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 12-1028 AUXILIARY BROADCAST FREQUENCY COORDINATOR DESIGNATED FOR THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION IN TAMPA, FLORIDA, THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, AND THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION IN WASHINGTON, D.C. GRANT OF WAIVER OF SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS OF 47 C.F.R. § 74.802 AND SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATIONS By this Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) and the Media Bureau (MB) designate Louis Libin, Chairman of the Frequency Coordinating Committee for the 2012 Political Conventions (“POLCOMM-2012”), as the single point of contact for coordinating operations during the Republican National Convention (RNC), Democratic National Convention (DNC), and the 2013 Presidential Inauguration. By this action, we facilitate the ability of broadcasters and cable network- entities to cover these important events. Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) stations, which are licensed under Part 74 of the Commission’s rules,1 make it possible for television and radio stations and networks to transmit program material from the sites of breaking news stories or other live events to television studios for inclusion in broadcast programs, to transmit programming material from studios to broadcasting transmitters for delivery to consumers’ televisions and radios, and to transmit programs between broadcast stations.2 In addition to licensed BAS stations, Section 74.24 of the Commission’s rules allows eligible broadcasters to operate auxiliary broadcast stations on a short-term basis, not to exceed 720 hours annually, without prior Commission authorization.3 Political conventions and inaugurations attract extensive broadcast coverage, and consequently require extensive use of wireless equipment.4 The broadcast networks and other major content distributors require major wireless communications infrastructures, along with spectrum to support their video and 1 47 C.F.R. § 74.631(a). See Revisions to Broadcast Auxiliary Service Rules in Part 74 and Conforming Technical Rules for Broadcast Auxiliary Service, Cable Television Relay Service and Fixed Services in Parts 74, 78 and 101 of the Commission’s Rules, ET Docket No. 01-75, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 16 FCC Rcd 10556, 10557 ¶ 1 (2001). 2 Id. 3 See 47 C.F.R. § 74.24. 4 Letter from Louis Libin, Chairman, POLCOMM-2012,2012 Political Conventions Frequency Coordination Committee, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, Federal Communications Commission (filed Apr. 4, 2012) (“POLCOMM-2012 Request”) at 1-2. audio transport.5 Government officials and public safety agencies also have extensive communications needs during these events.6 For these events of major public importance, there is no one broadcaster who holds rights to control spectrum.7 In connection with major events such as the 2005 Presidential Inauguration, the 2004 national political conventions, and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the Commission designated auxiliary broadcast frequency coordinators and required prior coordination of all BAS operations, including operations pursuant to Section 74.24 of the Commission’s rules. These actions were taken as a result of our concern that uncoordinated use of auxiliary broadcast stations on a special temporary authority basis might result in spectrum congestion and excessive interference, resulting in less complete broadcast coverage. We believe that the potential for a similar situation exists during the 2012 national political conventions and the 2013 Presidential Inauguration. On April 4, 2012, POLCOMM-2012, which is an ad hoc frequency coordination group established by the broadcast networks, requested that Louis Libin, POLCOMM-2012’s Chairman, be designated as a special frequency coordinator and RF spectrum manager for these events.8 POLCOMM-2012 states that its request is being filed with the consent of all domestic broadcasters, as well as the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties.9 Under those circumstances, we find that appointment of Mr. Libin as a special frequency coordinator would facilitate full coverage of these important events and would serve the public interest. Accordingly, we designate POLCOMM-2012’s Chairman, Louis Libin, as the single point of contact for coordinating operations under Section 74.24 of the Rules, during the following time periods and locations: August 27 - 30, 2012 in Tampa, Florida for the Republican National Convention; September 2 - 5, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina for the Democratic National Convention; and January 20 - 26, 2013, for the Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. This designation will allow for advance coordination of terrestrial auxiliary broadcast frequency usage within a 100 kilometer radius around the following locations:10 · St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida11 · Time Warner Cable Arena and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina12 · The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.13 · The White House in Washington, D.C.14 5 Id. at 2. 6 Id. 7 Id. 8 POLCOMM-2012 Request. 9 Id. at 3. 10 Aeronautical mobile operations are not authorized. 11 The center coordinates of the designated geographic area in Tampa, FL (RNC) are 27-56-36N, 082-27- 11W referenced to NAD83. 12 The center coordinates of the designated geographic area in Charlotte, NC (DNC) are 35-13-30N, 080- 50-21W referenced to NAD83. 13 The center coordinates of the designated geographic area in Washington, D.C. (US Capitol) are 38-53- 22N, 077-00-39W referenced to NAD83. 14 The center coordinates of the designated geographic area in Washington, D.C. (White House) are 38- 53-51N, 077-02-11W referenced to NAD83. All short-term auxiliary broadcast use under Part 74, without exception, shall be coordinated in advance through the POLCOMM-2012 coordinator, Louis Libin. Mr. Libin can be reached for the purposes of frequency coordination by phone or fax at 516-374-6700 and at the email address RFrequest@broad- comm.com. The local frequency coordinator will provide assistance and database access to all local and non-local Part 74 licensees, as well as all Part 78 and 101 licensees sharing spectrum available under Part 74, for temporary fixed, mobile and portable installations. POLCOMM-2012 also requests that the Commission grant a waiver of the distance separation requirement of Section 74.802 of the Commission’s rules, to permit the use of low power auxiliary stations, not to exceed 2 watts of power, on channels allocated for TV broadcasting where the nearest operating station is located at least 40 kilometers from the event locations.15 According to POLCOMM- 2012, these low power stations will be operated only inside the venues and the majority of the facilities will not exceed 200 milliwatts.16 In addition, POLCOMM-2012 states that each of the potentially affected stations has been contacted and is supportive of this request, and that POLCOMM-2012 “has done analysis and RF measurements at each venue to confirm that the proposed low power operation would not adversely affect these stations.” In view of the foregoing, we grant the requested waiver. All Part 74, 78, and 101 licensees sharing spectrum available under Part 74 of the Commission’s Rules and operating in the designated area are covered by this action. For technical inquiries, please contact Stephen Buenzow, Broadband Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-2487 or Sean Yun, Engineering Division, Media Bureau, at (202) 418-2193. For press inquiries, please contact Janice Wise of the Media Bureau at (202) 418-8165. Action by Chiefs, Broadband Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Engineering Division, Media Bureau. - FCC - 15 POLCOMM-2012 Request at 3. 16 Id.