PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 1919 M St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 Released: February 3, 1997 WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW FCC FORM 415 FCC Form 402, Application for Station Authorization in the Private Operational Fixed Microwave Radio Service, and FCC Form 494, Application for a New or Modified Microwave Radio Station License Under Part 21, are being replaced by FCC Form 415, Application for Authorization in the Microwave Services (Parts 74 and 101) . FCC Form 415 may be used to apply, or to amend a pending application, for authorization to operate a radio station in the Fixed Microwave Radio Services (47 CFR Part 101) or Aural and Television Broadcast Auxiliary Stations (47 CFR Part 74, Subparts E and F). FCC Form 703, Transfer of Control, is replaced by FCC Form 415 for Private Operational Fixed Microwave applicants. The Commission will begin accepting FCC Form 415 immediately. While we will continue to accept FCC Forms 402 and 494 until April 30, 1997, the Commission strongly encourages use of FCC Form 415 during the transition period. Beginning on May 1, 1997, the Commission will discontinue accepting FCC Forms 402 and 494 and will require all such applications to be filed on FCC Form 415. A conditional temporary authorization, FCC Form 415T, is included with the FCC Form 415 application package. Eligible applicants should begin using this immediately in lieu of self-certification. Form 415 has received approval from the Office of Management and Budget and copies will be made available to the public shortly through the FCC's Forms Distribution Center, 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capital Heights, MD 20743, toll free (800) 418-FORM (3676); or from the FCC's fax-on-demand system by calling (202) 418-0177 from the handset of your fax machine (request the index to find out the document number first). Additionally, this form will be available by downloading from the FCC's internet homepage on the World Wide Web at http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html. The fees due, as well as the filing locations for the form, currently remain the same whether filing the 402, 494 or 415. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Fee Filing Guide does not currently reference the FCC Form 415, however, you may obtain the fee and filing location by referencing the action being requested under the previous forms 402 and 494. An updated FCC 1070-M is attached to this public notice. The Commission is currently developing the FCC Form 415 for electronic filing, however, this is not yet available. Further information will be released by public notice as it is available. -more- Several entities have expressed an interest in reproducing the FCC's Form 415 on automated equipment. Requests for permission to submit such forms, which require prior Commission approval, should be submitted to Judy Boley, Records Management Branch, AMD-IM, 1919 M Street NW, Washington DC 20554. Submit a draft of the blank form, as well as a sample of the form with completed data, printed off of your automated system. The design (i.e. format, font styles) of your reproduced FCC 415 should be as close to the FCC's original document as possible. The Commission will review your request and respond with comments and/or authorization for you to reproduce the form and begin filing them with the FCC. As a reminder, if you photocopy a blank FCC Form 415, that document must be at least comparable in quality to the original document, without change to page size, image size, configuration of pages, fold or perforations, and matching as closely as possible the paper weight, paper color and ink color. The Commission's policy regarding the printing of FCC forms by private companies is referenced in 47 CFR 0.409. For further information regarding the printing of forms, contact Judy Boley, Records Management Branch, (202) 418-0214. Questions about the new form may be directed to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Consumer Assistance staff toll free (800) 322-1117. -FCC-