NEWSReport No. WT-97-7 WIRELESS TELECOM ACTION February 20, 1997 GEOGRAPHIC AREA LICENSING AND COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES ADOPTED FOR CCP AND 929 MHZ PAGING SERVICES; COMMENTS SOUGHT ON VARIOUS COVERAGE, PARTITIONING, DISAGGREGATION AND APPLICATION ISSUES (WT DOCKET 96-18, PP DOCKET 93-253) The Commission has adopted rules governing geographic area licensing of Common Carrier Paging (CCP) and 929 MHz Private Carrier Paging (PCP). All mutually exclusive applications for non-nationwide CCP licenses and exclusive non-nationwide 929 MHz channels will be subject to competitive bidding procedures. Nationwide 931 MHz and 929 MHz geographic area licenses will be granted for 26 nationwide channels. Shared Part 90 channels will not be subject to geographic area licensing. In a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission asked for comment on (1) whether it should adopt coverage requirements for nationwide licenses; (2) various issues related to geographic partitioning by paging licensees and whether spectrum disaggregation is appropriate for paging; and (3) whether to revise the application procedures for shared channels. In this proceeding the Commission has been examining its paging regulations for Part 22 and Part 90 paging services pursuant to the statutory objective of regulatory symmetry for all Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) set forth in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. The Commission's goal is to ensure that the paging service rules are consistent with the rules for competing services, such as narrowband Personal Communications Services, so that competitive success will be dictated by the marketplace, rather than by regulatory distinctions. The new rules are: - All mutually exclusive applications for non-nationwide 931 MHz channels and exclusive non-nationwide 929 MHz channels for 51 Major Trading Areas (MTAs) will be subject to competitive bidding. In addition to the 47 Rand McNally MTAs, the Commission has added three MTAs for the U.S. territories of (1) Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands; (2) Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and (3) American Samoa. The Commission is also licensing Alaska as a single area separate from the Seattle MTA. - more - - 2 - - Nationwide 931 MHz and 929 MHz licenses will be granted for the nationwide channels. The 23 nationwide 929 MHz channels are those channels where a licensee had sufficient authorizations as of February 8, 1996, to qualify for nationwide exclusivity. The nationwide licenses will not be subject to competitive bidding. - All remaining CCP channels (i.e., 35-36 MHz, 43-44 MHz, 152-159 MHz, and 454-460 MHz) in 172 Economic Areas (EAs) will be subject to competitive bidding. The Rural Radiotelephone Service, including Basic Exchange Telecommunications Radio Service (BETRS) (BETRS are radio loops that can take the place of expensive wire or cable to remote areas), is included in the geographic area licensing and the competitive bidding process on paging channels for which these services are also eligible. Rural Radiotelephone Service and BETRS operators may also obtain additional facilities on a secondary basis. - Shared Part 90 paging channels will not be subject to geographic area licensing or competitive bidding. - After receiving an MTA or EA license for a channel, licensees will be subject to the following coverage requirements: for each MTA or EA, the licensee must provide coverage to one-third of the population within three years of the license grant, and to two-thirds of the population within five years of the license grant. In the alternative, the MTA or EA licensee may provide substantial service to the geographic license area within five years of license grant. - For co-channel interference protection (with respect to incumbent licensees) the Commission will used the fixed distances in Tables E-1 and E-2 in Section 22.537 of its rules for the exclusive 929 MHz and 931 MHz channels. The formulas for determining the service and interference contours for the remaining CCP channels will not be changed. - All pending mutually exclusive applications for paging filed with the Commission on or before February 20, 1997, will be dismissed. All non-mutually exclusive applications filed with the Commission on or before July 31, 1996, will be processed. - All applications (other than applications on nationwide and shared channels) filed after July 31, 1996, will be dismissed. No additional site-by-site applications for exclusive channels will be accepted (with the exception of applications filed pursuant to Sections 22.369, 90.177, and 1.1301 et seq., and applications filed for coordination with Mexico or Canada). - Pending resolution of the issues in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission will not accept applications for Part 90 shared channels for commercial use from new applicants. Incumbent licensees may file for new sites at any location. New applicants may apply for private, internal-use systems. Additionally, Special Emergency Radio Services may continue to apply for licenses on the shared channels. - more - - 3 - The date of the commencement of competitive bidding for paging licenses, the deadline for submitting applications and upfront payments, and other particulars regarding competitive bidding procedures will be announced by Public Notice. Action by the Commission February 19, 1996 by Second Report & Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 97-59). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Ness and Chong. - FCC - News Media contact: Kara Palamaras or Audrey Spivack at (202) 418-0654 Wireless Telecommunications Bureau contact: Mika Savir at (202) 418-0620