Federal Communications Commission FCC 13-91 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission’s Rules to Permit Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) Technology Motorola Solutions, Inc. Petition for Clarification and/or Reconsideration ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) WT Docket No. 11-69 ORDER ON RECONSIDERATION Adopted: July 2, 2013 Released: July 2, 2013 By the Commission: 1. Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) seeks clarification and/or reconsideration of the Report and Order in this proceeding, 1 which amended Part 90 of the Commission’s Rules to permit the certification and use of Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) 2 equipment. 3 In response, we clarify that the rules adopted in the Report and Order permit TETRA technology on all channels in the 809-824/854-869 MHz band, and permit any technology that meets the technical criteria adopted in the Report and Order, whether or not it is TETRA technology. 2. On September 21, 2012, the Commission released a Report and Order amending Sections 90.209 and 90.210 of its rules, and adding a new Section 90.221, to permit the certification and use of TETRA equipment in the 450-470 MHz and 809-824/854-869 MHz bands. Specifically, the rules permit the use of equipment in the 450-470 MHz and 809-824/854-869 MHz bands that meets certain adjacent channel power limits in lieu of operating within the Part 90 emission masks. 4 MSI requests clarification of two issues: 1) whether the Commission intended to include under the scope of the new rules 800 MHz Public Safety Pool channels that are not in the National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) portion of the band, and 2) whether the rules permit the certification and use of only TETRA equipment, or of any equipment that satisfies the new technical parameters. 1 Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission’s Rules to Permit Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) Technology, Report and Order, WT Docket No. 11-69, 27 FCC Rcd 11569 (2012) (Report and Order). The rule changes took effect November 9, 2012. 2 TETRA is a digital, trunked radio technology that operates with Time Division Multiple Access in four time-slot channels within a 25 kilohertz channel bandwidth. Id. at 11570 ¶ 3. 3 See Petition for Clarification and/or Reconsideration of Motorola Solutions, Inc. filed November 9, 2012 (Petition). The Commission sought public comment on the Petition on November 29, 2012. See Public Notice, Report No. 2970 (CGB rel. Nov. 29, 2012) (http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022068756). The TETRA + Critical Communications Association (TCCA) filed an opposition. The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, Inc. commented to request that the Commission clarify the issues raised in the Petition. MSI replied to TCCA’s filing. 4 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 90.209(b)(5), 90.210, 90.221. Federal Communications Commission FCC 13-91 2 3. In the Discussion section of the Report and Order, the Commission stated, “we modify our rules to permit the use of TETRA technology in the 450-470 MHz and 809-824/854-869 MHz bands.” 5 As MSI notes, however, the Commission said in the Introduction section that it was amending the rules to permit TETRA technology in “the 450-470 MHz portion of the UHF band (421-512 MHz) and Business/Industrial Land Transportation [(B/ILT)] 800 MHz band channels (809-824/854-869 MHz) that are not in the National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) portion of the band.” 6 In comparing these two sentences, the language from the Introduction regarding the specified 800 MHz frequencies could be read as covering only the B/ILT channels, thereby limiting use of TETRA technology to B/ILT licensees operating there, while the statement in the Discussion section refers to the same frequencies without qualification – frequencies that cover not only B/ILT channels, but also Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) channels, Enhanced SMR channels, and certain Public Safety Pool channels that are not part of the NPSPAC plan. MSI therefore asks the Commission to clarify whether the use of TETRA technology is permitted on all channels in the 809-824/854-869 MHz band, including 800 MHz non-NPSPAC Public Safety Pool channels, or only on B/ILT channels within the 809-824/854- 869 MHz band. 7 We hereby clarify that the Commission did not intend to limit use of this technology in the 800 MHz band to B/ILT Pool licensees, and, as indicated in the Discussion of the Report and Order and in the amended rules themselves, TETRA technology is permitted on all channels in the 809-824/854- 869 MHz band, not just the B/ILT channels. 4. As to the second issue on which MSI seeks clarification, whether the technical rules adopted in the Report and Order are technology-neutral or are intended only for TETRA equipment, 8 we clarify that the rules permit any equipment that meets the applicable adjacent channel power limits of Section 90.221. The application of the rule is not limited to TETRA equipment and it was not the Commission’s intention to restrict the rule in this manner. 5. Regulatory Flexibility Act. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended (RFA), 9 the Commission prepared a regulatory flexibility analysis of the final rules adopted in the Report and Order. In this present Order on Reconsideration, the Commission promulgates no additional final rules, and our present action is, therefore, not an RFA matter. 6. Paperwork Reduction Analysis. This Order on Reconsideration does not contain new or modified information collection requirements. 7. Congressional Review Act. The Commission will not send a copy of this Order on Reconsideration to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(A), because the clarification provided in the Order on Reconsideration does not amend the Commission’s rules. 5 See Report and Order, 27 FCC Rcd at 11572 ¶ 5. 6 See id. at 11569 ¶ 1. 7 See Petition at 2. 8 See id. at 3. 9 The RFA, see 5 U.S.C. §§ 601-612, was amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), Pub. L. No. 104-121, Title II, 110 Stat. 857 (1996). Federal Communications Commission FCC 13-91 3 8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED pursuant to Sections 1, 4(i), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), and 405 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 154(i), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), and 405(a), and Sections 1.2 and 1.429(a) of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.2, 1.429(a), that the Petition for Clarification and/or Reconsideration filed by Motorola Solutions, Inc. on November 9, 2012 IS GRANTED to the extent set forth herein. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Marlene H. Dortch Secretary