Federal Communications Commission DA 14-790
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
City of Harlingen, Texas
Licensee of Public Safety Station Call Sign 
WPNT604
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WT Docket No. 02-55
ORDER
Adopted:  June 9, 2014                              Released: June 9, 2014
By the Deputy Chief, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1. Under consideration is the Request for Permission to Amend or Re-submit Cost Estimate for 
Frequency Reconfiguration (Request) filed June 6, 2014 by the City of Harlingen, Texas (Harlingen).  
Harlingen submitted a cost estimate for reconfiguration of its 800 MHz public safety communications 
system on May 2, 2014 but now seeks to amend or re-submit the cost estimate because the initial estimate 
was incomplete to the extent that it did not include “possible City plans for a partial upgrade.”
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II. DISCUSSION
2. Recognizing that “upgrade plans be laid out comprehensively at the time of the Cost Estimate 
Submission,”
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Harlingen seeks to either amend or re-submit its cost estimate to reflect an upgrade, the 
nature of which it does not describe in its Request.  It asserts that Nextel Operations, Inc. (Sprint)
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has 
requested that, if Harlingen does not intend to reconfigure its system in the manner set out in the May 2, 
2104 cost estimate, Harlingen should withdraw that estimate and submit a replacement.
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  The 800 MHz 
Transition Administrator Mediator (TA Mediator) advised Harlingen that Commission permission was 
required to withdraw and resubmit its cost estimate because, to do so, represented an untimely upgrade 
request.
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  Harlingen represents that it “was not in the position to describe such [upgrade] plans at the 
time” it submitted its initial cost estimate.
3. We agree with Sprint and the TA Mediator that Commission approval is required if a licensee 
submits a cost estimate and later proposes an upgrade to its system.  The asserted reason Harlingen did 
not submit a timely cost estimate incorporating an upgrade proposal is that Harlingen’s “fire 
administration had undergone a personnel change and it became important to reconstruct upgrade 
                                                     
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Request at 1.
2
Id. at 2.
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For purposes of uniformity in 800 MHz rebanding decisions, we refer to wholly-owned Sprint subsidiaries such 
as Nextel Operations, Inc., by the name of the parent, Sprint Corp. (Sprint).
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Request at 1.
5
Id. at 1-2.
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-790
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discussions within the prior administration.”
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  Harlingen, therefore, proposes to submit a revised cost 
estimate, incorporating the upgrade information, by June 20, 2014, over a month after the May 2, 2104 
cost estimate was presented to Sprint.
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Harlingen has not explained why over a month is required to 
“reconstruct discussions” with the prior fire administration and submit a revised cost estimate, and we are 
not persuaded that, with diligence, Harlingen could not have done so earlier.
III. DECISON
4. When, as here, a licensee submits a cost proposal and later attempts to introduce an upgrade,
it unnecessarily burdens the resources of Sprint, the TA and the Commission and, more importantly, 
potentially delays conclusion of rebanding.  We would, therefore, be amply justified in denying 
Harlingen’s Request.  Considering, however, that Sprint is willing to accept a modified cost estimate, and 
because the upgrade proposal might possibly accelerate the rebanding of Harlingen’s system, we are 
granting the Request, but in so doing place other licensees on notice that they face an exceptionally heavy 
burden in advancing untimely upgrade requests. A rationale as thin as Harlingen has presented here, will 
not succeed.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
5. Accordingly IT IS ORDERED that the Request for Permission to Amend or Re-submit Cost 
Estimate for Frequency Reconfiguration, submitted June 6, 2014 by the City of Harlingen, Texas, IS 
GRANTED.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the City of Harlingen, Texas, SHALL FILE an amended 
cost estimate with Sprint Corp. and the 800 MHz Transition Administrator, on or before June 20, 2014.
7. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.191(a) and 0.392 of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.191(a), 0.392.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Michael J. Wilhelm
Deputy Chief, Policy and Licensing Division 
Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau 
                              
                                                     
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Id. at 1, n.1.
7
Id. at 2.