*Pages 1--7 from Microsoft Word - 57716.doc* PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S. W. Washington, D. C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418- 0500 Internet: http:// www. fcc. gov TTY: 1- 888- 835- 5322 DA 06- 1272 Released: June 14, 2006 LICENSEES OF BROADBAND RADIO SERVICE CHANNELS 1 and/ or 2/ 2A MUST FILE SUPPLEMENTAL DATA BY JULY 14, 2006 Data Will Assist in Determining Future AWS Licensees’ Relocation Obligations Licensees of Broadband Radio Service (BRS) Channels 1 and/ or 2/ 2A 1 (Licensees) that filed site and technical data for their stations in December 2005 must file supplemental site and technical data for their stations on or before July 14, 2006. If applicable, these Licensees must also update the data they filed in December 2005 to report any changes since that time. I. BACKGROUND The 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band is allocated for fixed and mobile services and designated for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS). 2 AWS licensees will be obligated to relocate incumbent primary BRS operations in the 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band to comparable facilities, most likely within the newly restructured 2495- 2690 MHz band, as set forth under the rules and policies adopted by the Commission in the Ninth Report and Order in ET Docket No. 00- 258. 3 1 The Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS) was renamed the Broadband Radio Service (BRS) in 2004 and all former MDS licensees are now referred to as BRS licensees. Herein, references to BRS Channels 1 and/ or 2/ 2A refer to channel numbers under the pre- transition frequency assignments. See 47 C. F. R. § 27. 5( i)( 1). 2 See Amendment of Part 2 of the Commission’s Rules to Allocate Spectrum Below 3 GHz for Mobile and Fixed Services to Support the Introduction of New Advanced Wireless Services, Including Third Generation Wireless Systems, ET Docket No. 00- 258, Second Report and Order, 17 FCC Rcd 23193 (2002), Eighth Report and Order, Fifth Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order, 20 FCC Rcd 15866 (2005) (2005 Commission Order). See also Service Rules for Advanced Wireless Services in the 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz Bands, WT Docket No. 02- 353, Report and Order, 18 FCC Rcd 25162 (2003) modified by Order on Reconsideration, 20 FCC Rcd 14058 (2005). 3 See Amendment of Part 2 of the Commission’s Rules to Allocate Spectrum Below 3 GHz for Mobile and Fixed Services to Support the Introduction of New Advanced Wireless Services, Including Third Generation Wireless Systems, ET Docket No. 00- 258, Ninth Report and Order, FCC 06- 45 at ¶ 13 (rel. April 21, 2006) (Ninth R& O or 2006 Commission Order). 1 2 2005 Commission Order. In September 2005, the Commission concluded that reliable, public data on each incumbent BRS system that will be subject to relocation is essential in advance of the planned auction of the 2150- 2155 MHz band. 4 The Commission also concluded that, because the BRS service is currently licensed on the basis of geographic licensing areas, neither the Commission nor the public has reliable, up- to- date information on the construction status and/ or operational parameters of each BRS system in the 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band that will be subject to relocation. 5 Accordingly, the Commission ordered BRS licensees to submit information on the locations and operating characteristics of their BRS systems in the 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band, as well as for any constructed and operational stations of their lessees, and noted that the information required would ultimately be necessary in the context of relocation negotiations. 6 The Commission directed and authorized the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) to issue public notices with the specific data that BRS licensees in the 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band must file along with the deadline dates and procedures for filing this data electronically in the Commission’s Universal Licensing System (ULS), where it will be available to the public. On November 30, 2005, OET and WTB released a Public Notice (First BRS Data Collection PN) setting forth two data collections concerning BRS licensees in the 2150 – 2160/ 62 MHz band. 7 The deadline for filing the first set of information (“ First Data Collection”) was December 27, 2005. The deadline for filing the second set of information (“ Second Data Collection”) could not be set until the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the new or revised information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104- 13. 8 On April 26, 2006, OMB approved the new or revised information collections contained in the Second Data Collection. 9 2006 Commission Order. On April 21, 2006, the Commission released the Ninth R& O in ET Docket No. 00- 258. Among other things, the Commission decided that BRS licensees with primary status in the 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band as of June 23, 2006, will be eligible for relocation insofar as they have facilities that are constructed and in use as of that date. After June 23, 2006, all major modifications to existing BRS systems in use in the 2150- 2160/ 62 MHz band will be authorized on a secondary basis to AWS systems, unless the incumbent affirmatively justifies primary status and the incumbent BRS licensee establishes that the modification would not add to the relocation costs of AWS licensees. 4 2005 Commission Order, 20 FCC Rcd at 15890- 91 ¶ 53 (citing 47 U. S. C. § 154( i)). 5 Id., 2005 Commission Order. See also 70 Fed. Reg. 61747 (Oct. 26, 2005). 6 Id. The Commission also noted that the information submitted need not be signed under oath; however, willful false statements made therein are punishable by fine and imprisonment, and by appropriate administrative sanctions, including revocation of a station’s license. See id. at n. 139 (citing 47 C. F. R. § 1. 917( c)). 7 Licensees of Broadband Radio Service Channels 1 and/ or 2/ 2A Must File Site and Technical Data by December 27, 2005, Public Notice, DA 05- 3126, 20 FCC Rcd 19273 (OET& WTB 2005) (First BRS Data Collection PN). 8 See 2005 Commission Order, 20 FCC Rcd at 15890- 91, 15893 ¶¶ 53, 66. 9 The new or revised information collections contained in the Second Data Collection were approved by OMB on April 26, 2006, see OMB Control No. 3060- 1090, and the Commission published a document in the Federal Register announcing this approval at 71 Fed Reg. 27498 (May 11, 2006). 2 7 ATTACHMENT FCC NOTICE REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 The total annual reporting burden for this information collection including the time for gathering and maintaining the collection of information, is estimated to be 0.5 hours to 1. 25 hours. If you have any comments on these burden estimates, or how we can improve the collection and reduce any burdens it causes you, please send an email to the Federal Communications Commission, PRA@ fcc. gov. Please include the appropriate OMB Control Number (see below) in your correspondence. Under 5 C. F. R. § 1320, you are not required to respond to a collection of information by the Federal government, and the government may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a current valid OMB Control Number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid OMB Control Number or if we fail to provide you with this notice. o The First Data Collection discussed in the instant Public Notice has been assigned OMB control number 3060- 0798. o The Second Data Collection discussed in the instant Public Notice has been assigned OMB control number 3060- 1090. THE FOREGOING NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995, PUBLIC LAW 104- 13, OCTOBER 1, 1995, 44 U. S. C. § 3507. 7