65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, unless otherwise noted.
This subpart sets out the regulations governing the licensing and operation of Multiple Address Systems (MAS). The rules in this subpart are to be used in conjunction with applicable requirements contained elsewhere in the Commission's rules, such as those requirements contained in parts 1 and 22 of this chapter.
Authorizations for stations in this service will be granted in cases where it is shown that:
(a) The applicant is legally, financially, technically and otherwise qualified to render the proposed service;
(b) There are frequencies available to enable the applicant to render a satisfactory service; and
(c) The public interest, convenience or necessity would be served by a grant thereof.
A private internal service is a service where entities utilize frequencies purely for internal business purposes or public safety communications and not on a for-hire or for-profit basis.
MAS users may engage in terrestrial point-to-point and point-to-multi-point fixed and limited mobile operations.
[66 FR 35111, July 3, 2001]
(a) The Commission will rely on each applicant to specify on FCC Form 601 the type of service or services it intends to provide. Each application for authorization in the bands designated for private internal use must include a certification stating why the application satisfies the definition of private internal use.
(b) Any interested party may challenge the regulatory status granted an MAS licensee.
(a) Winning bidders must file an application (FCC Form 601) for an initial authorization in each market and frequency block.
(b) Blanket licenses are granted for each market and frequency block. Applications for individual sites are not required and will not be accepted, except as specified in § 101.1329.
The license term for stations authorized under this subpart is ten years from the date of original issuance or renewal.
In the frequency bands not licensed on a site-by-site basis, the geographic service areas for MAS are Economic Areas (EAs) which are defined by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis, as modified by the Commission. The EAs will consist of 176 areas, which includes Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Gulf of Mexico.
[66 FR 35111, July 3, 2001]
Mutually exclusive initial applications for licenses in the portions of the MAS bands licensed on a geographic area basis are subject to competitive bidding procedures. The general competitive bidding procedures set forth in part 1, subpart Q of this chapter will apply unless otherwise provided in this subpart.
[67 FR 46380, July 9, 2002]
For the purpose of establishing eligibility requirements and bidding credits for competitive bidding for MAS licenses, pursuant to § 1.2110 of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a) Eligibility for small business provisions.
(1) A small business is an entity that, together with its affiliates and persons or entities that hold interests in such entity and their affiliates, has average gross revenues for the preceding three years not to exceed $15 million, as determined pursuant to § 1.2110 of this chapter.
(2) A very small business is an entity that, together with its affiliates and persons or entities that hold interests in such entity and their affiliates, has average gross revenues for the preceding three years not to exceed $3 million, as determined pursuant to § 1.2110 of this chapter.
(b) Bidding credits. A winning bidder that qualifies as a small business, as defined in this section, or a consortium of small businesses, may use the bidding credit specified in § 1.2110(f)(2)(ii) of this chapter. A winning bidder that qualifies as a very small business, as defined in this section, or a consortium of very small businesses, may use the bidding credit specified in § 1.2110(f)(2)(i) of this chapter.
[65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, as amended at 67 FR 46380, July 9, 2002]
(a) An MAS system license acquired through competitive bidding procedures (including licenses obtained in cases of no mutual exclusivity), together with all appurtenances may be transferred, assigned, sold, or given away only in accordance with the provisions and procedures set forth in § 1.2111 of this chapter.
(b) An MAS system license obtained through site-based licensing procedures, together with all appurtenances may be transferred, assigned, sold, or given away, to any other entity in accordance with the provisions and procedures set forth in § 1.948 of this chapter.
(a) Eligibility.
(1) Parties seeking approval for partitioning and disaggregation shall request from the Commission an authorization for partial assignment of license. Geographic area licensees may participate in aggregation, disaggregation, and partitioning within the bands licensed on a geographic area basis. Site-based licensees may aggregate spectrum in any MAS bands, but may not disaggregate their licensed spectrum or partition their licensed sites.
(2) Eligible MAS licensees may apply to the Commission to partition their licensed geographic service areas to eligible entities and are free to determine the portion of their service areas to be partitioned. Eligible MAS licensees may aggregate or disaggregate their licensed spectrum at any time following the grant of a license.
(b) Technical standards —
(1) Aggregation.
(i) There is no limitation on the amount of spectrum that an MAS licensee may aggregate.
(ii) Spectrum licensed to MAS licensees does not count toward the CMRS spectrum cap discussed in § 20.6 of this chapter.
(2) Disaggregation. Spectrum may be disaggregated in any amount. A licensee need not retain a minimum amount of spectrum.
(3) Partitioning. In the case of partitioning, applicants and licensees must file FCC Form 603 pursuant to § 1.948 of this chapter and list the partitioned service area on a schedule to the application. The geographic coordinates must be specified in degrees, minutes, and seconds to the nearest second of latitude and longitude, and must be based upon the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83).
(4) Combined partitioning and disaggregation. The Commission will consider requests from geographic area licensees for partial assignment of licenses that propose combinations of partitioning and disaggregation.
(c) Construction requirements. Responsible parties must submit supporting documents showing compliance with the respective construction requirements within the appropriate construction benchmarks set forth in § 101.1325.
(d) License term. The license term for a partitioned license area and for disaggregated spectrum shall be the remainder of the original licensee's license term as provided for in § 101.1313.
[65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, as amended at 67 FR 45380, July 9, 2002; 82 FR 41549, Sept. 1, 2017]
(a) Incumbent and site-based licenses are subject to the construction requirements set forth in § 101.63.
(b) Each MAS EA licensee must provide service to at least one-fifth of the population in its service area or “substantial service” within five years of the license grant. In addition, MAS EA licensees must make a showing of continued “substantial service” within ten years of the license grant. Licensees must file maps and other supporting documents showing compliance with the respective construction requirements within the appropriate five- and ten-year benchmarks of the date of their initial licenses.
(c) Failure by any licensee to meet these requirements will result in forfeiture or non-renewal of the initial license, and the licensee will be ineligible to regain it.
[65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 4961, Jan. 31, 2003]
EA licensees may construct master and remote stations anywhere inside the area authorized in their licenses, without prior approval, so long as the Commission's technical and other Rules are complied with, except that individual licenses are required for any master station that:
(a) Requires the submission of an environmental assessment under § 1.1307 of this chapter;
(b) Requires international coordination; or
(c) The station would affect areas identified in § 1.924 of this chapter.
[65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, as amended at 69 FR 17959, Apr. 6, 2004]
(a) Any MAS station licensed by the Commission prior to July 1, 1999 in the 928.0-928.85 MHz/952.0-952.85 MHz/956.25-956.45 MHz and 928.85-929.0 MHz/959.85-960.0 MHz bands, as well as assignments or transfers of such stations approved by the Commission and consummated as of January 19, 2000, shall be considered incumbent.
(b) Incumbent operators in the 928.0-928.85 MHz/952.0-952.85 MHz/956.25-956.45 MHz bands are grandfathered as of January 19, 2000, and may continue to operate and expand their systems pursuant to the interference protection and co-channel spacing criteria contained in § 101.105.
(1) MAS operators are prohibited from acquiring additional frequencies in the 928.0-928.85 MHz/952.0-952.85 MHz/956.25-956.45 MHz bands and the 932.25625-932.49375 MHz/941.25625-941.49375 MHz bands for the purpose of expanding private carrier service and from changing the use of their frequencies in any manner that is inconsistent with this part. Refer to § 101.147 for designated uses.
(2) Incumbent operators in the 928.0-928.85 MHz/952.0-952.85 MHz/956.25-956.45 MHz bands will include incumbents as defined in § 101.1331(a), as well as, their transferees and/or assignees and the successors of the transferees and/or assignees and retain their grandfathered status, provided that the use of the MAS frequencies remains unchanged from that of the transferor and/or assignor of the license.
(c) Incumbent operators in the 928.85-929.0/959.85-960.0 MHz bands are grandfathered as of January 19, 2000, and may expand their systems provided that the signal level of the additional transmitter(s) does not increase the composite contour that occurs at a 40.2 kilometer (25-mile) radius from the center of each master station transmitter site. Incumbent operators and geographic area licensees may negotiate alternative criteria.
(d) The frequencies associated with incumbent authorizations in the 928/959 MHz bands that have cancelled automatically or otherwise been recovered by the Commission will automatically revert to the applicable EA licensee.
(e) The frequencies associated with incumbent authorizations in the 928/952/956 MHz bands that have cancelled automatically will revert to the Commission.
[65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 35111, July 3, 2001]
(a) Frequency coordination. All EA licensees are required to coordinate their frequency usage with co-channel adjacent area licensees and all other affected parties.
(b) EA licensees are prohibited from exceeding a signal strength of 40 dBµV/m at their service area boundaries, unless a higher signal strength is agreed to by all affected co-channel, adjacent area licensees.
(c) EA licensees are prohibited from exceeding a signal strength of 40 dBµV/m at incumbent licensees' 40.2 kilometer (25-mile) radius composite contour specified in § 101.1331(c).
(d) In general, licensees shall comply with the appropriate coordination agreements between the United States and Canada and the United States and Mexico concerning cross-border sharing and use of the applicable MAS frequencies.
(1) Canada—932.0-932.25 MHz and 941.0-941.25 MHz.
(i) Within Lines A, B, C, and D, as defined in § 1.928(e) of this chapter, along the U.S./Canada border, U.S. stations operating in the 932.0-932.25 MHz and 941.0-941.25 MHz bands are on a secondary basis and may operate provided that they shall not transmit a power flux density (PFD) at the border greater than −100 dBW/m2 nor −94 dBW/m2, respectively. The U.S. has full use of the frequencies in these regions up to the border in the bands 932.25-932.50 MHz and 941.25-941.50 MHz, and Canadian stations may operate on a secondary basis provided they do not exceed the respective PFDs shown above. PFD can be determined using the following formula: PFD (dBW/m2) = 10 log [EIRP/4π(D2], where EIRP is in watts, D is in meters, and the power is relative to an isotropic radiator. The technical parameters are also limited by tables 1 and 2:
Table 1—Maximum Radiated Power
| Class of station | Band MHz | Maximum EIRP | Maximum ERP1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watts | dBW | Watts | dBW | ||
| Master | 941.0-941.5 | 1000 | 30 | 600 | 27.8 |
| Fixed Remote and Master | 932.0-932.5 | 50 | 17 | 30 | 14.8 |
(ii) Maximum antenna height above average terrain for master stations operating at a maximum power shall not exceed 150 meters. Above 150 meters, the power of master stations shall be in accordance with following table:
Table 2—Antenna Height—Power Reduction Table
| Antenna height above average terrain (meters) | EIRP | ERP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watts | dBW | Watts | dBW | |
| Above 305 | 200 | 23 | 120 | 20.8 |
| Above 275 to 305 | 250 | 24 | 150 | 21.8 |
| Above 245 to 275 | 315 | 25 | 190 | 22.8 |
| Above 215 to 245 | 400 | 26 | 240 | 23.8 |
| Above 180 to 215 | 500 | 27 | 300 | 24.8 |
| Above 150 to 180 | 630 | 28 | 380 | 25.8 |
This information is from the Arrangement between the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the United States of America, and Industry Canada concerning the use of the bands 932 to 935 MHz and 941 to 944 MHz along the United States-Canada border signed in 1994. This agreement also lists grandfathered stations that must be protected.
(2) Canada—928-929 MHz and 952-960 MHz. Between Lines A and B and between Lines C and D, as defined in § 1.928(e) of this chapter, along the U.S./Canada border, U.S. stations operating in the 928.50-928.75 MHz and 952.50-952.75 MHz bands are on an unprotected basis and may operate provided that they shall not transmit a power flux density (PFD) at or beyond the border greater than −100 dBW/m2. The U.S. has full use of the frequencies in these regions up to the border in the bands 928.25-928.50 MHz and 952.25-952.50 MHz, and Canadian stations may operate on an unprotected basis provided they do not exceed the PFD above. Frequencies in the bands 928.00-928.25 MHz, 928.75-929.00 MHz, 952.00-952.25 MHz, and 952.75-952.85 MHz are available for use on a coordinated, first-in-time, shared basis subject to protecting grandfathered stations. New stations must provide a minimum of 145 km (90 miles) separation or alternatively limit the actual PFD of the proposed station to −100 dBW/m2, at the existing co-channel master stations of the other country, or as mutually agreed upon on a case-by-case basis. Coordination is not required if the PFD at the border is lower than −100 dBW/m2. The technical criteria are also limited by the following:
Maximum EIRP for master stations in the MHz band: 1000 watts (30 dBW) 952-953
Maximum EIRP for fixed remote stations or stations in the 928-929 MHz band: 50 watts (17 dBW) master
Maximum EIRP for mobile master stations: 25 watts (14 dBW)
Maximum antenna height above average master or control stations: 152 m at 1000 watts terrain for EIRP, power derated in accordance with the following table:
| Antenna height above average terrain (m) |
EIRP | |
|---|---|---|
| Watts | dBm | |
| Above 305 | 200 | 53 |
| Above 275 to 305 | 250 | 54 |
| Above 244 to 274 | 315 | 55 |
| Above 214 to 243 | 400 | 56 |
| Above 183 to 213 | 500 | 57 |
| Above 153 to 182 | 630 | 58 |
| Below 152 | 1000 | 60 |
This information is from the Arrangement between the Department of Communications of Canada and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America Concerning the Use of the Bands 928 to 929 MHz and 952 to 953 MHz along the United States-Canada Border signed in 1991. This agreement also lists grandfathered stations that must be protected.
(3) Mexico. Within 113 kilometers of the U.S./Mexico border, U.S. stations operating in the 932.0-932.25 MHz and 941.0-941.25 MHz bands are on a secondary basis (non-interference to Mexican primary licensees) and may operate provided that they shall not transmit a power flux density (PFD) at or beyond the border greater than −100 dBW/m2. Upon notification from the Commission, U.S. licensees must take proper measures to eliminate any harmful interference caused to Mexican primary assignments. The U.S. has full use of the frequencies in these regions up to the border in the bands 932.25-932.50 MHz and 941.25-941.50 MHz, and Mexican stations may operate on a secondary basis (non-interference to U.S. primary licensees) provided they do not exceed the PFD shown above. Stations using the 932-932.5 MHz band shall be limited to the maximum effective isotropic radiated power of 50 watts (17 dBW). Stations using the 941-941.5 MHz band shall meet the limits in the following table:
| Antenna height above average mean sea level (meters) |
EIRP | |
|---|---|---|
| Watts | dBW | |
| Above 305 | 200 | 23 |
| Above 274 to 305 | 250 | 24 |
| Above 243 to 274 | 315 | 25 |
| Above 213 to 243 | 400 | 26 |
| Above 182 to 213 | 500 | 27 |
| Above 152 to 182 | 630 | 28 |
| Up to 152 | 1000 | 30 |
This information is from the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Mexican States Concerning the Allocation and Use of Frequency Bands by Terrestrial Non-Broadcasting Radiocommunication Services Along the Common Border, Protocol #6 Concerning the Allotment and Use of Channels in the 932-932.5 and 941-941.5 MHz Bands for Fixed Point-to-Multipoint Services Along the Common Border signed in 1994.
[65 FR 17450, Apr. 3, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 4961, Jan. 31, 2003]