445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554
Fax-On-Demand 202 / 418-2830
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
TTY: 202/418-2555
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 9, 2000 |
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: Meribeth McCarrick at (202) 418-0654 e-mail: mmccarri@fcc.gov |
FCC Adopts Rules for Guard Band Manager Auction
Washington, DC -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted licensing and service rules governing the operation of 6 MHz of "Guard Band" spectrum in the 700 MHz band to be auctioned this year. The service rules for this Guard Band spectrum will minimize the potential for harmful interference to public safety operations in the immediately adjacent 700 MHz spectrum. The adopted rules also create a new class of commercial FCC license called the Guard Band Manager license. Guard Band Managers will be engaged in the business of subdividing the spectrum they acquire at auction and leasing it for value to third parties, including both commercial service providers and private wireless users.
As directed by Congress, the FCC adopted rules to ensure that public safety service licensees in the 700 MHz band "continue to operate free of interference from any new commercial licensees." The measures adopted, which are largely consistent with the recommendations of public safety organizations that participated in this proceeding, will provide a strong degree of interference protection to public safety services from adjacent Guard Band users.
In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress directed the FCC to reallocate spectrum in the 700 MHz band to commercial and public safety uses from its previous exclusive use for television broadcasting service on channels 60-69. A total of 36 MHz was allocated for commercial uses. In a January 6, 2000 Report and Order, the FCC adopted service rules for 30 MHz of this spectrum. At that time, the FCC designated the remaining 6 megahertz as Guard Band spectrum consisting of two paired bands, one of 4 megahertz and one of 2 megahertz. Today's item adopts licensing, technical, and operational rules for the Guard Bands.
Specifically, the adopted item made the following determinations:
- The FCC adopted rules that will give the fullest effect to the Congressional mandate to ensure that public safety licensees in the 700 MHz band operate free of interference from any new commercial users in that band. Under these rules, public safety licensees should experience no greater interference risk from Guard Band users than from other public safety licensees. To minimize the potential for harmful interference to public safety operations in the immediately adjacent 700 MHz spectrum, the FCC required entities operating in the Guard Bands to comply with specified "out-of-band emission" criteria, and with prescribed frequency coordination procedures that include advance notification to the Commission-recognized public safety frequency coordinators and adjacent area Guard Band users. The FCC also found that entities operating in the Guard Bands should not be permitted to employ a cellular system architecture. The public safety community has expressed great concerns that the frequency coordination procedures required of entities operating in the Guard Bands could not be accomplished when users employ a cellular system architecture. The FCC concluded that the use of such architectures would create undue risks of harmful interference to public safety users.
- Licenses in the Guard Bands will be assigned to Guard Band Managers using competitive bidding (auctions). The Guard Band Manager will be a new class of commercial licensee who will be engaged in the business of leasing spectrum for value to third parties which could include both commercial service providers and private parties. Guard Band Managers will be required to adhere to strict frequency coordination and interference rules, and control use of the spectrum so as to facilitate protection for public safety. The Guard Band Manager may subdivide its spectrum in any manner it chooses and make it available to system operators or directly to end users for fixed or mobile communications, consistent with the frequency coordination and interference rules specified for these bands. This licensing represents an innovative spectrum management approach that should enable parties to more readily acquire spectrum for varied uses, while streamlining the Commission's spectrum management responsibilities.
- Licenses will be auctioned for both the 2 megahertz and the 4 megahertz Guard Bands on the basis of 52 Major Economic Areas (MEAs). MEAs will provide an opportunity for both aggregation and partitioning of geographic areas to suit a wide variety of possible business plans, as long as it can be shown such aggregation or partitioning will not adversely affect public safety. MEAs will facilitate greater participation in the auction and allow a larger number and more diverse pool of Guard Band Managers than nationwide or larger regional licensing areas, resulting in increased competition and broader flexibility in spectrum offerings by Guard Band Managers.
- Guard Band Manager licensees have many potential benefits, including: (1) Guard Band Managers will provide for market-based transactions in wireless capacity at a time when access to spectrum is a critical need for a wide variety of wireless operations; (2) spectrum users will have more flexibility in obtaining access to the amount of spectrum, in terms of quantity, length of time, and geographic area, that best suits their needs; (3) development of a "free market "in spectrum could result in more efficient use of this limited resource; (4) this licensing approach will streamline the day-to-day management of this spectrum and many spectrum-related functions now carried out by the FCC in other bands will be handled by Guard Band Managers in this band.
Action by the Commission on March 8, 2000 by Second Report and Order (FCC 00- 90). Chairman Kennard, Commissioners Ness and Tristani with Commissioners Furchtgott-Roth and Powell approving in part, dissenting in part and Commissioners Ness, Furchtgott-Roth, Powell and Tristani issuing separate statements.
Wireless Bureau Contacts: Gary Michaels at (202) 418-0660, e-mail: gmichael@fcc.gov or Marty Liebman at (202) 418-1310, e-mail at: mliebman@fcc.gov, TTY at (202) 418-7233.
WT Docket No. 99 -168