Federal Communications Commission DA 16-906
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Request for Modification of Station KIVD0002
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)
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) File No. 0006682035
ORDER OF MODIFICATION
Adopted:  August 10, 2016 Released: August 10, 2016
By the Chief, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Order of Modification we modify Station KIVD0002, licensed to the Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority (MTA) in the 218-219 MHz Service, to facilitate implementation of a 
Congressionally-mandated positive train control (PTC) system
1
by the MTA Metro-North Commuter 
Railroad (Metro-North).
2
  Our action will also enable the National Railroad Passenger Corporation 
(Amtrak) to use PTC where it is a tenant on Metro-North track, and will benefit New Jersey Transit’s (NJ 
Transit) PTC deployment by requiring MTA to provide NJ Transit access to sufficient spectrum to deploy 
PTC in seven northern New Jersey counties.
II. BACKGROUND
2. Metro-North and Positive Train Control.  Metro-North is one of the nation’s busiest 
commuter railroads, providing more than 275,000 passenger trips on an average weekday within its 
service territory.
3
  Its affiliate commuter railroad, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), provides more than 
300,000 passenger trips on an average weekday on routes running from eastern Long Island to 
Manhattan’s Penn Station.
4
  Metro-North and LIRR are a critical part of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), 
                                                     
1
Congress adopted the PTC mandate in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.  See Pub. L. No. 110-432, § 104, 
122 Stat. 4848, 4857 (2008), amended by the Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015, 
Pub. L. No. 114-73, § 1302, 129 Stat. 568, 576 (Oct. 29, 2015).  PTC systems are intended to reduce the risk of 
human-error rail accidents, by “prevent[ing] train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into 
established work zone limits, and the movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position.”  49 U.S.C. § 
20157(i)(5).
2
Request for Modification of License of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, ULS File No. 0006682035 
(filed Feb. 23, 2015).  See Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Proposed Order of Modification and Order on 
Reconsideration, 31 FCC Rcd 1436 (2016) (Proposed Order of Modification and Order on Reconsideration, 
respectively).
3
Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1448, para. 39.  Metro-North’s service territory spans seven New 
York State counties (Bronx, Dutchess, New York, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester) and two counties in 
southwestern Connecticut (Fairfield and New Haven).  Id.
4
Long Island Rail Road, General Information, http://web.mta.info/lirr/about/GeneralInformation/ (last visited July 
29, 2016).  The LIRR serves five counties in New York State:  Brooklyn, Nassau, New York, Queens, and Suffolk.  
Id.  
Federal Communications Commission DA 16-906
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which extends from Boston to Washington, D.C.
5
3. Pursuant to the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA), as amended by the Positive 
Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015,
6
Congress has required all trains providing 
passenger service and freight trains operating on lines carrying toxic and poisonous-by-inhalation 
hazardous materials to implement interoperable
7
PTC systems by December 31, 2018.
8
  The American 
rail industry has chosen to implement PTC using radio spectrum that creates wireless networks with the 
capacity to enable real-time information sharing between trains, rail wayside devices, and “back office” 
applications, regarding train movement authorities, speed restrictions, train position and speed, and the 
state of signal and switch devices.  Like Amtrak, NJ Transit, and other commuter railroads serving the 
NEC, Metro-North and the LIRR are deploying a PTC radio technology called an Advanced Civil Speed 
Enforcement System (ACSES).
9
  ACSES radios are designed to operate in the 216-222 MHz frequency 
range.
10
  
4. To implement ACSES for Metro-North and the LIRR, MTA acquired Station KIVD0002, 
the frequency B segment (218.501 to 219.000 MHz) license of the 218-219 MHz Service for the New 
York Cellular Market Area (CMA001).
11
  The license area includes five counties comprising the LIRR’s 
service territory and five of the nine counties comprising Metro-North’s service territory.
12
  No 218-219 
MHz Band spectrum is available on the secondary market in the four counties needed to complete Metro-
North’s PTC spectrum footprint because both 500 kHz frequency segments are held by the Commission.
13
  
MTA’s efforts to obtain other suitable spectrum for PTC implementation were limited by the U.S. freight 
railroads’ decision to deploy a different PTC radio technology, called an Interoperable Electronic Train 
Management System (I-ETMS), in the 220-222 MHz band.
14
5. Having been unsuccessful in securing other suitable spectrum in the secondary market to 
                                                     
5
See Northeast Corridor Fact Sheet, http://nec.amtrak.com/node/321 (last visited July 29, 2016).  Of the over 260 
million passenger trips per year that take place on the NEC, the balance of these trips is provided by eight commuter 
railroads that share the NEC.  Id.
6
See supra note 1.    
7
Interoperability is defined as “the ability to control locomotives of the host railroad and tenant railroad to 
communicate with and respond to the positive train control system, including uninterrupted movements over 
property boundaries.”  49 U.S.C. § 20157(i)(3).
8
49 U.S.C. § 20157(a)(1).  In October 2015, Congress extended the PTC implementation deadline from December 
31, 2015, to December 31, 2018.  See Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015, Pub. L. 
No. 114-73, § 1302, 129 Stat. 568, 576 (Oct. 29, 2015).  Railroads may request up to a 24-month extension of the 
December 31, 2018 deadline in limited circumstances.  See 49 U.S.C. § 20157(a)(2)(B).  
9
Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1448, para. 39.
10
Id.
11
Id. at 1448, para. 40.
12
Id.
13
See id. at 1450, para. 44.  Each county corresponds to a single Cellular Market Area (CMA): Dutchess County, 
New York (CMA 151); Orange County, New York (CMA 144); Fairfield County, Connecticut (CMA 042); and 
New Haven County, Connecticut (CMA 049). 
14
The ACSES and I-ETMS technologies cannot operate without intersystem interference in the same spectrum band 
where freight and commuter railroads operate in close geographic proximity, as is the case in much of the NEC.  Id.
at 1449-50, paras. 41-43 (discussing May 2015 results of an FRA-funded engineering study performed by the 
Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI Study)).  The TTCI Study concludes that I-ETMS radios should only 
operate above 220 MHz and ACSES radios below 219 MHz when in close geographic proximity in order to mitigate 
possible ACSES/I-ETMS intersystem interference in the NEC.  Id. at 1449, para. 42.    
Federal Communications Commission DA 16-906
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complete Metro-North’s PTC spectrum footprint,
15
MTA requested that the Commission modify Station 
KIVD0002 by authorizing the use of an additional 250 kHz of 218-219 MHz Band spectrum (218.501-
218.750 MHz) in Dutchess County, New York (CMA151); Orange County, New York (CMA144); 
Fairfield County, Connecticut (CMA042); and New Haven County, Connecticut (CMA049).
16
  MTA 
requested modification of Station KIVD0002 to return 250 kHz of spectrum (218.751-219 MHz) covering 
five northern New Jersey counties (Essex, Passaic, Morris, Somerset, and Union) from Station KIVD0002 
to the Commission.
17
  MTA also committed to provide spectrum it would retain in seven New Jersey 
counties after the license modification to NJ Transit for the latter’s PTC implementation.
18
  Additionally, 
MTA requested a limited waiver of Section 95.855’s effective radiated Power (ERP) limits,
19
from 4 to 8 
watts for mobile PTC operations and from 20 to 30 watts for fixed and base station PTC operations, for 
Metro-North to deploy PTC in the four counties.
20
6. Commission’s Proposed Order of Modification.  On February 16, 2016, the Commission 
adopted the Proposed Order of Modification.
21
  The Commission found that Section 316(a)(1) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, provides it authority to modify Station KIVD0002 as 
requested by MTA.
22
  The Commission found that the proposed license modification will promote the 
vital public interest in rail safety in three respects:  (1) by enabling Metro-North to complete its PTC 
deployment; (2) by enabling Amtrak to deploy PTC-equipped passenger trains on Metro-North track that 
runs from New Rochelle, New York, to New Haven, Connecticut; and (3) through the requirement that 
MTA provide NJ Transit sufficient spectrum now licensed under Station KIVD0002 to deploy PTC in 
northern New Jersey.
23
  The Commission evaluated MTA’s request for additional power to deploy PTC 
and found that strict application of Section 95.855’s power limits would not serve the public interest.
24
  
7. The Commission delegated authority to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to 
issue an order of modification after addressing any protest of the Proposed Order of Modification.
25
  The 
period for filing protests of the Proposed Order of Modification has ended and no party filed a protest.
26
  
However, Skybridge Spectrum Foundation (Skybridge)
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filed a petition for reconsideration of the 
                                                     
15
See id. at 1448-49, para. 40.
16
Id. at 1447-48, para. 38. 
17
Id. at 1448, para. 38.
18
Id. at 1450-51, para. 45.  
19
47 CFR § 95.855. 
20
Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1458, para. 64.
21
See supra note 2.
22
Section 316(a) states the Commission may modify any station license “if in the judgment of the Commission such 
action will promote the public interest, convenience, and necessity . . . .”  47 U.S.C. § 316(a).
23
Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1456-57, para. 61.
24
Id. at 1458, para. 66.
25
Id. at 1459, para. 68.
26
The Commission prescribed a 30-day period to file protests, commencing on February 16, 2016 (the public release 
date of the Proposed Order of Modification).  Id. at 1459, para. 67.
27
On November 16, 2015, the Superior Court of Alameda County, California, issued an order appointing Susan L. 
Uecker (Uecker) as receiver to take control of Skybridge and certain other related entities.  See Arnold Leong v. 
Warrens Havens, et al., Case No. 2002-070640, Order Appointing Receiver After Hearing and Preliminary 
Injunction (Nov. 16, 2015).  On December 17, 2015, Uecker filed several applications to notify the Commission of 
an involuntary transfer of control of Skybridge and the other entities.  See, e.g., ULS File No. 0007060862, 
Description of Application and Public Interest Statement, citing 47 C.F.R. § 1.948(c)(2).  The applications were 
accepted on February 6, 2016.  On March 11, 2016, Skybridge filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under
(continued….)
Federal Communications Commission DA 16-906
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Commission’s Order on Reconsideration that upheld the renewal of MTA’s license under call sign 
KIVD0002.
28
  
III. DISCUSSION
8. For the reasons stated above and in light of the overriding public interest in rail safety 
embodied in the Congressional mandate to implement PTC, we find it in the public interest to modify 
MTA’s authorization consistent with the Commission’s Proposed Order of Modification.  Accordingly, 
we hereby modify Station KIVD0002 as follows:
? We authorize the use of an additional 250 kHz of spectrum, 218.501-218.750 MHz,
29
in 
Dutchess County, New York (CMA151); Orange County, New York (CMA144); 
Fairfield County, Connecticut (CMA042); and New Haven County, Connecticut 
(CMA049).
? We delete the authorization to use 250 kHz of spectrum, 218.751-219.000 MHz from five 
New Jersey counties, all in CMA001—Essex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union.
30
  
9. We modify Station KIVD0002 to permit Metro-North to deploy PTC in Dutchess and 
Orange counties, New York, and Fairfield and New Haven counties, Connecticut, at increased power 
levels under the Proposed Order of Modification, which granted a waiver of Section 95.855’s ERP limits, 
from 4 to 8 watts for mobile PTC operations, and from 20 to 30 watts for base and fixed station PTC 
operations.
31
  The following additional attenuation requirements also apply consistent with the Proposed 
Order of Modification:  
? Metro-North must attenuate out-of-band emissions (OOBE) of fixed and base PTC 
stations by an additional 1.77 dB when using increased ERP under the waiver.
32
  
? Metro-North must attenuate OOBE of mobile PTC stations by an additional 3 dB when 
using increased ERP under the waiver.
33
  
10. Consistent with the Proposed Order of Modification, we require MTA, as a condition of 
our modification of Station KIVD0002, to sell or lease on commercially reasonable terms sufficient 
spectrum now licensed under Station KIVD0002 to NJ Transit to enable its PTC implementation in seven 
northern New Jersey counties (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union; 
collectively, the “Seven Counties”) as follows:
? Within 90 days of the release date of this order, MTA must submit a letter under file 
number 0006682035 reaffirming MTA’s authority to sell or lease sufficient spectrum to 
(Continued from previous page)                                                            
Chapter 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Delaware District, Case No. 16-10626.  The court dismissed that 
petition on May 6, 2016.  See Skybridge Spectrum Foundation, Debtor, Case 16-10626-CSS, Doc 120, Order (May 
6, 2016).  
28
Petition for Reconsideration, ULS File Nos. 0006109691, 0006682035, and 0005681972 (filed March 17, 2016);
Order on Reconsideration, 31 FCC Rcd at 1439-43, paras. 9-19 (upholding renewal of Station KIVD0002).
29
This spectrum will provide Metro-North 1.25 MHz of spectral separation from the freights’ I-ETMS deployment 
in 220-222 MHz Band, thereby mitigating the potential for intersystem interference identified in the FRA-funded 
TTCI Study.  Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1457, para. 63 n.190.  
30
This spectrum shall become unassigned and available for future disposition as determined by the Commission.
31
Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1458-59, paras. 64-66.
32
Id. at 1459, para. 66 (proposing additional attenuation requirements identical to those adopted in the Order on 
Reconsideration, 31 FCC Rcd at 1446-47, para. 32).
33
Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1459, para. 66 (proposing additional attenuation requirements 
identical to those adopted in the Order on Reconsideration, 31 FCC Rcd at 1447, para. 33).
Federal Communications Commission DA 16-906
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NJ Transit to enable PTC implementation in the Seven Counties.  
? Within 180 days of the release date of this order, MTA must file an application to sell or
lease sufficient spectrum to NJ Transit to enable PTC implementation in the Seven 
Counties.
34
11. With respect to Skybridge’s Petition for Reconsideration of the Order on 
Reconsideration, we note that the Commission stated that “[t]he filing of an appeal, a petition for 
reconsideration, or other pleading regarding [the] Order on Reconsideration will not preclude the Bureau 
from issuing an order of modification in the public interest.”
35
  We therefore find it is unnecessary to 
address Skybridge’s petition here; it will be addressed separately as appropriate.
12. Finally, we note that MTA previously requested a spectrum assignment to facilitate its 
PTC deployment.
36
  Because today’s spectrum license modification will enable MTA to deploy PTC 
throughout its commuter rail service area, we dismiss MTA’s request as moot.         
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
13. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 316(a) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 316(a), and Section 1.87 of the 
Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.87, Station KIVD0002, licensed to the Metropolitan Transportation 
Authority, IS MODIFIED as specified in Section III of this Order of Modification.  Modification of 
Station KIVD0002 is effective upon release of this Order of Modification.  
14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 316(a)(1) of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 316(a)(1), the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau SHALL 
SEND this Order of Modification by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority.
15. AND IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications 
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), the Waiver Request filed by the Metropolitan 
Transportation Authority on June 18, 2010, ULS File No. 0004289177, IS DISMISSED as moot.
16. 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
Roger S. Noel
Chief, Mobility Division
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
                                                     
34
We anticipate that NJ Transit will work closely with MTA to help ensure that the relevant application is filed 
timely.  
35
See Proposed Order of Modification, 31 FCC Rcd at 1459, para. 68.
36
Waiver Request of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Pursuant to Section 337(c) and Section 1.925, ULS 
File No. 0004289177 (filed June 18, 2010).