NEWSReport No. MM 97-16 MASS MEDIA ACTION October 10, 1997 COMMISSION SEEKS COMMENT ON AMENDMENTS TO PARTS 21 AND 74 OF THE RULES TO ENHANCE THE ABILITY OF MULTIPOINT DISTRIBUTION SERVICE AND INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION FIXED SERVICE LICENSEES TO ENGAGE IN FIXED TWO-WAY TRANSMISSIONS (MM DOCKET 97-217) The Commission today issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making seeking comment on proposed amendments to Parts 21 and 74 of its rules to enable Multipoint Distribution Service ("MDS") and Instructional Television Fixed Service ("ITFS") licensees to engage in fixed two way transmissions. The Notice is in response to a petition filed by over 100 participants in the wireless cable industry ("Petitioners") and proposes to adopt a system under which MDS and ITFS licensees would be permitted to utilize all or part of a 6 MHz channel for return path transmissions from subscriber premises, to cellularize their transmission systems to take advantage of spectrally efficient frequency reuse techniques, and to employ configurations involving bandwidths either larger or smaller than 6 MHz, all while providing incumbent MDS and ITFS licensees interference protection equivalent to what they currently receive. The Notice contemplates no changes to the basic eligibility requirements or responsibilities of ITFS licensees and no changes to the rules governing the preferences between mutually exclusive ITFS applicants and MDS applicants for vacant ITFS frequencies. The Commission proposes changes to MDS and ITFS service definitions to reflect the reorientation of the regulatory approach from that of an essentially one-way service to a flexible service. The Notice proposes to amend the definition of a "response station" to indicate that licensees may use all or part of any of their 6 MHz channels as a response channel. Response stations would be the means of transmission from a subscriber's premises, and could use combined transmitting/receiving antennas. The concept of a response station hub is proposed, and these hubs would serve as the collection points for upstream signals from response stations. The Notice further proposes to amend the definition for "signal booster stations" to allow such stations to originate transmissions. Subchannelization would be permitted to allow more efficient channel reuse within a given service area, and super- channelization would be allowed and could be used for high speed data transmission. The Notice solicits comment on proposals to permit the 125 kHz channels in this band to be used for point-to-multipoint transmissions, and to remove existing requirements that each of these channels be used solely in conjunction with a specifically associated 6 MHz channel. The Notice also proposes to permanently incorporate into the Rules the out-of-band emission (spectral mask) waiver provisions of last year's wireless cable Digital Declaratory Ruling, 11 FCC Rcd 18839 (1996), although with certain modifications. Petitioners proposed an application processing scheme, governing the filing of applications for new or modified response station hubs or boosters, that would substantially shift review of applications from Commission staff and leave much of the resolution of interference issues to be worked out among licensees. The Commission seeks comment on the feasibility of adopting a rolling, one-day filing window system. The Notice anticipates a "comment period" of 60 or 120 days after which applications would be processed pursuant to current procedures. The Notice also solicits comment on what the result should be where mutually exclusive same-day filers cannot resolve their differences, and whether these processes should be utilized for applications for new ITFS stations. In addition, an initial one-week filing window is contemplated, where all applications filed during it would be deemed to have been filed on the same day. The Notice further solicits comment on ways to make information on actual system operating parameters available to applicants who need such information for analysis of the interference environment, and to allow MDS licensees to freely switch between offering common carrier and non-common-carrier service. The Notice tentatively rejects an automatic grant procedure proposed by Petitioners. The Notice also seeks comment on whether, and if so, how, to change ITFS programming requirements in light of the use of digital technology. In addition, because contiguous channels and entire ITFS channel groups may need to be devoted to return paths for purposes of spectrum efficiency, the Notice proposes to allow ITFS licensees, at their sole discretion, to satisfy some or all of their minimum ITFS programming requirements on other channels in the wireless cable system of which their stations are part. The Notice seeks suggestions on ways to provide maximum flexibility in usage of ITFS channels while ensuring that capacity is reserved for downstream ITFS programming, poses the question of whether solutions should be established by rule or by contract and what role the Commission or other third parties should play in reviewing excess capacity lease agreements, and emphasizes that cellularization by ITFS licensees would be permissive only, and not mandatory. The Notice also revisits the Commission's channel loading rules, as promised in the ITFS Channel Loading Order, 9 FCC Rcd 3360 (1994), and proposes to retain them. Comments on the Commission's Notice of Proposed Rule making are due December 9, 1997 and reply comments are due January 8, 1998. Action by the Commission October 8, 1997 by Notice of Proposed Rule Making (FCC 97-360). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Ness and Chong. -FCC- Mass Media Bureau Contacts: Charles Dziedzic and Dave Roberts at (202) 418-1600 and Michael Jacobs at (202) 418-7066.