) Eligibility. Covered Geographic Licenses are eligible for geographic partitioning and spectrum disaggregation.
(1) Geographic partitioning. An eligible licensee may partition any geographic portion of its license area, at any time following grant of its license, subject to the following exceptions:
(i) 220 MHz Service licensees must comply with §90.1019 of this chapter.
(ii) Cellular Radiotelephone Service licensees must comply with §22.948 of this chapter.
(iii) Multichannel Video & Distribution and Data Service licensees are only permitted to partition licensed geographic areas along county borders (Parishes in Louisiana or Territories in Alaska).
(2) Spectrum disaggregation. An eligible licensee may disaggregate spectrum in any amount, at any time following grant of its license to eligible entities, subject to the following exceptions:
(iii) VHF Public Coast (156-162 MHz) spectrum may only be disaggregated in frequency pairs, except that the ship and coast transmit frequencies comprising Channel 87 (see §80.371(c) of this chapter) may be disaggregated separately.
(iv) Disaggregation is not permitted in the Multichannel Video & Distribution and Data Service 12.2-12.7 GHz band.
(c) Filing requirements. Parties seeking approval for geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both must apply for a partial assignment of authorization by filing FCC Form 603 pursuant to §1.948. Each request for geographic partitioning must include an attachment defining the perimeter of the partitioned area by geographic coordinates to the nearest second of latitude and longitude, based upon the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83). Alternatively, applicants may specify an FCC-recognized service area (e.g., Basic Trading Area, Economic Area, Major Trading Area, Metropolitan Service Area, or Rural Service Area), county, or county equivalent, in which case, applicants need only list the specific FCC-recognized service area, county, or county equivalent names comprising the partitioned area.
(d) Relocation of incumbent licensees. Applicants for geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both must, if applicable, include a certification with their partial assignment of authorization application stating which party will meet any incumbent relocation requirements, except as otherwise stated in service-specific rules.
(e) License term. The license term for a partitioned license area or disaggregated spectrum license is the remainder of the original licensee's license term.
(f) Frequency coordination. Any existing frequency coordination agreements convey with the partial assignment of authorization for geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both, and shall remain in effect for the term of the agreement unless new agreements are reached.
(g) Performance requirements. Parties to geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both, have two options to satisfy service-specific performance requirements (i.e., construction and operation requirements). Under the first option, each party may certify that it will individually satisfy any service-specific requirements and, upon failure, must individually face any service-specific performance penalties. Under the second option, both parties may agree to share responsibility for any service-specific requirements. Upon failure to meet their shared service-specific performance requirements, both parties will be subject to any service-specific penalties.
(h) Unjust enrichment. Licensees making installment payments or that received a bidding credit, that partition their licenses or disaggregate their spectrum to entities that do not meet the eligibility standards for installment payments or bidding credits, are subject to the unjust enrichment requirements of §1.2111.
[82 FR 41546, Sept. 1, 2017]
Effective Date Note: At 82 FR 41546, Sept. 1, 2017, §1.950 was added. This section contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
§1.951 Duty to respond to official communications.
Licensees or applicants in the Wireless Radio Services receiving official notice of an apparent or actual violation of a federal statute, international agreement, Executive Order, or regulation pertaining to communications shall respond in writing within 10 days to the office of the FCC originating the notice, unless otherwise specified. Responses to official communications must be complete and self-contained without reference to other communications unless copies of such other communications are attached to the response. Licensees or applicants may respond via ULS.
[63 FR 68934, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.953 Discontinuance of service or operations.
(a) Termination of authorization. A licensee's authorization will automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, if the licensee permanently discontinues service or operations under the license during the license term. A licensee is subject to this provision commencing on the date it is required to be providing service or operating.
(b) 180-day Rule for Geographic Licenses. Permanent discontinuance of service or operations for Covered Geographic Licenses is defined as 180 consecutive days during which a licensee does not operate or, in the case of commercial mobile radio service providers, does not provide service to at least one subscriber that is not affiliated with, controlled by, or related to the licensee.
(c) 365-day Rule for Site-based Licenses. Permanent discontinuance of service or operations for Covered Site-based Licenses is defined as 365 consecutive days during which a licensee does not operate or, in the case of commercial mobile radio service providers, does not provide service to at least one subscriber that is not affiliated with, controlled by, or related to the providing carrier.
(d) 365-day Rule for public safety licenses. Permanent discontinuance of operations is defined as 365 consecutive days during which a licensee does not operate. This 365-day rule applies to public safety licenses issued based on the applicant demonstrating eligibility under §90.20 or §90.529 of this chapter, or public safety licenses issued in conjunction with a waiver pursuant to section 337 of the Communications Act.
(e) Channel keepers. Operation of channel keepers (devices that transmit test signals, tones, color bars, or some combination of these, for example) does not constitute operation or service for the purposes of this section.
(f) Filing requirements. A licensee that permanently discontinues service as defined in this section must notify the Commission of the discontinuance within 10 days by filing FCC Form 601 or 605 requesting license cancellation. An authorization will automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, if service or operations are permanently discontinued as defined in this section, even if a licensee fails to file the required form requesting license cancellation.
(g) Extension request. A licensee may file a request for a longer discontinuance period for good cause. An extension request must be filed at least 30 days before the end of the applicable 180-day or 365-day discontinuance period. The filing of an extension request will automatically extend the discontinuance period a minimum of the later of an additional 30 days or the date upon which the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau acts on the request.
[82 FR 41547, Sept. 1, 2017]
Effective Date Note: At 82 FR 41547, Sept. 1, 2017, §1.953 was added. This section contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.
§1.955 Termination of authorizations.
(a) Authorizations in general remain valid until terminated in accordance with this section, except that the Commission may revoke an authorization pursuant to section 312 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. See 47 U.S.C. 312.
(1) Expiration. Authorizations automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, on the expiration date specified therein, unless a timely application for renewal is filed. See §1.949 of this part. No authorization granted under the provisions of this part shall be for a term longer than ten years, except to the extent a longer term is authorized under §27.13 of part 27 of this chapter.
(2) Failure to meet construction or coverage requirements. Authorizations automatically terminate (in whole or in part as set forth in the service rules), without specific Commission action, if the licensee fails to meet applicable construction or coverage requirements. See §1.946(c).
(3) Service discontinued. Authorizations automatically terminate, without specific Commission action, if service or operations are permanently discontinued. See §1.953.
(b) Special temporary authority (STA) automatically terminates without specific Commission action upon failure to comply with the terms and conditions therein, or at the end of the period specified therein, unless a timely request for an extension of the STA term is filed in accordance with §1.931 of this part. If a timely filed request for extension of the STA term is dismissed or denied, the STA automatically terminates, without specific Commission action, on the day after the applicant or the applicant's attorney is notified of the Commission's action dismissing or denying the request for extension.
(c) Authorizations submitted by licensees for cancellation terminate when the Commission gives Public Notice of such action.
[63 FR 68934, Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 53240, Oct. 1, 1999; 70 FR 61058, Oct. 20, 2005; 72 FR 27708, May 16, 2007; 72 FR 48843, Aug. 24, 2007; 82 FR 41547, Sept. 1, 2017]
Editorial Note: At 64 FR 53240, Oct. 1, 1999, §1.955 was amended by revising the last sentence of paragraph (b)(2) to read “See §1.946(c) of this part.”, effective Nov. 30, 1999. However, paragraph (b)(2) does not exist in the 1998 volume.
§1.956 Settlement conferences.
Parties are encouraged to use alternative dispute resolution procedures to settle disputes. See subpart E of this part. In any contested proceeding, the Commission, in its discretion, may direct the parties or their attorneys to appear before it for a conference.
(a) The purposes of such conferences are:
(1) To obtain admissions of fact or stipulations between the parties as to any or all of the matters in controversy;
(2) To consider the necessity for or desirability of amendments to the pleadings, or of additional pleadings or evidentiary submissions;
(3) To consider simplification or narrowing of the issues;
(4) To encourage settlement of the matters in controversy by agreement between the parties; and
(5) To consider other matters that may aid in the resolution of the contested proceeding.
(b) Conferences are scheduled by the Commission at a time and place it may designate, to be conducted in person or by telephone conference call.
(c) The failure of any party or attorney, following reasonable notice, to appear at a scheduled conference will be deemed a failure to prosecute, subjecting that party's application or petition to dismissal by the Commission.
[63 FR 68935, Dec. 14, 1998]
§1.957 Procedure with respect to amateur radio operator license.
Each candidate for an amateur radio license which requires the applicant to pass one or more examination elements must present the Volunteer Examiners (VEs) with a properly completed FCC Form 605 prior to the examination. Upon completion of the examination, the VEs will grade the test papers. If the applicant is successful, the VEs will forward the candidate's application to a Volunteer-Examiner Coordinator (VEC). The VEs will then issue a certificate for sucessful completion of an amateur radio operator examination. The VEC will forward the application to the Commission's Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, facility.
§1.958 Distance computation.
The method given in this section must be used to compute the distance between any two locations, except that, for computation of distance involving stations in Canada and Mexico, methods for distance computation specified in the applicable international agreement, if any, must be used instead. The result of a distance calculation under parts 21 and 101 of this chapter must be rounded to the nearest tenth of a kilometer. The method set forth in this paragraph is considered to be sufficiently accurate for distances not exceeding 475 km (295 miles).
(a) Convert the latitudes and longitudes of each reference point from degree-minute-second format to degree-decimal format by dividing minutes by 60 and seconds by 3600, then adding the results to degrees.
(b) Calculate the mean geodetic latitude between the two reference points by averaging the two latitudes:
(c) Calculate the number of kilometers per degree latitude difference for the mean geodetic latitude calculated in paragraph (b) of this section as follows:
KPDlat = 111.13209 − 0.56605 cos 2ML + 0.00120 cos 4ML
KPDlon = 111.41513 cos ML − 0.09455 cos 3ML + 0.00012 cos 5ML
(e) Calculate the North-South distance in kilometers as follows:
NS = KPDlat × (LAT1dd − LAT2dd)
(f) Calculate the East-West distance in kilometers as follows:
EW = KPDlon × (LON1dd − LON2dd)
(g) Calculate the distance between the locations by taking the square root of the sum of the squares of the East-West and North-South distances:
(h) Terms used in this section are defined as follows:
(1) LAT1dd and LON1dd are the coordinates of the first location in degree-decimal format.
(2) LAT2dd and LON2dd are the coordinates of the second location in degree-decimal format.
(3) ML is the mean geodetic latitude in degree-decimal format.
(4) KPDlat is the number of kilometers per degree of latitude at a given mean geodetic latitude.
(5) KPDlon is the number of kilometers per degree of longitude at a given mean geodetic latitude.
(6) NS is the North-South distance in kilometers.
(7) EW is the East-West distance in kilometers.
(8) DIST is the distance between the two locations, in kilometers.
[70 FR 19306, Apr. 13, 2005, as amended at 79 FR 72150, Dec. 5, 2014]
§1.959 Computation of average terrain elevation.
Except as otherwise specified in §90.309(a)(4) of this chapter, average terrain elevation must be calculated by computer using elevations from a 30 second point or better topographic data file. The file must be identified. If a 30 second point data file is used, the elevation data must be processed for intermediate points using interpolation techniques; otherwise, the nearest point may be used. In cases of dispute, average terrain elevation determinations can also be done manually, if the results differ significantly from the computer derived averages.
(a) Radial average terrain elevation is calculated as the average of the elevation along a straight line path from 3 to 16 kilometers (2 and 10 miles) extending radially from the antenna site. If a portion of the radial path extends over foreign territory or water, such portion must not be included in the computation of average elevation unless the radial path again passes over United States land between 16 and 134 kilometers (10 and 83 miles) away from the station. At least 50 evenly spaced data points for each radial should be used in the computation.
(b) Average terrain elevation is the average of the eight radial average terrain elevations (for the eight cardinal radials).
(c) For locations in Dade and Broward Counties, Florida, the method prescribed above may be used or average terrain elevation may be assumed to be 3 meters (10 feet).
[70 FR 19306, Apr. 13, 2005]