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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:  June  20,  2005  Jacqueline  Ponti  (202)  418-  0436 
 Canada  and  U.  S.  Reach  Agreement  that  will  Facilitate  Deployment  of  Public  Safety  Services  Near  the  U.  S.-  Canada  Border  in  the 
 764-  776  MHz  and  794-  806  MHz  Frequency  Bands 
 Washington  D.  C.  –The  United  States  of  America  and  the  Government  of  Canada  have  concluded  an  amendment  to  the  1962  United  States-  Canada  Agreement  concerning  coordination 
 and  use  of  radio  frequencies  above  30  megacycles  per  second,  to  add  a  new  Arrangement  that  will  be  administered  by  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  and  Industry  Canada  covering 
 use  of  the  Frequency  Bands  764-  776  MHz  (TV  channels  63  &  64)  and  794-  806  MHz  (TV  channels  68  &  69).  The  new  Arrangement  will  facilitate  the  deployment  of  public  safety  systems  in  these 
 bands  near  the  U.  S.-  Canada  border,  providing  public  safety  licensees  near  the  border  with  much  needed  additional  spectrum  as  well  as  interference-  free  operations  and  interoperability.  This 
 additional  spectrum  will  allow  public  safety  licensees  along  the  border  to  develop  robust  and  highly  reliable  public  safety  systems. 


 This  Arrangement  sets  forth  the  principles  and  mechanisms  for  spectrum  sharing  by  public  safety  licensees  operating  in  the  764-  776  MHz  and  794-  806  MHz  bands  near  the  U.  S.-  Canada  border.  The 
 border  area  is  divided  into  three  Sharing  Zones.  In  these  zones,  the  Arrangement  specifies  which  narrowband  and  wideband  frequencies  are  primary  for  United  States  and  which  are  primary  for  Canada. 
 Operation  on  primary  channels  under  the  Arrangement  is  subject  to  limitations  on  the  Effective  Radiated  Power  (ERP).  In  addition,  the  Arrangement  contains  restrictions  to  protect  the  other  country’s  TV 
 stations.  Use  of  the  other  country’s  primary  frequencies  in  the  Sharing  Zones  is  restricted  under  the  Arrangement  to  a  maximum  power  flux  density  (pfd)  at  or  beyond  the  border. 


 The  Arrangement  also  specifies  certain  frequencies  for  shared  use  along  the  border.  These  are  the  Interoperability  Channels  and  the  Low  Power  Channels.  The  Interoperability  Channels  provide  the 
 necessary  common  operating  frequencies  for  Public  Safety  stations  on  both  sides  of  the  border  to  communicate  directly  with  each  other  for  instant  interchange  of  vital  public  safety  information.  Low 
 Power  channels  are  available  for  mobile  operations  only  and  are  on  an  unprotected  basis. 
 This  Arrangement  is  titled  “Sharing  Arrangement  Between  the  Department  of  Industry  of  Canada  and  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  of  the  United  States  of  America  Concerning  the  Use  of  the 
 Frequency  Bands  764  MHz  to  776  MHz  and  794  MHz  to  806  MHz  By  the  Land  Mobile  Service  Along  the  Canada  -  United  States  Border.”  This  Arrangement  is  an  amendment  to  the  existing  1962  US.-  Canadian 
 Agreement  (mentioned  above)  and  will  be  included  in  the  technical  annex  to  that  Agreement.  The  full  text  of  this  Arrangement  is  available  at  the  International  Bureau  Reference  Room  CY-  A257,  located  on 
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 the  Courtyard  level  of  445  12  th  St.  S.  W.;  from  the  FCC’s  duplicating  contractor,  Qualex  International  at  (202)  863-  2893  and  on  the  FCC  International  Bureau  website  at:  www.  fcc.  gov/  ib/  sand/  agree. 
 The  amendment  was  effected  by  an  exchange  of  notes  between  the  Embassy  of  Canada  and  the  Department  of  State,  signed  at  Washington,  D.  C.  on  June  15,  2005  and  June  20,  2005,  respectively.  It 
 entered  into  force  on  June  20,  2005. 
 Contacts:  Thomas  Lucey,  International  Bureau  at  (202)  418-  2161,  Brian  Marenco,  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau  at  (202)  418-  0838;  or  Tim  Maguire,  Wireless  Telecommunications  Bureau 
 at  (202)  418-  2155. 


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