*Pages 1--4 from Microsoft Word - 48417.doc* PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S. W. Washington, D. C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418- 0500 Internet: http:// www. fcc. gov TTY: 1- 888- 835- 5322 DA 05- 1296 May 5, 2005 WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU COMMENTS INVITED ON REGION 19 (NEW ENGLAND) 700 MHz REGIONAL PLANNING COMMITTEE PROPOSED PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN WT Docket No. 02- 378 Comment Date: June 6, 2005 Reply Date: June 21, 2005 On March 7, 2005, the Region 19 (New England) 1 700 MHz Regional Planning Committee (“ Region 24”) submitted a proposed plan (Plan) for the use of the 12.5 megahertz of spectrum in the 764- 776 and 794- 806 MHz band (700 MHz public safety band) designated for General Use. 2 Region 19 requests Commission review and approval of the Plan. By way of background, the Commission adopted a band plan for the 700 MHz public safety band in 1998, and established a structure to allow regional planning committees (RPCs) optimal flexibility to meet state and local needs, encourage innovative use of the spectrum, and accommodate new and as yet unanticipated developments in technology and equipment. 3 There are fifty- five RPCs, and each committee is required to submit its plan for the General Use spectrum. 4 The Commission’s role in 1 The Region 19– New England 700 MHz regional planning area is comprised of six states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. 2 See Letter dated Feb. 16, 2005, from George J. Pohorilak, Chairman, Region 19 to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (submitting the Region 19 700 MHz Plan on behalf of the Region 19 700 MHz Regional Planning Committee) filed on Mar. 7, 2005. On March 25, 2005, Region 19, recognizing that it had inadvertently omitted Letters of Concurrence from its adjacent regions (Region 8- Metropolitan New York and Region 30- Western New York) submitted a new plan correcting the omission. On March 31, 2005, Region 19 withdrew the March 7, 2005 submission, and stated that only the Plan filed on March 25, 2005 should be considered. 3 See 47 C. F. R. § 90. 527; see also The Development of Operational, Technical and Spectrum Requirements for Meeting Federal, State and Local Public Safety Agency Communication Requirements through the Year 2010, First Report and Order and Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WT Docket No. 96- 86, 14 FCC Rcd 152 (1998) (First Report and Order); Second Memorandum Opinion and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 16844 (2000). 4 A list of 700 MHz regional planning committees and region activities is available at http:// wireless. fcc. gov/ publicsafety/ 700MHz. Each regional plan must contain certain elements, and must be coordinated with adjacent regions. First Report and Order, 14 FCC Rcd at 193- 94 ¶ 84, 195 ¶ 87. 1 2 relation to the RPCs is limited to (1) defining the regional boundaries; (2) requiring fair and open procedures, i. e., requiring notice, opportunity for comment, and reasonable consideration; (3) specifying the elements that all regional plans must include; and (4) reviewing and accepting proposed plans (or amendments to approved plans) or rejecting them with an explanation. 5 The Commission expects RPCs to ensure that their committees are representative of all public safety entities in their regions by providing reasonable notice of all meetings and deliberations, and plans must include an explanation of how all eligible entities within the region were given such notice. 6 For the initial meeting called by the convenor to form the RPC and hold elections, the Commission requires at least sixty days for appropriate public notifications. 7 Adequate notice of meetings and identification of the matters to be discussed are key to the success of the regional planning process. Regional plans and plan amendments must be submitted to the Commission for review and approval. In developing their regional plans, RPCs must ensure that their proposed plans comply with the rules and policies governing the 700 MHz public safety regional planning process. 8 We also encourage the RPCs to consider utilizing the guidelines developed by the Public Safety National Coordination Committee (NCC). 9 RPCs may approach the assignment of the spectrum differently, e. g., by making specific assignments to eligible public safety entities, or by establishing an allotment pool approach based on political boundaries such as counties. 10 The Region 19 Plan pre- allocates the narrowband General Use channels by county as listed in the Region 19 Channel Allotments, Appendix L. 11 5 Id. at 195 ¶ 87. 6 Id. at 193- 94 ¶ 84. RPCs must promptly adopt operating procedures that “ensure that all entities will be given reasonable notice of all committee meetings and deliberations.” Id. at 195 ¶ 86. 7 Id. at 195 ¶ 86 & n. 220. 8 47 C. F. R. § 90.527; see also First Report and Order, 14 FCC Rcd at 190- 196 ¶¶ 77- 89. 9 The NCC was a federal advisory committee established by the Commission in 1999 to address and advise the Commission on operational and technical parameters for use of the 700 MHz public safety band. The NCC was also tasked with providing voluntary assistance in the development of coordinated regional plans, and developed a Regional Planning Guidebook. Following the sunset of the NCC’s charter on July 25, 2003, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC), agreed to continue to provide assistance to regional planners. A copy of the 700 MHz Regional Planning Guidebook is available at the NPSTC website http:// www. npstc. org/ documents. html. 10 The Region 19 channel allocation plan was developed using the Computer Assisted Pre- coordination Resource and Database System (CAPRAD) administered by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center- Rocky Mountain Region (NLECTC- RM). The NLECTC- RM is a program of the National Institute of Justice and is sponsored by the University of Denver through the Denver Research Institute. The CAPRAD system is available at http:// caprad. nlectc. du. edu. 11 See Plan Appendix L Region 19 New England Channel Allotments. CAPRAD pre- designated initial allotments are pre- allocated in county- like area (the area within the county as well as a distance of up to ten miles outside of the county) frequency pools to maximize channel- reuse of any “orphan” channels. Given this approach, after Commission approval is obtained, any modifications to the existing Region 19 Channel Allotment List, and the extended parameters described above, will require an amendment to the Plan. Also the assignments for the 2 3 We have reviewed the Plan recently submitted by Region 19 and find it to be sufficient and compliant with the applicable FCC rules 12 and policies. 13 Thus, we accept the Plan. Prior to taking further action on the Plan, by this Public Notice, we solicit comments on the Plan. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C. F. R. §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments on the Region 24 700 MHz Regional Plan on or before June 6, 2005 and reply comments on or before June 21, 2005. Comments may be filed using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) or by filing paper copies. 14 Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http:// www. fcc. gov/ cgb/ ecfs/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// www. regulations. gov. Filers should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting comments. For ECFS filers, when completing the transmittal screen, filers should include their full name, U. S. Postal Service mailing address, and should reference WT Docket No. 02- 378. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e- mail. To get filing instructions, filers should send an e- mail to ecfs@ fcc. gov, and include the following words in the body of the message, “get form.” A sample form and directions will be sent in response. Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four copies of each filing. Filings may be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first- class or overnight U. S. Postal Service mail (although we continue to experience delays in receiving U. S. Postal Service mail). The Commission's contractor will receive hand- delivered or messenger- delivered paper filings or electronic media for the Commission's Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, N. E., Suite 110, Washington, D. C. 20002. The filing hours at this location are 8: 00 a. m. to 7: 00 p. m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building. Commercial and electronic media sent by overnight mail (other than U. S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. U. S. Postal Service first- class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D. C. 20554. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e- mail to fcc504@ fcc. gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418- 0531 (voice) or (202) 418- 7365 (TTY). wideband General Use channels will require an amendment to the Plan before those wideband channels may be licensed. 12 We note that, with respect to Low Power Assignments, the proposed Plan, Part 1, Section 6 at 6, states that, “under special circumstances, an applicant may request an ERP of 5W for a mobile unit, with the identified antenna restriction of seven meters.” We clarify that this would require a waiver of 47 C. F. R § 90.541( d) and acceptance of the Plan is without prejudice to whether such waivers would be granted. 13 Notably, Region 19 obtained Letters of Concurrence from its adjacent regions: Region 8- Metropolitan New York, and Region 30- New York State, northern and western counties. The Plan also includes copies of published meeting announcements, notices and membership information. See Plan, Section 2 at 4, and Appendix- M Region 19 New England Notification List. 14 See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24121 (1998). 3 4 Information on the 700 MHz Regional Planning process and RPC activities is available at http:// www. wireless. fcc. gov/ publicsafety/ 700MHz. For further information, contact Jeannie Benfaida, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418- 0680, TTY (202) 418- 7233, or via e- mail to Jeannie. Benfaida@ fcc. gov. Action by the Chief, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. - FCC - 4