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 DA  #  01-  1317 
 June  4,  2001 
 FCC  PARTICIPATES  IN 
 JOINT  U.  S.-  MEXICAN  COMMISSION  MEETING  XXV 


 The  Federal  Communications  Commission's  (FCC)  Enforcement 
 Bureau  and  International  Bureau  participated  in  the  25th 
 formal  meeting  of  the  Joint  (U.  S./  Mexico)  Commission  in 
 Pleasanton,  California  during  the  week  of  May  22,  2001. 
 The  Joint  Commission,  also  known  as  Comision  Mixta 
 Encargada  de  Resolver  Asuntos  de  Radiointerferencia 
 (CMERAR),  is  an  international  organization  charged  with 
 resolving  harmful  radio  interference  problems  relating  to 
 licensed  radio  systems  operating  along  and  within  the 
 common  border  areas  between  the  United  States  and 
 Mexico.  During  the  May  meeting,  the  participants  reviewed 
 86  cases  of  harmful  radio  interference  and,  of  these, 
 officially  closed  34  cases  at  the  national  or  Joint 
 Commission  level.  Five  other  cases  will  be  referred  to  the 
 High  Level  Consultative  Commission  on 
 Telecommunications.  This  group  is  composed  of  officials 
 from  the  U.  S.  State  Department,  the  FCC,  and  the  National 
 Telecommunications  and  Information  Administration 
 (NTIA)  along  with  Mexican  officials  from  the  Secretaria  de 
 Comunicaciones  y  Transportes  (SCT)  and  the  Comision 
 Federal  de  Telecomunicaciones  (COFETEL). 
 The  Joint  Commission  (formerly  known  as  the  Mixed  Commission), 
 formed  in  1982,  is  comprised  of  representatives  from  the 
 FCC  and  the  SCT  and  COFETEL  of  the  United  Mexican 
 States.  This  organization  historically  handles  over  100  cases 
 each  year  involving  both  interference  to  U.  S.  stations  from 
 radio  facilities  operating  in  Mexico  and  to  Mexican  stations 
 from  similar  operations  in  the  U.  S.  Quite  often,  these  cases 
 involve  interference  to  public  safety  radio  services  on  both 
 sides  of  the  border.  Many  of  the  cases  are  handled  at  the 
 local  level  (by  FCC  Enforcement  Bureau  District  office 
 personnel)  by  conducting  meetings  in  Mexico  and  the 
 United  States  which  involve  the  FCC's  Mexican 
 counterparts  at  SCT  and  COFETEL.  Arlan  van  Doorn, 
 Senior  Advisor,  FCC  Enforcement  Bureau,  serves  as  the 
 Co-  Chair  of  the  Joint  Commission  for  the  United  States  and 
 Licenciado  Roberto  Garcia,  Coordinador  General  Ejecutivo, 
 COFETEL,  serves  as  the  Co-  Chair  for  the  United  Mexican 
 States. 
 The  next  Joint  Commission  meeting  is  scheduled  to  be  conducted  in 
 Mexico,  during  late  November  2001. 
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 By  the  Chief,  Enforcement  Bureau. 
 -FCC- 
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