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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:  October  29,  2003  Chelsea  Fallon  at  (202)  418-  7991 
 FCC  AND  NATIONAL  IMAGERY  AND  MAPPING  AGENCY  SIGN  INTER-  AGENCY  MOU  FOR  QUARTERLY  SHARING  OF  DATABASES  ON  TOWER  LOCATIONS 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  and  the  National  Imagery  and  Mapping  Agency  (NIMA)  entered  into  a  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MOU)  today  to  exchange 
 unclassified  database  information  on  tower  locations  on  a  quarterly  basis.  The  MOU  will  support  the  efforts  of  the  two  agencies  in  maintaining  accurate  information  on  vertical  obstructions  and  antenna 
 facilities  for  purposes  of  national  security,  aircraft  navigation  safety,  and  the  deployment  of  wireless  communications  services. 


 According  to  the  terms  of  the  MOU,  signed  by  John  B.  Muleta,  Chief  of  the  FCC’s  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau,  and  Lynne  Puetz,  Chief  of  NIMA’s  Aeronautical  Safety  Division,  the  FCC 
 will  provide  information  contained  in  its  Antenna  Structure  Registration  (ASR)  database,  while  NIMA  will  contribute  its  Digital  Vertical  Obstruction  File  (DVOF).  The  FCC’s  ASR  database  contains 
 information  about  antenna  structures  in  the  United  States  and  its  Possessions  and  Territories.  The  FCC’s  rules  require  that  the  owner  of  any  proposed  or  existing  antenna  structure  must  register  the  structure  with 
 the  FCC  if  it  is  used  by  an  FCC  licensee  and  if  it  requires  notice  of  proposed  construction  to  the  Federal  Aviation  Administration  (see  47  C.  F.  R.  §  17.4). 


 NIMA  is  both  a  national  intelligence  and  combat  support  agency  whose  mission  is  to  provide  timely,  relevant,  and  accurate  Geospatial  Intelligence  in  support  of  the  national  security  of  the  United 
 States.  Geospatial  Intelligence  is  the  exploitation  and  analysis  of  imagery  and  geospatial  information  to  describe,  assess,  and  visually  depict  physical  features  and  geographically  referenced  activities  on  Earth. 
 NIMA’s  DVOF  contains  certain  unclassified  geospatial  data  about  the  United  States  and  its  Possessions  and  Territories. 


 The  FCC  will  use  the  information  received  from  NIMA  to  improve  the  accuracy  of  its  ASR  database  and  to  monitor  ASR  compliance.  The  FCC  may  also  use  the  DVOF  to  populate  a  proposed 
 database  of  tower  sites  or  possible  tower  sites  to  assist  its  licensees  in  collocating  their  facilities.  The  information  exchange  will  assist  the  FCC  in  accomplishing  its  missions  of  promoting  public  safety  and 
 the  availability  of  radio  communication  services  to  the  American  public. 
 The  MOU  will  assist  NIMA  in  accomplishing  its  mission  of  providing  timely,  relevant,  and  accurate  imagery  and  imagery  information  to  national,  military,  and  civilian  customers  in  support  of 
 national  security  objectives.  The  information  exchange  will  provide  an  additional  resource  to  assess  the  currency  and  accuracy  of  the  DVOF  database,  which  is  subject  to  constant  change. 
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 The  FCC  and  NIMA  agree  that  it  is  mutually  beneficial  to  exchange  this  data  for  internal  use  and  for  the  development  of  publicly-  available  databases  by  each  agency.  The  two  agencies  also  find  that  this 
 MOU  will  provide  a  system  of  “checks  and  balances”  that  will  benefit  the  FCC,  NIMA,  and  the  public. 
 FCC  Contact:  Diane  Leer  (717)  338-  2568,  dleer@  fcc.  gov  NIMA  Contact:  Joan  Mears  (301)  227-  2057,  mearsj@  nima.  mil 
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