Report No. WT 97-15 WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACTION March 31, 1997 FCC ACTS ON PETITIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE REPORT AND ORDER AND ON REQUEST FOR STAY OF APRIL 15th WCS AUCTION (GN DOCKET NO. 96-228) The FCC has adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order amending certain of its rules in response to two petitions for expedited reconsideration of its Report and Order in GN Docket No. 96-228, which established the Wireless Communications Service ("WCS") in the 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz bands. Concurrently, the Commission has denied an Emergency Motion for Stay of the WCS auction, which is scheduled to begin on April 15, 1997. In response to concerns raised by the Wireless Cable Association International, Inc. ("WCA") in a petition for expedited reconsideration filed March 10, 1997, the Commission is amending certain of its rules to (1) set limits on WCS operating power, and (2) require that, for a limited time, WCS licensees assume responsibility under certain circumstances for interference they may cause to Multipoint Distribution Service ("MDS") or Instructional Television Fixed Service ("ITFS") operations. WCS fixed and land stations will be limited to 2,000 watts peak EIRP and WCS mobile stations to 20 watts EIRP. WCS licensees also will bear full financial obligation to remedy interference to MDS/ITFS block downconverters if all of the following conditions are met: (1) the complaint of interference is received by the WCS licensee prior to February 20, 2002; (2) the MDS/ITFS downconverter was installed prior to August 20, 1998; (3) the WCS operation transmits at 50 or more watts peak EIRP; (4) the MDS/ITFS downconverter is located within a WCS transmitter's power flux density contour of 34 dBW/m2; and (5) the MDS/ITFS customer or licensee has informed the WCS licensee of the interference within one year from the initial operation of the WCS transmitter or within one year from any subsequent power increase at the WCS station. If the WCS licensee cannot otherwise promptly eliminate interference caused to MDS/ITFS reception, then that licensee would be required to cease operations from the offending WCS facility. - 2 - The Commission also will require WCS licensees to notify potentially affected MDS/ITFS licensees, at least 30 days before commencing operations from any new WCS transmission site or increasing power from an existing site, of the technical parameters of the WCS transmission facility. The Commission expressed its belief that, if the WCS licensees and the MDS and ITFS licensees coordinate voluntarily, WCS transmission facilities can generally be located in a manner to avoid causing interference to MDS/ITFS receivers. The Commission also stated its expectation that WCS and MDS/ITFS licensees will coordinate voluntarily and in good faith to avoid interference problems and to allow the greatest operational flexibility in each other's operations. In addressing the issues raised in a petition for expedited reconsideration filed March 11, 1997, by the PACS Providers Forum and DigiVox Corporation, the Commission, though reaffirming the original out-of-band emission limits adopted in the Report and Order as generally appropriate across the broad range of flexible WCS systems and uses, adopted an alternative, less stringent out-of-band emission limit for portable WCS transmitters in the 2305- 2315 MHz band (the lower portions of WCS Blocks A and B) that meet specific power, duty cycle and other technical restrictions. Accordingly, the Commission will require WCS systems that operate in accordance with specific operating restrictions to reduce their emissions in the 2320-2345 MHz band by not less than 80 + 10 log (p) dB for fixed operations (the same as adopted in the Report and Order) and 93 + 10 log (p) dB for portable operations, where p is the transmitter power in watts. While this is considerably more permissive than the limit for WCS mobile operations that we adopted in the Report and Order, we believe that the specific operating restrictions which licensees must meet to qualify for less stringent treatment will limit the potential for such a system to interfere with DARS to a reasonable level generally equivalent to that provided by the stricter limits for more general WCS operations. The Commission cautioned prospective WCS licensees to consider carefully whether their anticipated uses and business plans can be successfully implemented under the additional technical and operational restrictions necessary to qualify for the less stringent out-of-band emission limit. In particular, the Commission stated that wide-area, full mobility systems and services such as those being provided or anticipated in the cellular and PCS bands are likely to be of questionable feasibility under either the alternative restrictions or the general out-of-band emission limits. In an Order denying WCA's Emergency Motion for Stay of the WCS auction, the Commission determined that, because the April 15, 1997 date for commencement of competitive bidding was set by statute, the Commission does not have the authority to defer this date. - 3 - Actions by the Commission March 31, 1997, by Memorandum Opinion and Order (FCC 97-112) (Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello and Ness with Commissioner Chong approving in part and dissenting in part. Commissioners Quello, Ness and Chong issuing separate statements.); and by Order (FCC 97-111) (Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Ness and Chong). - FCC - News Media contact: Audrey Spivack at (202) 418-0654 Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact: Jonathan Cohen at (202) 418-0600 Office of Engineering and Technology contacts: Charles Iseman at (202) 418-2444 and Tom Mooring at (202) 418-2450 International Bureau contact: Steve Sharkey at (202) 418-7280 Mass Media Bureau contact: Keith Larson at (202) 418-2600