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| Rebanding
FAQs: Conventional Systems |
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1. |
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What
is interference and why is it a problem? |
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2. |
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Why
is the FCC doing this? |
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3. |
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Is
the FCC Order final? |
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4. |
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Who will be affected? |
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5. |
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When will the system relocations take place? |
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6. |
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Where
will my system relocate? |
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7. |
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How
will I pay for all this? |
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8. |
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I’ve
been thinking about shutting down my system and moving to different
technology. Do I have to relocate? |
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9. |
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I
still have an FCC license, but I got rid of my repeater a while
ago. What should I do? |
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10. |
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Just
what am I negotiating during the “negotiation periods”? |
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11. |
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Can
I have my own lawyers and engineers to help negotiate an agreement? How can Shulman Rogers help? |
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12. |
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What are “comparable facilities”? |
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13. |
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How
do I get reimbursed? |
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14. |
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What
if the money runs out before I get reimbursed? |
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15. |
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How
will my system be reprogrammed? |
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16. |
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Who
is going to be doing the work on my system? |
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17. |
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What
if I still get interference after I relocate? |
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18. |
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What
if I experience harmful interference before I relocate? |
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| 1. What is interference and why
is it a problem? |
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Interference in the public safety 800 MHz spectrum
is any type of inhibition or prevention of radio signal reception.
Currently, police officers, fire fighters, and emergency response
personnel across the country are experiencing episodes of interference
– garbled, fuzzy or blocked calls over their radios. This
happens because public safety channels are intermingled among
and adjacent to commercial channels such as those used for cell
phones. Clear communication is a critical component for first
responders to take action quickly and efficiently – when
it’s not possible, lives are at stake.
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| 2. Why is the FCC doing
this? |
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| After an exhaustive rulemaking
proceeding in which all affected and interested parties were
given an opportunity to comment, the FCC determined that a
reorganization of the 800 MHz band is the most effective way
to eliminate both of the principal causes of interference:
adjacent channel interference will be eliminated because low-power
cellular-type systems and high-power high-site systems will
no longer be spectrum neighbors. This will eliminate interference
caused by the near-by cellular site’s signal overwhelming
the public safety radio’s receiver. Since intermodulation
interference is caused by two frequencies combining to create
a new third frequency, which often falls directly on on a public safety frequency, public safety systems
are being relocated so that they will no longer be sandwiched
between ESMR (i.e., Nextel) and cellular (i.e., Verizon, Cingular/AT&T
Wireless, Alltel) systems.
Return to questions
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| 3. Is the FCC Order final? |
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The Order became final on December 22, 2004, 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. However, there were several Petitions For Reconsideration of the Order and Clarification Requests that have filed, and some considered, and therefore certain aspects of the Order have changed and still could change. Nextel accepted the Order on February 7, 2005 (and Nextel's agreement with Sprint provides that the merged company will accept all of the responsibilities of the Order). It should also be noted that the two parties who provided the most vocal opposition to the Consensus Plan, Verizon Wireless and Cingular, have each publicly announced they will not challenge the FCC Order.
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| 4. Who will be affected? |
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Every non-public safety licensee in
the 800 MHz General Category band (851-853.9875/ 806-808.9875
MHz) will have to relocate to spectrum between 854.0125/809.0125
MHz and 862/817 MHz. If you operate entirely above 853.9875/808.9875
MHz (other than Canadian or Mexican Border Regions, which has not been decided yet), you will not have to relocate.
Return
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| 5. When will the system relocations
take place? |
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The FCC has mandated that the nationwide retuning
process be completed in three years from the time the Order
becomes Final. Retuning will commence on a region-by-region
basis among the 55 NPSPAC planning regions (these are regions
in which public safety committees determine their own spectrum
allocation plans). The order of the regions has now been determined
by the Transition Administrator, taking into account such factors
as the prevalence of interference, size of population served,
Border-region status, and impact on adjacent regions. The TA
released the schedule of
the regions on January 25, 2005, with a kick-off date for "Wave 1" on June 27, 2005. Once the FCC issues an Order
commencing rebanding in a particular region, there is be a
180-day negotiation period for all affected licenses. We can help you engage Nextel
in these negotiations.
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| 6. Where will my system relocate?
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If you operate on any Lower 150 channel you will
be required to move from the General Category band (851-853.9875/
806-808.9875 MHz) “up” to the “middle”
bands (854.0125-862/809.0125-817 MHz) to clear the way for the
public safety NPSPAC licensees. The relocations will be staggered
across the 55 NPSPAC regions; in each region, the Lower 150
channels will be vacated first by Nextel and other licensees,
to clear the way for the NPSPAC systems to move.
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| 7. How will I pay for all this? |
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Your system relocation should not cost you a cent.
The FCC requires that you be reimbursed for all of your reasonable
expenses, including your legal and engineering fees. You will
be paid or reimbursed by Nextel.
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| 8. I’ve been thinking about
shutting down my system and moving to different technology.
Do I have to relocate? |
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No. You are entitled to compensation to reprogram
your system to another 800 MHz frequency so you can vacate your
current channel. As long as you can vacate your current channel,
you can receive a cash payment equal to what your retuning reimbursement
would be, turn off your system, and use the money to purchase
new radios on a trunked SMR system, Nextel service, cell phones
– whatever you want. Your radio dealer can help you evaluate
your communications options. If you don’t have a current
dealer, we can help you locate a communications professional
who can help you.
Return
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| 9. I still have an FCC license,
but I got rid of my repeater a while ago. What should I do? |
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The FCC Rules state that your license is no longer
valid if you have not operated your system at all in the last
12 months for private, internal systems (the deadline is three
months for commercial SMR systems). However, your license will
still appear as valid in the FCC records until you contact the
FCC to surrender it. Make no mistake, this is not an opportunity to cash in on an authorization that you never put into operation, or haven't operated for more than a year. As part of rebanding, you will be required to certify that your system is operational.
Return
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| 10. Just what am I negotiating
during the “negotiation periods”? |
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When your region begins the retuning process
there will be a 90-day voluntary negotiation period followed
by a 90-day mandatory negotiation period. You will be negotiating
your System Relocation Agreement with Nextel. This agreement
will spell out the replacement frequencies, the amount you will
be reimbursed, any equipment which will be given or loaned to
you, and the timing of your move. Nextel will ask for certain
information about your system (such as the number of sites and
number and models of radios) and will use this information as
the basis of an offer to you. It is important that your information
is accurate (to ensure full compensation for your costs), and
it’s important that you respond in a timely manner (or
you could face FCC penalties).
Return
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| 11. Can I have my own lawyers
and engineers to help negotiate an agreement? How can Shulman Rogers help? |
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Absolutely! You should retain your own independent
professionals to assist you in the details of relocation, and
these costs are reimbursable. You will be signing off with your
bosses on a plan to reconfigure critical communications systems
which your customers (whether internal or external) rely on. If anything
goes wrong, the buck stops with you. Why wouldn’t you
want the assurance of experienced counsel who can review the
deal terms and the agreements for you to avoid trouble down
the road? And, your legal costs will be reimbursed, so it’s
like free insurance. Shulman Rogers was a part of the team that drafted the 800 MHz Consensus Plan, and Shulman Rogers attorneys have negotiated over 100 re-tuning agreements with Nextel. Learn more here. In short, Shulman Rogers brings to the you most experienced and qualified team for this effort.
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| 12. What are “comparable
facilities”? |
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| Under the Order, “Nextel
is obligated [at its cost] to ensure that relocated licensees
receive at least comparable facilities when they change channels.”
The FCC defines comparable facilities to include three main
factors: (1) Throughput (the amount of information transferred
within a system in a given amount of time); (2) Reliability
(the degree to which information is transferred accurately
within a system); and (3) Operating Costs (the cost to operate
and maintain the system). The FCC also requires that licensees
must receive clear, incumbent-free spectrum to the same degree
as their current channels, and providing at least the same
geographic coverage. So, a licensee on an exclusive channel
cannot be moved to a shared channel, but a licensee who currently
shares a channel (such as a community repeater user) is only
entitled to shared replacement spectrum. In other words, “you
get as good as you got.”
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| 13. How do I get reimbursed? |
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The agreement you negotiate and sign with Nextel
will govern the amount and timing of the payments you receive.
The FCC has said that payments should be structured appropriately
to meet project needs (for instance, most radio service vendors
expect a deposit before work commences, with the balance paid
upon completion of their work). Once your agreement is signed,
funds will be released to you as you provide written
notice that applicable contract milestones have been met.
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| 14. What if the money runs out
before I get reimbursed? |
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The FCC has taken great care to structure the
Order so that this will not happen. Nextel will be required
to post a $2.5 billion stand-by letter of credit to guarantee
its obligation to pay the relocation funds. If Nextel doesn’t
make any payments on time, the letter of credit will provide
money to the Transition Administrator, then the issuing bank
will collect from Nextel.
Return
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| 15. How will my system be reprogrammed? |
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Your system can be fully reprogrammed without
significant downtime. If your business operations permit, your
system can be reprogrammed overnight when your business is not
operating. You will have to provide access to all of your radios
(both portable and vehicle-mounted) and a technician will reprogram
each vehicle and your repeater. If you cannot operate without
downtime, you may have to operate a redundant system with an
additional repeater and extra radios. Nextel will loan you any
extra equipment you may need during this period, and the FCC
Rules provide that you are entitled to such a redundant system
if it is the only course to ensure no downtime for your operations.
Return to questions
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| 16. Who is going to be doing
the work on my system? |
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That’s for you to decide. No one will touch
any of your equipment without your permission. You have the
right to select the technicians who complete your retuning,
and you can choose to use your own employees, outside contractors,
or a combination of both. You will be reimbursed for all costs,
and reimbursement will be at market rates, so contractors will
want your business.
Return
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| 17. What if I still get interference
after I relocate? |
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There are no guarantees that the FCC plan will eliminate
all interference, since radio frequencies are ultimately controlled
by the laws of physics. The FCC has also adopted stringent “enhanced
best practices” which define harmful interference standards
(any licensee operating within their permitted contour is entitled
to protection if their measured received signal is at least
-101 dBm for portables and -104 dBm for mobiles once rebanding is completed). The new Rules
also require any licensee causing interference to private radio
systems to respond to the complaint within 48 hours. All of
the cellular carriers and Nextel have established a single electronic point of contact (such as a
web site or e-mail address) where licensees can file interference
complaints. Once you file a complaint, all carriers with sites
within 5,000 feet of the affected location are required to respond
to the complaint and begin investigations. The carriers must
complete an analysis of the situation within 96 hours from the
initial complaint, and all cellular CMRS carriers have to resolve
harmful interference at their cost.
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| 18. Will there be a freeze on
license applications? |
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As each region
begins its retuning process, there will be a Temporary Freeze
on applications and modifications. This “lock down”
will allow all licenses to be relocated in an orderly fashion.
After retuning is completed in a region, the freeze will lift.
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