April 22, 2020 FACT SHEET* Transitioning the 900 Mhz Band To
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April 22, 2020 FACT SHEET* Transitioning the 900 MHz Band to Enable Broadband Deployment Report and Order, Order of Proposed Modification, and Orders - WT Docket No. 17-200 Background: To meet the increasing spectrum capacity demands of a wide range of industries, including utilities, this proposed Report and Order, Order of Proposed Modification, and Orders would transform the 900 MHz band (896-901/935-940 MHz) to make available six megahertz of low-band spectrum for broadband services and technologies. What the Report and Order Would Do: • Realign the band to make available six megahertz of spectrum for broadband operations, while reserving the band’s remaining four megahertz for continued narrowband operations. • Establish a transition mechanism, based primarily on negotiations between prospective broadband licensees and narrowband incumbents, that enables these prospective broadband licensees to relocate, acquire, or protect existing incumbents in the new broadband segment. • Permit a 900 MHz broadband licensee (after license grant) to relocate mandatorily a small number of incumbents—except those with complex systems—from the new broadband segment to the narrowband segment by providing comparable facilities. • Require a broadband applicant to make an anti-windfall payment whenever it relinquishes less than six megahertz of spectrum in exchange for a six megahertz broadband license. • Address license application requirements, transition procedures, and operating and technical rules applicable to the new 900 MHz broadband license. What the Order of Proposed Modification Would Do: • Propose to modify the Association of American Railroads’ narrowband-channel nationwide ribbon license surrounding railroad rights-of-way to facilitate the 900 MHz band transition and to enable significant advancements to railroad safety. What the Orders Would Do: • Deny Enterprise Wireless Alliance’s petition for rulemaking, which requested that the Commission designate part of the 800 MHz guardband for relocation of 900 MHz narrowband channels. • Lift the freeze on 900 MHz applications so that existing licensees can relocate their narrowband operations within the narrowband segment. * This document is being released as part of a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding. Any presentations or views on the subject expressed to the Commission or its staff, including by email, must be filed in WT Docket No. 17-200, which may be accessed via the Electronic Comment Filing System (https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/). Before filing, participants should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules, including the general prohibition on presentations (written and oral) on matters listed on the Sunshine Agenda, which is typically released a week prior to the Commission’s meeting. See 47 CFR § 1.1200 et seq. Federal Communications Commission FCC-CIRC2005-01 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Review of the Commission’s Rules Governing the ) WT Docket No. 17-200 896-901/935-940 MHz Band ) REPORT AND ORDER, ORDER OF PROPOSED MODIFICATION, AND ORDERS* Adopted: [ ] Released: [ ] By the Commission: TABLE OF CONTENTS Heading Paragraph # I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 II. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................... 3 III. REPORT AND ORDER ...................................................................................................................... 20 A. Transition of 900 MHz Band to Enable Broadband Deployment .................................................. 22 1. Band Realignment to Create a 3/3 Megahertz Broadband Segment ....................................... 27 2. Transition Process ................................................................................................................... 38 3. Preventing Disruption to Railways and Order Proposing Modification .................................. 96 B. Obtaining a 900 MHz Broadband License in a County ............................................................... 108 1. License Application ............................................................................................................... 108 2. Implementation Procedures ................................................................................................... 114 C. Licensing and Operating Rules .................................................................................................... 118 1. Broadband Segment .............................................................................................................. 119 2. Narrowband Segments .......................................................................................................... 142 D. Technical Rules ............................................................................................................................ 145 1. Broadband Segment .............................................................................................................. 145 2. Narrowband Segments .......................................................................................................... 164 E. Cost-Benefit Analysis .................................................................................................................. 166 IV. ORDER DENYING EWA PETITION FOR RULEMAKING .......................................................... 172 * This document has been circulated for tentative consideration by the Commission at its May 2020 open meeting. The issues referenced in this document and the Commission’s ultimate resolution of those issues remain under consideration and subject to change. This document does not constitute any official action by the Commission. However, the Chairman has determined that, in the interest of promoting the public’s ability to understand the nature and scope of issues under consideration, the public interest would be served by making this document publicly available. The FCC’s ex parte rules apply and presentations are subject to “permit-but-disclose” ex parte rules. See, e.g., 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1206, 1.1200(a). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules, including the general prohibition on presentations (written and oral) on matters listed on the Sunshine Agenda, which is typically released a week prior to the Commission’s meeting. See 47 CFR §§ 1.1200(a), 1.1203. Federal Communications Commission FCC-CIRC2005-01 V. ORDER ANNOUNCING PARTIAL LIFTING OF FREEZE .......................................................... 175 VI. PROCEDURAL MATTERS .............................................................................................................. 177 VII.ORDERING CLAUSES ..................................................................................................................... 181 APPENDIX A – Final Rules APPENDIX B – Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis APPENDIX C – List of Commenters APPENDIX D – Spectrum Threshold Illustration APPENDIX E – License Cancellations to Facilitate AAR License Modification 2 Federal Communications Commission FCC-CIRC2005-01 I. INTRODUCTION 1. Today we realign the 900 MHz band to make available six of the band’s ten megahertz for the deployment of broadband services and technologies to meet the ever-increasing spectrum capacity demands of a wide range of industries, including utilities and railroads, and other private land mobile radio services. To effectuate this transition and create a broadband segment, we substantially rely on a negotiation-based mechanism that leverages the speed and efficiency of private agreements between interested parties with knowledge of the existing spectral and operational environment. We also recognize the need for continuity of narrowband operations, and therefore we retain four megahertz for such operations. 2. In this Report and Order, we create a regulatory framework for 900 MHz broadband licensing by establishing procedures for obtaining a broadband license and by adopting operational and technical rules to minimize harmful interference to narrowband operations. To further facilitate 900 MHz broadband opportunities while maintaining narrowband operations, we also issue an Order of Proposed Modification regarding the 900 MHz nationwide ribbon license held by the Association of American Railroads, and we announce a partial lifting of the 900 MHz application freeze to allow applications for relocation under certain conditions. II. BACKGROUND 3. The 900 MHz band (896-901/935-940 MHz) currently is designated for narrowband land mobile radio communications by Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) Pool licensees and Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) providers.1 The band consists of 399 narrowband (12.5 kilohertz) frequency pairs grouped into 10-channel blocks that alternate between SMR blocks that are site-based or geographically licensed by Major Trading Area2 and B/ILT blocks in which channels are assigned on a site-by-site basis.3 4. The 900 MHz band is situated immediately above spectrum that is divided between the commercial Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service, which uses the 894-896 MHz segment as the downlink for high-speed communications services to the public onboard aircraft,4 and common carrier and private fixed point-to-point links in the 932.5-935 MHz segment.5 The 900 MHz band is immediately