FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Charles E. Schumer 
United States Senate 
322 Hart Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
Dear Senator Schumer: 
July 14,2015 
Thank you for your letter of June 8, 2015 concerning the delays that Wyoming County, New 
York, previously encountered in obtaining Canadian concurrence for the County' s Very High Frequency 
(VHF) interoperable communications system. I am pleased to report that, as of this writing, all six of 
Wyoming County's sites have completed testing, and Industry Canada has concurred that the County's 
proposed sites arc not a source of interference to Canada' s facilities. 
As you are aware, our agreements with Canada for use of the VHF band establish a " first come, 
first served" protocol whereby stations in the U.S. and Canada are afforded protection against interference 
once they are licensed by their respective agencies. llowcver, the U.S. and Canada have made such 
intensive use of the VI IF band that only a limited number of VHF channels are available in either country 
in the area near Wyoming County which, at its closest point, is only 27 miles from the Canada border. 
After working with the County and Industry Canada to schedule with Canada an "on-air-test" (OAT) of 
potential interference that the County' s facilities could cause to Canadian licensees, Federal 
Communications Commission engineers began OATs with Industry Canada on June 4, 2015. 
As we now have Canadian concurrence following the OATs, the Commission is prepared to 
provide Special Temporary Authority (STA) for the County to operate its facilities, pending processing of 
the County's license applications. However, before the Commission can grant an STA, the County must 
obtain a " no hazard" determination from the Federal Aviation Administration for one of its tower 
locations, which the County previously submitted to the FAA with incorrect coordinates. The County has 
advised us that it has corrected the error and resubmitted the application to the FAA, which will conduct 
an airspace study to ensure that tower docs not present a hazard to air navigation. Once the County 
receives the required no-hazard determination from the FAA, it may file its STA request with the Public 
Safety and I lomeland Security Bureau, and the Bureau will process the request promptly. 
Page 2-The llonorable Charles E. Schumer 
We remain committed to our support of public safety communications, particularly for those 
regions like Wyoming County which are interoperable with neighboring jurisdictions. We believe that 
the STA process will support the improved public safety communications outcome Wyoming County 
seeks to achieve. We will follow the County's progress closely and be prepared to provide any assistance 
as needed. 
Thank you for call;ng th;s matter lo my attenl;on:;:; -~t/J 
Tom Wheeler