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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
LoJack Corporation )
)
Request for Waiver of Section 90.20(e)(6) )
of the Commission's Rules )
ORDER
Adopted: August 28, 2000 Released: August 31, 2000
By the Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:
I.INTRODUCTION
1. LoJack Corporation (LoJack) seeks a waiver (Waiver Request) to allow it to use a duty
cycle that is not permitted under Section 90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules. Contemporaneous
with the submission of the Waiver Request, LoJack filed a petition for rulemaking (Petition for
Rulemaking) seeking to change the duty cycle limit set forth in Section 90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's
Rules. The Waiver Request was placed on public notice on February 29, 2000. LoJack states that
grant of its requested waiver would be subject to the Commission's disposition of the pending Petition
for Rulemaking to revise the duty cycle limits. For the reasons set forth below, we grant the Waiver
Request subject to the Commission's decision regarding the Petition for Rulemaking and any
proceeding that the Commission commences thereunder.
II.BACKGROUND
2. LoJack operates a stolen vehicle recovery system (SVRS) with state and local police
departments across the nation. The system aids in the tracking and recovery of stolen vehicles.
Section 90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules designates frequency 173.075 MHz for SVRS use, and
sets forth certain technical parameters. For example, mobile units are restricted to a duty cycle of
no more than 200 milliseconds every ten seconds, or 200 milliseconds every second when a vehicle is
being tracked actively. The Waiver Request seeks a waiver of Section 90.20(e)(6), to permit LoJack
to utilize a duty cycle of 1800 milliseconds every 300 seconds when the system is activated by
unauthorized movement, with a maximum of six messages per mobile unit in any thirty-minute period.
3. LoJack states that this change is needed to enable it to incorporate an "uplink" (i.e., mobile
unit to base station) transmission path. This path would be used to incorporate an early warning
feature to minimize the lag time between a vehicle's theft and the time that the theft is discovered and
reported to the police. The uplink transmission would also be used to acknowledge base station
instruction messages, which would reduce the number of base station transmissions.
III.DISCUSSION
4. Section 1.925 of the Commission's Rules requires a party seeking waiver of specific rule
requirements to demonstrate either that (a) the underlying purpose of the rule will not be served or
would be frustrated by application to the instant case, and that a grant of the waiver is in the public
interest; or (b) in view of the unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application
of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or otherwise contrary to the public interest,
or the applicant has no reasonable alternative. As discussed below, we conclude that LoJack has
made a sufficient showing that grant of the waiver is warranted under the circumstances presented.
5. The underlying purpose of Section 90.20(e)(6) is to protect the public safety through
enhanced police performance in recovering stolen vehicles, while minimizing the potential for
harmful interference to broadcasting operations on television (TV) Channel 7. When the
Commission authorized use of 173.075 MHz for stolen vehicle recovery systems in 1988, it recognized
the need for such a system due to the growing instances of vehicle theft and the danger which such
theft posed to police and the general public. With respect to the potential interference to Channel
7 broadcasters, the Commission noted the short duration of the SVRS transmissions and that the risk
of interference to Channel 7 operations could be made minimal. The Commission found that the key
to "the prevention of interference with broadcast operations requires careful planning of the location
of the stolen vehicle recovery system base station transmitters" and, thus, required the applicant to
perform an analysis of potential interference to Channel 7 viewers.
6. Based on the information before us, we conclude that the underlying purpose of Section
90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules would be frustrated by application to the instant case. LoJack's
proposed alternative duty cycle reflects technological and market developments since the duty cycle
limits were established in 1988. The new technology requires a duty cycle of 1800 milliseconds every
300 seconds in order to create an uplink transmission from the mobile unit to the base station when
the system is activated by unauthorized movement. Compared with LoJack's existing operation, the
new technology facilitates more efficient police performance, a greater stolen vehicle recovery rate,
and a greater rate of apprehension of criminals. The waiver sought by LoJack is for the mobile unit
duty cycle only and does not affect either the frequency (173.075 MHz) or the power limits (2.5 watts
for mobile transmission and 300 watts for base station transmission). Under the proposed operation,
mobile unit transmissions would be significantly fewer in number (from a maximum of once every ten
seconds and once every second while a vehicle is being tracked actively to a maximum of six
messages in any thirty-minute period), albeit greater in length. In addition, fewer base station
transmissions will be needed. Thus, the new technology actually furthers the underlying purpose of
the rule by enhancing police performance in the recovery of stolen vehicles without increasing the risk
of interference to TV Channel 7 broadcast operations.
7. Cosmos Broadcasting Corp. (Cosmos), a TV Channel 7 broadcaster, initially opposed the
Waiver Request on the grounds that the information provided was insufficient to draw a reasonable
conclusion about the impact of LoJack's proposal on digital television (DTV) stations. LoJack
subsequently provided Cosmos with an engineering analysis, which concludes that harm to DTV
operations is unlikely to result from LoJack's proposed operation and that the interference potential
of the LoJack signal to Channel 7 reception will be greatly reduced when DTV transmission replaces
the current NTSC transmission standard. Based on the engineering analysis, Cosmos withdrew its
objection, provided that the waiver is granted subject to the following conditions: a prohibition on
interference with broadcast television reception; a notification to each potentially effected broadcaster
(within an affected region) and the Commission fifteen days prior to modified operation; and an
agreement by LoJack that the costs of implementation for such modified operation, and any impact
of termination of the waiver on LoJack or its subscribers, will not be factors considered in any future
proceeding to amend the Commission's Rules. We are persuaded by LoJack's engineering analysis
that use of the new technology will not increase, and in fact may possibly lower, potential for
interference to broadcasting operations on TV Channel 7 or otherwise adversely affect such
operations. Thus, we believe that allowing LoJack to employ an uplink transmission path in its
network will further enhance law enforcement efforts in recovering stolen vehicles and further
minimize the interference potential to TV Channel 7 broadcasting operations resulting from SVRS
communications.
8. In addition, LoJack states that the proposed operation would serve the public interest
because it would improve stolen vehicle recovery time and increase the chances of apprehending car
thieves by minimizing the lag time between a vehicle's theft and a report to the police that the vehicle
has been stolen. LoJack also states that such operation would make more efficient use of radio
spectrum and reduce the potential for interference with television reception, because it would reduce
the number of transmissions by its base stations, which operate at much higher power than mobile
units. Finally, LoJack asserts that there is no reasonable alternative solution because the proposed
uplink system must operate on the same frequency as the remainder of the LoJack network and the
uplink cannot operate within the duty cycle limits of Section 90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules.
On the record before us, we agree that grant of the waiver would enhance police response and
apprehension of criminals due to use of the early warning system regarding stolen vehicles, without
increasing the likelihood of harmful interference. Accordingly, we conclude that grant of the waiver
is in the public interest.
9. Finally, with respect to Cosmos's request that we impose conditions on the issuance of this
waiver, we find no compelling reason to attach such conditions. First, we find Cosmos's condition of
no interference to be unnecessary because it would duplicate the requirement set forth in Section
90.20(e)(6) of the Commission's Rules that LoJack correct any interference promptly or discontinue
the operations causing interference. Similarly, we find no reason to impose the fifteen-day notice
requirement requested by Cosmos. We do believe, however, that potentially affected Channel 7
broadcasters should receive notice of the waiver. Therefore, we will require LoJack to send a copy of
this Order to every TV Channel 7 station with respect to which Section 90.20(e)(6) requires an
engineering analysis. Finally, we reject Cosmos's request that LoJack agree that its costs of
implementation or inconvenience will not be considered in any future proceeding. LoJack has
expressly indicated its recognition that grant of the instant waiver would be subject to the outcome of
a related rulemaking proceeding. Thus, we believe that Cosmos's concerns will be addressed by the
condition that we impose herein. Therefore, we will grant the Waiver Request without the conditions
specifically requested by Cosmos, but conditioned on the resolution of the Petition for Rulemaking.
IV.ORDERING CLAUSES
10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), and Section 1.925 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.
1.925, the Waiver Request filed by LoJack Corporation on December 20, 1999 is GRANTED,
subject to the resolution of the Petition for Rulemaking to amend Section 90.20(e)(6) of the
Commission's Rules, RM-9798.
11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, within fifteen business days of the release date of this
Order, LoJack Corporation SHALL SEND a copy of this Order to the licensee of every TV Channel
7 transmitter located within 169 kilometers (105 miles) of a LoJack Corporation base station.
12. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.131 and 0.331 of the
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 0.131, 0.331.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
D'wana R. Terry
Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau