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 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-  3355 
 December  30,  2005 


 WIRELESS  TELECOMMUNICATIONS  BUREAU  REMINDS  800  MHZ  “WAVE  ONE”  CHANNEL  1-  120  LICENSEES  OF  BAND  RECONFIGURATION  NEGOTIATION  AND 
 MEDIATION  OBLIGATIONS 
 WT  Docket  No.  02-  55 
 Pursuant  to  the  800  MHz  Report  and  Order  1  and  subsequent  orders  in  this  docket,  the  mandatory  negotiation  period  for  800  MHz  Channel  1-  120  licensees  in  Wave  1  of  the  band  reconfiguration  process 
 ended  on  December  27,  2005.  2  Licensees  in  this  wave  who  did  not  complete  negotiation  of  frequency  reconfiguration  agreements  with  Sprint  Nextel  Corporation  (Sprint  Nextel)  by  the  December  27  deadline 
 have  been  referred  to  mandatory  mediation  of  disputed  issues  under  the  Alternative  Dispute  Resolution  procedures  established  by  the  800  MHz  Transition  Administrator  (TA).  3  Pursuant  to  those  procedures, 
 the  mediation  process  must  be  concluded  within  thirty  working  days.  If  the  parties  to  a  mediation  fail  to  reach  a  mediated  agreement,  the  TA  will  forward  the  record  to  the  Chief  of  the  Public  Safety  and  Critical 
 Infrastructure  Division  (PSCID),  along  with  a  recommended  resolution  of  the  dispute.  4  The  Chief  of  PSCID  will  then  rule  on  the  disputed  issues  de  novo.  5  Either  party  may  appeal  the  Chief’s  decision;  such 
 appeals  will  be  designated  for  hearing  before  a  Commission  Administrative  Law  Judge.  6 


 1  See  Improving  Public  Safety  Communications  in  the  800  MHz  Band,  Report  and  Order,  WT  Docket  No.  02-  55,  19 
 FCC  Rcd  14969  (2004)  (800  MHz  Report  and  Order). 
 2  See  “Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau  Announces  that  800  MHz  Band  Reconfiguration  Will  Commence  June 
 27,  2005,  in  the  NPSPAC  Regions  Assigned  to  Wave  1  and  Specifies  800  MHz  Reconfiguration  Benchmark  Compliance  Dates,”  Public  Notice,  DA  05-  1546,  released  May  27,  2005.  Under  the  band  reconfiguration  plan,  each 


 of  the  fifty-  five  National  Public  Safety  Planning  Advisory  Committee  (NPSPAC)  regions  is  assigned  to  one  of  four  basic  “prioritization  waves”  with  staggered  approximate  starting  dates.  See  “Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau 
 Approves  the  Basic  Reconfiguration  Schedule  Put  Forth  in  the  Transition  Administrator’s  800  MHz  Regional  Prioritization  Plan,”  Public  Notice,  DA  05-  619,  released  March  11,  2005.  The  three-  month  voluntary  negotiation 
 period  for  Channel  1-  120  licensees  in  Wave  1  began  on  June  27,  2005  and  the  three-  month  mandatory  negotiation  period  for  these  licensees  began  on  September  28,  2005. 


 3  800  MHz  Report  and  Order,  ¶  201.  For  the  TA’s  ADR  procedures,  see 
 http://  800ta.  org/  content/  PDF/  policy/  ADRPlan.  pdf. 
 4  800  MHz  Report  and  Order,  ¶  201. 


 5  Id. 
 6  Id.,  ¶  194.  Parties  may  also  appeal  any  decisions  of  the  ALJ.  See  47  C.  F.  R.  §  1.301. 
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