Courtesy: TR Daily

The Policy and Licensing Division of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau today granted relief sought by the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) related to T-band licenses.

An order in files 0008483760 et al., 0008485258, and 0008306279 et al. addressed LA-RICS requests seeking a waiver “to extend the construction completion date for multiple licenses in the 470-512 MHz band (T-Band) that are to be integrated into the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS).”

The order acted on (1) “[a] request for extension of time to construct 78 licenses from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2020, amended by a request for a further extension until December 31, 2022;” (2) “[a] request for waiver of section 90.155(g) of the Commission’s rules to allow acceptance of a late-filed construction extension request for call sign WQXE728;” and (3) “[t]en applications to modify various technical parameters for ten licenses (a subset of the 78 licenses referenced above), and a request for an extended implementation deadline of September 20, 2022 to complete the proposed modifications.

“For the reasons discussed below, we grant the County’s extension requests associated with the applications listed in Appendix A. We also grant the request for waiver to accept the untimely-filed extension request for call sign WQXE728. Finally, we grant the request for modification and extended implementation with respect to the licenses listed in Appendix B, but on our own motion, we extend the implementation deadline until December 31, 2022 in order to establish a uniform expiration date for all the licenses at issue,” the order said. —Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

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Courtesy: TR Daily

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and Motorola Solutions, Inc., have filed comments opposing a request filed by GoGo Business Aviation LLC for a waiver of the FCC’s rules governing the effective radiated power (ERP) limits for air-to-ground operations in the 849-851 megahertz and 894-896 MHz bands (TR Daily, May 27 and July 7), citing, among other things, the potential for interference to nearby public safety operations.

The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau observed in a public notice released in WT docket 21-282 that GoGo “seeks relief from the rule to permit measurement of the maximum average power for the current ERP limit, rather than the current peak power measurement specified in the rule. GoGo BA states that a waiver is necessary to permit a transition to its next generation system using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Technology (OFDM) that will improve throughput, coverage, and reliability for inflight connectivity to aircraft in the U.S and Canada,” and that adherence to the rule “would unnecessarily hamper the service being delivered with no discernable reduction in harmful interference risk for co-channel or adjacent band operators.”

“The Gogo BA ATG ground based transmitters operate at 849-851 MHz, directly adjacent to public safety operations at 851-854 MHz, with no intervening guard band. Grant of its waiver would result in increased power and deployment of OFDM technology with a greater propensity for out-of-band emissions than that of Gogo BA’s current technology,” NPSTC said in its comments.

“However, Gogo BA has ignored the risk of increased interference to public safety communications and therefore has failed to demonstrate that there is a stronger public interest benefit in granting the waiver than in applying the current rule. NPSTC believes it would be more prudent for the Commission to consider the Gogo request through a rulemaking proceeding in which it can more fully examine the potential interference impact to public safety operations,” NPSTC added. “If the Commission authorizes the Gogo request through either waiver or rulemaking, and interference to public safety operations occurs, Gogo BA should be required to shut down the offending base station(s) immediately until other steps, if any, can be taken to eliminate the interference.”

Motorola asked the FCC “to deny Gogo BA’s Request for Waiver, which broadly fails to meet the legal requirements for waiver of the Commission’s rules. Of note, the Commission may waive a rule if special circumstances warrant a deviation from the general rule and if that nonconformity to the rule would serve the public interest. In this case, Gogo BA’s Request for Waiver has neglected to demonstrate how it would advance the public interest and fails to provide sufficient information required to determine potential impacts on adjacent band operations. Specifically, Gogo BA requests increases in power and changes in waveforms that are not defined, unsubstantiated as to impact upon adjacent services, and have no basis in previous use under the specific circumstances stipulated by the Request for Waiver. Therefore, it is imperative that the Commission deny the Gogo BA Request for Waiver as contrary to its rules and the public interest.”

The company added, “The Waiver Request improperly suggests that the adjacent service that Gogo BA needs to protect is that of another broadband service, the newly created 900 MHz broadband allocation at 936.5-939.5 MHz. However, the adjacent service that will encounter the brunt of any increased out-of-band emissions (‘OOBE’) created by the proposed Gogo BA Request for Waiver is the narrowband sub-allocation operating in the 935-936.5 MHz band; paired with 896.0-897.5 MHz.” —Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

FederalNews FCC SpectrumAllocation

The FCC will host a webinar on August 3, at 2 p.m. ET to provide additional information about the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program. The event will highlight some of the most frequently asked questions and address some common misconceptions about the program.  The free virtual webinar will be live streamed on fcc.gov/live and does not require registration.   

During, or in advance of this event, questions can be submitted by sending an email to ECFwebinar@fcc.gov.  The webinar will be recorded and available on the FCC’s website following the event. 

In addition to the webinar, there are a number of resources available to applicants:

• You can find more information about the program on the Emergency Connectivity Fund website. 
• You can review responses to other frequently asked questions, which may not be addressed in the webinar, on the FCC’s FAQs page. 
• You can access resources from past trainings and information about future trainings, or register to attend one of the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) weekly office hours by visiting:https://www.emergencyconnectivityfund.org/training/live-sessions/. 
• You can contact the Universal Service Administrative Company’s (USAC) Emergency Connectivity Fund Customer Service Support Center at (800) 234-9781, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. 

As a reminder, the first application filing window for the ECF Program closes on August 13, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET.  This Application Overview is also available to guide you through the application process.

To help spread the word about this unique emergency funding opportunity for schools and libraries, the FCC has also added new social media posts and images, an updated video, and a flyer that can be shared with your networks.   

About the Emergency Connectivity Fund 

The Emergency Connectivity Fund is a $7.17 billion program that will help schools and libraries provide the tools and services their communities need for remote learning during the COVID-19 emergency period.   From June 29 to August 13, 2021, eligible schools and libraries can apply for financial support to purchase connected devices like laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connectivity received or delivered between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 to meet unmet needs for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons during the COVID-19 emergency period.