Federal Communications Commission DA 14-872
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
CITY OF KETCHIKAN DBA KETCHIKAN 
PUBLIC UTILITIES
Application for a New Station in the Common 
Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service
Request for Waiver to Permit Fixed Operation in 
6425-6525 MHz Band
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File No. 0005820273
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Adopted:  June 20, 2014 Released: June 23, 2014
By the Deputy Chief, Broadband Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, we grant a request for waiver filed by City of 
Ketchikan dba Ketchikan Public Utilities (“Ketchikan”) to allow licensing of a Common Carrier Fixed 
Point to Point Microwave Station in the 6425-6525 MHz band, which is authorized for use solely by 
mobile-only Local Television Transmission Service (“LTTS”), Private Operational Fixed 
Service(“POFS”), Broadcast Auxiliary Service (“BAS”) and Cable TV Relay Service (“CARS”) stations.  A 
waiver is consistent with the underlying purposes of the rule because there are no LTTS, POFS, BAS or 
CARS operations centered around permanent locations in Alaska where Ketchikan proposes operation and 
because Ketchikan cannot meet its communications needs solely by using available frequencies in the 
Common Carrier Fixed Point to Point Microwave Service.
II. BACKGROUND
2. The 6425-6525 MHz band is currently available for assignment to mobile LTTS, POFS, 
BAS, and CARS stations.
1
  The adjacent bands, 5925-6425 MHz and 6525-6875 MHz, are available for 
assignment to stations in the Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service and the Private 
Operational Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service.
2
  When the Commission allowed broadcasters, 
networks and cable operators to access to the 6425-6525 MHz band on a co-primary basis in 1987, it 
observed that its action would “provide added flexibility in establishing microwave links for mobile 
television pick-up. This flexibility is needed in some urban areas where the 1.9 and 6.8 GHz bands are 
heavily utilized and demands are increasing.”
3
  According to Commission licensing records, the 6425-6525 
                                                     
1
See 47 C.F.R. §§ 74.602(i), 78.18(a)(5), 101.101, 101.147(j), 101.803.
2
See 47 C.F.R. § 101.101.
3
See Establishment of a Spectrum Utilization Policy for the Fixed and Mobile Services Use of Certain Bands 
Between 947 MHz and 40 GHz, GEN. Docket No. 82-334, Third Report and Order, 2 FCC Rcd 1050, 1054 ¶ 29 
(1987).
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MHz band is not assigned to any facilities that operate around permanent locations in the pan handle of 
Alaska.
4
  
3. Ketchikan is a municipal utility that has been serving the community of Ketchikan for the 
past 80 years.
5
In addition to utility services, Ketchikan provides voice, cable television, Internet and 
other telecommunications services to Ketchikan area residents and businesses.
6
  The city of Ketchikan is 
located in far southeastern Alaska, on Revillagigedo Island, 90 miles north of Prince Rupert, British 
Columbia, and 235 miles south of Juneau, Alaska.
7
  Ketchikan intends to construct a fourth generation 
Long Term Evolution (“4G LTE”) cellular mobile data network to serve the Ketchikan area.
8
  Ketchikan 
has also secured funding and has commenced engineering planning to construct a microwave radio 
system between Ketchikan and Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
9
  The purpose of the microwave system 
is to transport Ketchikan’s broadband Internet and 4G LTE traffic to Prince Rupert, at which point 
Ketchikan would lease transport from Canadian telecommunication companies to transport the traffic 
from Prince Rupert to the Internet backbone or other points of termination.
10
4. On June 14, 2013, Ketchikan filed an application for a new station in the Common Carrier 
Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service.
11
Ketchikan sought authority to construct and operate microwave 
facilities on multiple paths.
12
  One of the paths is between High Mountain in Alaska and Mt. Hays in British 
Columbia, a distance of 78.3 kilometers.
13
  On that path, Ketchikan seeks authority to operate on seven 30 
megahertz channels centered on the following frequencies:  6004.5 MHz, 6123.1 MHz, 6152.75 MHz, 6475 
MHz, 6505 MHz, 6535 MHz, and 6565 MHz.
14
  
5. On November 26, 2013, Ketchikan supplemented its application to request waiver of 
various Commission rules in order to allow operation of the path between High Mountain and Mt. Hays.
15
  
Specifically, Ketchikan sought waiver of section 101.147(j) of the Commission’s rules to authorize the 
operation of fixed links in the 6425-6525 MHz band.
16
  It also sought waiver of section 101.109(c) of the 
Commission’s rules to authorize the use of 30 megahertz channels in the 6425-6525 MHz band, as opposed 
to the maximum authorized bandwidth of 25 megahertz provided for in the rule.
17
  
                                                     
4
We note that there are 30 licenses that are authorized to use this band nationwide or within the continental US, 
however, there were no objections from those licensees during the prior coordination process, and given the remote 
location of the proposed facilities we consider it unlikely that any of these licensees will need to operate mobile 
stations within the vicinity of this proposed fixed link.  In the unlikely event that they do in the future, they would be 
required to coordinate their operation under the provisions of Section 101.103 of the Commission’s rules. 
5
See File No. 0005820273, Request for Waiver and Response to Notice of Return (filed Nov. 26, 2013) (“Waiver 
Request”) at 1.
6
Id.
7
See Wikipedia entry for Ketchikan, Alaska, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchikan,_Alaska.
8
Id. at 8.
9
Id. at 1.
10
Id.
11
File No. 0005820273 (filed June 14, 2013).
12
Id.
13
Id., Path 4.
14
Id.
15
Id.
16
Id. at 1.
17
Id.
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6. Ketchikan provides certifications from Micronet, its United States frequency coordinator, 
and from its Canadian frequency coordinator, Frequency Coordination System Association, certifying that 
no frequencies are available in the 5925-6425 MHz and 6525-6875 MHz bands other than the frequencies 
proposed in the application.
18
  Ketchikan's immediate internal traffic transport needs for the microwave 
radio link are approximately 1.0 Gbps, and it provides an exhibit demonstrating that it needs seven 30 
megahertz channels to obtain that throughput.
19
  Ketchikan argues that higher frequency Part 101 bands 
are not feasible because it cannot meet its engineering reliability standards for a path 78.3 kilometers long 
using those bands.
20
  Ketchikan argues that its proposed microwave facility is unlikely to interfere with 
other facilities in Alaska because (1) its transmit antenna is pointed away from most of the state, (2) High 
mountain is the southernmost communication site in Alaska, (3) there are no towns along the proposed 
path between High Mountain and the Canadian border, and (4) it proposes to use a high performance 
antenna with front-to-back isolation of 71 dB.
21
  Ketchikan seeks to use 30 megahertz transmit channels 
centered at 6475 MHz and 6505 MHz in order to align its use with the Canadian channel plan for those 
frequencies.
22
  It argues that a waiver would be in the public interest because it would help provide the 
public in Ketchikan with affordable broadband internet services.
23
  Ketchikan contends that the extremely 
high cost of middle-mile (off-island) transport connections to the mainland Internet backbone is a major 
factor in the current price of internet services.
24
  It argues that a waiver would allow it “to offer rural 
Alaskan residents affordable broadband Internet services at ‘urban’ rates of speed and quality.”
25
7. Ketchikan’s application, as amended to include the Waiver Request, was accepted for 
filing on December 4, 2013.
26
  No oppositions or comments were filed.
III. DISCUSSION
8. Section 1.925(b)(3) of the Commission’s Rules requires parties seeking a waiver to 
demonstrate that:
(i) The underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not be served or would be frustrated by 
application to the instant case, and that a grant of the requested waiver would be in the public 
interest; or
(ii) In view of unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application of the 
rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary to the public interest, or the 
applicant has no reasonable alternative. 
9. In this case, we conclude that Ketchikan has justified a waiver of the rules limiting use of 
the 6425-6525 MHz band to mobile operations under the second prong of the waiver standard.  Ketchikan 
has demonstrated that it has no reasonable alternative to using frequencies in the 6425-6525 MHz band.  
                                                     
18
See Supplemental Showing Part 101.103(d). Micronet Communications, Inc., File No. L1228607 (filed as Exhibit 
4 to the application); Letter from Alejandro Moreno, General Manager &Secretary-Treasurer, Frequency 
Coordination System Association to Mr. Dave Wand, PE, Engineering Manager, Gillespie Prudhon & Associates 
(Oct. 29, 2013) (filed as Exhibit 2 to the application).
19
See System Capacity and Throughput, Exhibit 3 to the application.
20
Waiver Request at 2.
21
Id. at 2-4.
22
Id. at 4-6.
23
Id. at 7-8.
24
Id. at 8.
25
Id.
26
See Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Site-by-Site Accepted for Filing, Report No. 9175, Public Notice (rel. 
Dec. 4, 2013) at 2.
Federal Communications Commission DA 14-872
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It cannot meet its needs solely by using the 5925-6425 MHz and 6525-6875 MHz bands because use of 
frequencies in those bands would conflict with existing operations; and it cannot meet its needs using 
higher frequency bands because its reliability objectives would not be met.  Furthermore, under the 
unusual circumstances of this case, allowing Ketchikan to operate fixed microwave facilities in the 6425-
6525 MHz band would not be inconsistent with the Commission’s decision to reserve the frequencies for 
mobile use.  The Commission anticipated that the primary need for this mobile use band would be in 
urban areas.
27
  The band is not assigned to any facilities that operate around permanent locations in this 
rural part of Alaska.  To the extent there may be future demand for mobile use of the band in Alaska, 
Ketchikan’s microwave link is highly unlikely to preclude such future use because of the link’s location, 
orientation, and use of a highly directional antenna.  We emphasize that the 6425-6525 MHz band is 
designed primarily for mobile use, and grant of this waiver should not be considered an indication of our 
intent to revisit that designation.  The grant of Ketchikan’s Waiver Request is based on and is limited to 
the specific facts it has presented to us.
10. We also conclude that Ketchikan has justified a waiver of section 101.109(c) of the 
Commission’s rules to allow the use of 30 megahertz channels in the 6425-6525 MHz band.  In this case, 
allowing Ketchikan to use 30 megahertz channels will make its use of the band consistent with the band 
plan used in Canada.  Since the link will terminate in Canada, allowing the use of 30 megahertz channels 
in this case will facilitate the efficient use of spectrum. Furthermore, since there are no existing uses of 
the band in the vicinity of Ketchikan’s operation, we do not have to be concerned about overlapping 
facilities operating on different band plans.
11. We also find that grant of Ketchikan’s requested waivers would be in the public interest.  
The Commission has recognized that microwave services can play an important role in providing 
backhaul “middle mile” services.
28
  By granting these waivers, we allow Ketchikan to use microwave 
facilities as a backhaul solution.  Such use can help facilitate the provision of advanced broadband and 
wireless services to the residents of Ketchikan.
IV. CONCLUSION AND ORDERING CLAUSES
12. Ketchikan has justified waivers of the Commission’s rules to allow it to operate a fixed 
microwave link with 30 megahertz bandwidth channels in the 6425-6525 MHz band.  We therefore grant 
its Waiver Request and direct processing of its application.
13. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 309 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 309, and Section 1.925 of the 
Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.925, that the waiver request filed by City of Ketchikan dba Ketchikan 
Public Utilities on November 26, 2013 IS GRANTED.
                                                     
27
See Establishment of a Spectrum Utilization Policy for the Fixed and Mobile Services Use of Certain Bands 
Between 947 MHz and 40 GHz, supra.
28
See Amendment of Part 101 of the Commission’s Rules to Facilitate the Use of Microwave for Wireless Backhaul 
and Other Uses and to Provide Additional Flexibility to Broadcast Auxiliary Service and Operational Fixed 
Microwave Licensees, et al., WT Docket No. 10-153, et al., Report and Order, Further Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking and Memorandum Opinion and Order, 26 FCC Rcd 11614, 11616 ¶ 2 (2011).  
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14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the licensing staff of the Broadband Division SHALL 
PROCESS the pending application of City of Ketchikan dba Ketchikan Public Utilities on June 14, 2013, 
as amended on July 18, 2013, November 6, 2013, November 26, 2013, May 13, 2014, and June 13, 2014
(File No. 0005820273) in accordance with this Memorandum Opinion and Order and the applicable 
Commission rules.
15. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.131 and 0.331 of the 
Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.131, 0.331.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
John J. Schauble
Deputy Chief, Broadband Division 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau