Federal Register: FCC (Personal Radio & Amateur)

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) published a document in the Federal Register of July 7, 2021, regarding three Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) filed in the Commission's rulemaking proceeding. The document did not address the withdrawal of one of those petitions. This document corrects that error.

Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) have been filed in the Commission's rulemaking proceeding by Sean T. Conway, on behalf of 5G Automotive Association, Julian Gehman, on behalf of The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network, and Hilary Cain, on behalf of The Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts revised rules to repurpose the lower 45 megahertz of the 5.850-5.925 GHz band (5.9 GHz band) for the expansion of unlicensed mid-band spectrum operations, while retaining the upper 30 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for intelligent transportation system (ITS) operations. Splitting the 5.9 GHz band between unlicensed and ITS uses is intended to optimize use of the spectrum resources in the 5.9 GHz band to fully and effectively serve the American people, providing access to additional spectrum for unlicensed use to help meet the growing demand for wireless broadband, while retaining spectrum for ITS use to meet current and future ITS needs within the transportation and vehicular-safety related ecosystem. The Commission modified the First Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification released on November 20, 2020, with an Erratum released on December 11, 2020. The Commission released a Second Erratum on February 9, 2021. The corrections from these errata are included in this document.

In this document, the Commission addresses issues remaining to finalize the restructuring of the 5.9 GHz band. Specifically, the Commission addresses: The transition of ITS operations in the 5.895- 5.925 GHz band from Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) based technology to Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) based technology; the codification of C-V2X technical parameters in the Commission's rules; other transition considerations; and the transmitter power and emissions limits, and other issues, related to full-power outdoor unlicensed operations across the entire 5.850-5.895 GHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band. The Commission modified the Further Notice released on November 20, 2020, with an Erratum released on December 11, 2020. The Commission released a Second Erratum on February 9, 2021. The corrections from these errata are included in this document.

The Commission proposes to update its radiofrequency (RF) device marketing and importation rules in order to allow equipment manufacturers to better gauge consumer interest and prepare for new product launches. In particular, the Commission proposes limited exceptions to its requirement that RF devices receive equipment authorization prior to marketing in or importation to the United States and it seeks comment on the conditions necessary to ensure that parties who utilize such exceptions ultimately bring such devices into full compliance with the Commission's equipment authorization rules.

In this Report and Order, the Commission finalizes its transition to electronic interactions for licenses in the Wireless Radio Services. Specifically, the E-Licensing Report and Order: Eliminates existing exemptions to electronic filing in the FCC's Universal Licensing System and require electronic filing in the Antenna Structure Registration system; requires electronic filing (and delivery of service) of pleadings related to these systems; requires applicants, licensees, and registrants to provide an email address on related FCC Forms; and shifts from paper to electronic delivery of Commission correspondence generated from these systems. Together, these changes will decrease costs for consumers and the Commission, enhance transparency of and public access to data, and save a substantial amount of paper annually.

Petition for Reconsideration (Petition) has been filed in the Commission's proceeding by David R. Siddall, on behalf of ARRL, The National Association for Amateur Radio.

Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) have been filed in the Commission's proceeding by David Goldman, on behalf of Space Exploration Technologies Corp.; Audrey L. Allison, on behalf of The Boeing Company; Jennifer A. Manner, on behalf of EchoStar Satellite Services, LLC and Hughes Network Services, LLC; Mike Safyan, on behalf of Planet Labs Inc.; Ananda Martin, on behalf of Spire Global, Inc.; Elisabeth Neasmith, on behalf of Telesat Canada; and Julie Zoller, et al., on behalf of Kuiper Systems, Inc.

The Federal Communications Commission is correcting a final that appeared in the Federal Register on October 9, 2020. In the document, the Commission adopts changes to its rules to prepare the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for commercial wireless services. It removes the secondary, non-federal allocations in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band for radiolocation services and the amateur radio service. These services will continue in alternate spectrum; radiolocation operations will be moved to the 2.9-3.0 GHz band, already home to similar operations, and amateur licensees will be able to relocate their operations to other frequencies already available for amateur operations. Clearing this band of secondary services will allow the Commission to auction the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for commercial wireless services on a co-primary basis with federal radio navigation and radiolocation operations.

In this document, the Office of Managing Director of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts an Order that amends the Commission's rules to reflect the upcoming new address of the Commission's headquarters, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. It also makes changes to clarify that certain documents are now available for inspection through the Commission's website, removes references to a Commission copy contractor, and performs minor formatting corrections.

In this document, the Commission adopts changes to its rules to prepare the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for commercial wireless services. It removes the secondary, non-federal allocations in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band for radiolocation services and the amateur radio service. These services will continue in alternate spectrum; radiolocation operations will be moved to the 2.9-3.0 GHz band, already home to similar operations, and amateur licensees will be able to relocate their operations to other frequencies already available for amateur operations. Clearing this band of secondary services will allow the Commission to auction the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for commercial wireless services on a co-primary basis with federal radionavigation and radiolocation operations.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, the information collection requirements associated with the Uniform License Renewal, Discontinuance of Operation, and Geographic Partitioning and Spectrum Disaggregation Rules and Policies for Certain Wireless Radio Services Second Report and Order and the Report and Order on the Commission's Rules to Facilitate the Use of Vehicular Repeater Units. This document is consistent with the Second Report and Order, Report and Order, all of which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of the information collection requirements.

This document summarizes the procedures and deadlines for the upcoming auction of 3.7 GHz Service Licenses in the 3.7-3.98 GHz Band. The Auction 107 Procedures Public Notice summarized here is intended to familiarize applicants with the procedures and other requirements governing participation in Auction 107 by providing details regarding the procedures, terms, conditions, dates, and deadlines, as well as an overview of the post-auction application and payment processes.

In this document, the Commission adopts amendments to its rules related to satellite orbital debris mitigation, to reflect the Report and Order adopted on April 23, 2020. A proposed rule document for the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM or Further Notice) related to this Final rule document is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

In this document, the Commission seeks comment through a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted on April 23, 2020, on additional amendments to its rules related to satellite orbital debris mitigation. A related Final rule document, the Report and Order, which adopts amendments to the Commission's satellite orbital debris mitigation rules is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

This document makes non-substantive, editorial revisions to the Table of Frequency Allocations (Allocation Table) and to various other Commission rules. The purpose of this action is to update the International Table of Frequency Allocations (International Table) to reflect the decisions made at an international conference, to update the Federal Table of Frequency Allocations (Federal Table) within the Commission's rules in those frequency bands where such an action would have no substantive effect on non-Federal licensees, to remove outdated provisions from the Commission's rules, and to ensure that the Allocation Table and related rules are consistent with the Commission's decisions in recent rulemaking proceedings.

In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved four information collections associated with rules governing Priority Access Licenses (PALs) in the 3550-3700 MHz (3.5 GHz) band in the 2016 Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, FCC 16-55, in GN Docket No. 12-354, and 2018 Report and Order, FCC 18-149, in GN Docket No. 17-258. The Commission also announces that compliance with the rules is now required. It removes paragraphs advising that compliance was not required until OMB approval was obtained. This document is consistent with the 2016 Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order and 2018 Report and Order, which state the Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing a compliance date for the rule sections and revise the rules accordingly.

This document summarizes the procedures and deadlines for the upcoming auction of Priority Access Licenses for the 3350-3650 MHz Band. The Auction 105 Procedures Public Notice summarized here is intended to familiarize applicants with the procedures and other requirements governing participation in Auction 105 by providing details regarding the procedures, terms, conditions, dates, and deadlines, as well as an overview of the post-auction application and payment processes. This document also summarizes a subsequent announcement of changes to various dates associated with Auction 105 made in light of COVID-19 pandemic.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends its rules related to the two methods that may be used for determining and achieving compliance with the Commission's existing limits on human exposure to radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields: Exemption--consideration of whether a particular device or deployment is so clearly compliant, based on criteria in the Commission's rules, that it qualifies as exempt from the requirement to undertake a more thorough RF exposure analysis--and evaluation--a more specific examination of an individual site or device, which considers factors beyond those utilized for exemption and may be performed with a variety of computational and/or measurement methodologies. It also amends the rules related to an increasingly important part of demonstrating and maintaining RF exposure compliance: mitigation--the restriction from or limitation of RF exposure in controlled areas to keep RF exposure within the Commission's established limits by, for example, using signs or barriers. The amended rules are intended to provide more efficient, practical, and consistent RF exposure evaluation procedures and mitigation measures to help ensure compliance with the existing RF exposure limits. The amended rules replace the various inconsistent service-specific criteria for exempting parties from performing an evaluation to demonstrate compliance with the RF exposure limits with new, streamlined criteria. The amended rules also allow the use of any valid computational method to determine potential RF exposure levels, remove the minimum evaluation distance requirement for frequencies above 6 GHz, and establish post-evaluation RF exposure mitigation procedures (e.g., signage), to help ensure that persons are not exposed to RF emissions in excess of the existing limits. The Commission also affirms its prior decision to classify the pinna (outer ear) as an extremity in RF exposure compliance testing, finds no appropriate basis for and thus declines to propose amendments to existing RF exposure limits at this time, and terminates the inquiry in which it sought comment on the Commission's existing guidelines for limiting RF exposure to humans.

In this document, the Commission's proposal to amend its rules for the 5.850-5.925 GHz (5.9 GHz) band. The proposal would permit unlicensed devices to operate in the lower 45-megahertz portion of the band at 5.850-5.895 GHz under part 15 of the Commission's rules. It would also permit Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) operations in the upper 30-megahertz portion of the band at 5.895-5.925 GHz under parts 90 and 95 of the Commission's rules. ITS operations would consist of Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) devices at 5.905-5.925 GHz, and C-V2X and/or Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) devices at 5.895-5.905 GHz. The document also asks whether alternate spectrum band approaches would better achieve the goal of maximizing the effective and efficient use of the 5.9 GHz band, including whether differently sized sub-bands or greater flexibility to introduce additional vehicular safety communications technologies into the band would be warranted.