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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  July  16,  2002  Meribeth  McCarrick  at  (202)  418-  0654 
 FCC  IMPLEMENTS  MIGRATION  PATH  TO  PROMOTE  THE  EFFICIENT  USE  OF  SPECTRUM 
 IN  THE  700  MHZ  PUBLIC  SAFETY  BAND 
 Washington,  DC  --  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  has  adopted  a  Fifth  Report  and  Order  that  sets  forth  a  uniform  migration  path  for  General  Use  and  State  License  public  safety  channels 
 that  will  promote  the  deployment  of  spectrally  efficient  equipment  in  the  764-  776  MHz  and  794-  806  MHz  band  (700  MHz  band).  Implementing  the  same  migration  path  for  General  Use  and  State  License 
 channels  will  enhance  the  ability  of  public  safety  agencies  to  perform  both  long  range  and  short  term  planning  to  include  coordination  with  adjacent  agencies  regarding  their  respective  communications  needs. 
 Such  planning  and  coordination  is  critical  to  the  successful  deployment  of  communications  systems  in  this  band.  The  Commission’s  action  will  also  ensure  the  efficient,  effective  and  maximized  use  of  the  700 
 MHz  band. 
 The  FCC’s  migration  path  requires  that  all  new  systems  accepted  for  filing  after  December  31,  2006,  must  use  6.25  kHz  equipment  (i.  e.,  radios  that  are  able  to  provide  one  voice  channel  per  6.25  kHz). 
 However,  the  FCC  noted  that  the  rules  adopted  today  include  a  grandfathering  policy  to  encourage  the  expeditious  development  and  deployment  of  the  700  MHz  band.  The  grandfathering  policy  allows 
 licensees  of  12.5  kHz  systems  to  operate  their  systems  until  December  31,  2016,  if  they  file  their  license  application  on  or  before  December  31,  2006. 


 Background  on  the  700  MHz  Band: 
 In  the  Balanced  Budget  Act  of  1997,  Congress  directed  the  FCC  to  allocate  twenty-  four  megahertz  of  spectrum  in  the  700  MHz  band  for  public  safety  use.  The  FCC  designated  the  spectrum  for 


 use  as  follows:  12.5  MHz  for  General  Use,  2.6  MHz  for  Interoperability,  2.4  MHz  for  State  License,  0.3  MHz  for  Low  Power,  0.2  MHz  for  Secondary  Trunking,  and  6.0  MHz  for  Reserve. 


 The  General  Use  spectrum,  which  consists  of  both  6.25  kHz  and  50  kHz  channels  (referred  to  as  narrowband  and  wideband,  respectively),  is  licensed  utilizing  a  regional  planning  approach  akin  to  that 
 used  for  the  800  MHz  band.  The  General  Use  channels  can  be  used  for  voice  and  data  applications  in  support  of  public  safety  services.  The  State  Licenses  are  2.4  MHz  geographic  area  licenses  based  on  state 
 boundaries.  The  State  Licenses  are  issued  to  the  Governor  of  each  state  or  the  Governor’s  designee  to  use  to  implement  statewide  public  safety  systems. 


 Details  of  the  5  th  Report  and  Order: 
 The  Fifth  Report  and  Order  adopts  the  following  migration  plan  for  the  narrowband  General  Use  and  State  License  channels  of  the  700  MHz  band: 


 €  Allows  the  marketing,  manufacture  and  importation  of  12.5  kHz  equipment  until  December  31,  2006. 
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 €  Accepts  applications  for  filing  to  use  12.5  kHz  equipment  that  are  filed  on  or  before  December  31,  2006. 
 €  Accepts  applications  for  filing  for  new  systems  to  use  6.25  kHz  equipment  that  are  filed  after  December  31,  2006. 
 €  Permits  legacy  licensees  to  continue  using  12.5  kHz  based  systems  until  December  31,  2016. 
 €  Permits  legacy  licensees  to  purchase  dual-  mode  equipment  for  12.5  kHz  system  expansion  or  maintenance. 


 €  Requires  use  of  6.25  kHz-  compatible  equipment  exclusively  effective  after  December  31,  2016. 
 €  Cease  certifying  equipment  that  is  exclusively  12.  5  kHz  or  that  lacks  6.25  kHz  efficiency  and  only  certify  equipment  that  is  dual-  mode  effective  after  December  31,  2006. 


 Action  by  the  Commission  July  16,  2002,  by  Fifth  Report  and  Order  (FCC  02-  216).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps  and  Martin. 
 FCC  Contact:  Roberto  Mussenden  (202)  418-  1428  or  rmussend@  fcc.  gov 
 WT  Docket  No.  96-  86 
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