,JULIUS GENACHOWSKI
CHAIRMAN
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
January 3, 2013
The Honorable Jon Runyan
U.S. House of Representatives
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Runyan:
Thank you for your letter regarding interference to public safety communications
systems in New Jersey. I appreciate your interest in this matter and am pleased to
provide the enclosed letter on this issue from the Chief of the FCC's Public Safety
Homeland Security Bureau.
If you have any additional questions or need any further assistance, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Julius Genachowski
445 12TH STREET S.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554 • 202-418-1000
Fedenil Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
January 3, 2013
In Reply Refer To:
1200144
The Honorable Jon Runyan
U.S. House of Representatives
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Runyan:
Thank you for your letter concerning public safety radio licensees in New Jersey that
have reported interference from local and distant television (TV) stations. I appreciate your
concern and want to assure you that staff of the Commission's Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau (Bureau) has been working with the affected public safety licensees to explore
all viable options.
This interference appears to be the result of a physical phenomenon in the atmosphere,
also known as "ducting," that causes electromagnetic radio waves to be transmitted over
unusually long distances beyond their ordinary range. When this condition exists (most
frequently during nighttime hours in the summer), distant television broadcast signals,
sometimes originating hundreds of miles away, can be transmitted through the atmosphere,
causing harmful interference to land mobile radio systems operating on the same channel. In this
particular case, it appears some public safety licensees operating in central and southern New
Jersey are receiving harmful interference from distant broadcast TV licensees operating on the
same TV Channel 20 (506-512 MHz) frequencies.
Options for resolution of this issue are limited because the television broadcasters in
question are operating their systems in full compliance with the Commission's broadcast
transmission power limits. Forecasting these conditions, or predicting the timing, duration, or
geographic scope of specific ducting events is impossible.
Frequency relocation is one possible way to address the problem. In this regard,
Commission staff has been working with affected jurisdictions to identify alternative frequencies
other than Channel 20 that have not been susceptible to ducting interference in the region. As a
result, the Bureau has granted waivers to two public safety entities in New Jersey to use
alternative frequencies for their operations, assigning TV Channel 15 frequencies to Ocean
County in 2009 and TV Channel 16 frequencies to Woodbridge Township in 2010. Moreover, in
February 2012, President Obama signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of
2012 (Spectrum Act). Section 6103 of the Spectrum Act requires the Commission to reallocate
the spectrum in TV Channels 14-20 used by public safety agencies in order to issue new initial
licenses pursuant to competitive bidding. This reallocation must occur within nine years of the
The Honorable Jon Runyan
Page 2
Spectrum Act's enactment, or by February 2021. Section 6103 further requires public safety
licensees operating on TV Channels 14-20, including those in New Jersey, to relocate within two
years after the completion of competitive bidding.
While the Commission does not have statutory authority or resources to provide funding
assistance, Section 6103 makes the funds received from the future auction of spectrum in TV
Channels 14-20 available to the Assistant Secretary for Telecommunications at the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to pay for the relocation expenses
of public safety licensees. Alternatively, Commission staff encourages licensees to work with
agencies like the Department of Homeland Security to identify potential grant programs and
other funding resources. The Commission stands ready to assist in the licensing process for any
jurisdictions making this migration.
I appreciate your interest in this matter. Please let me know if I can be of any further
assistance.
~t!e(fely,
I &-V;~~
David S. Turetsky
Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau