§  27.1232   Planning the transition.

   (a) The Transition Planning Period. The Transition Planning Period is a
   90-day period that commences on the day after the proponent(s) files
   the Initiation Plan with the Commission.

   (b) The Transition plan. The proponent(s) must provide to each BRS and
   EBS licensee within a BTA, a Transition Plan no later than 30 days
   prior to the conclusion of the Transition Planning Period.

   (1) The Transition Plan must:

   (i) Identify the call signs of the stations that are transitioning;

   (ii) Identify the specific channels that each licensee will receive
   following the transition;

   (iii) Identify the receive sites at which replacement downconverters
   will be installed (see §  27.1233(a));

   (iv) Identify the video programming and data transmission tracks that
   will be migrated to the MBS and provide for the MBS channels to be
   authorized to operate with transmission parameters that are
   substantially similar to those of the licensee's operation prior to
   transition (see §  27.1233(b));

   (v) Identify the technical configuration of the MBS facilities;

   (vi) Identify the approximate time line for effectuating the
   transition, which, unless dispute resolution procedures are used, may
   not exceed 18 months from the conclusion of the Transition Planning
   Period;

   (vii) Provide for the establishment of an escrow or other appropriate
   mechanism for ensuring completion of the transition in accordance with
   the Transition Plan.

   (2) The Transition Plan may provide for interruptions of EBS
   transmissions, so long as those interruptions are limited to a period
   of less than seven days at any reception site. The proponent(s) must
   coordinate with each EBS licensee to minimize the extent of any
   disruption.

   (3) The Transition Plan may provide for the shifting of an EBS
   licensee's program to alternative channels. Such shifting may not be
   considered an interruption, if the EBS licensee's receive sites are
   equipped to receive and internally distribute the channel to which the
   programming is shifted.

   (4) The Transition Plan may provide for the installation of an
   appropriate filter on an MBS transmitter if the proponent(s) determines
   that the installation of a filter will mitigate interference from
   transmissions in the MBS to operations outside the MBS.

   (c) Counterproposals. No later than 10 days before the conclusion of
   the Transition Planning Period, affected BRS and EBS licensees may
   submit a counterproposal to the proponent(s) if they believe that the
   Transition Plan is unreasonable. The proponent(s) may:

   (1) Accept the counterproposal, modify the Transition Plan accordingly,
   and send the modified Transition Plan to all EBS and BRS licensees in
   the BTA;

   (2) Invoke dispute resolution procedures for a determination of whether
   the Transition Plan is reasonable and take no action until a
   determination of reasonableness is made; or

   (3) Invoke dispute resolution procedures for a determination of whether
   the Transition Plan is reasonable, but may implement the transition
   immediately.

   (d) Safe harbors. An offer by a proponent(s) shall be reasonable if it
   meets one of the following safe harbors:

   (1) Safe harbor No. 1. This safe harbor applies when the default
   high-power channel assigned to each channel group is authorized to
   operate after the transition with the same transmission parameters
   (coordinates, antenna pattern, height of center radiation, EIRP) as the
   downstream facilities before the transition. If the proponent(s) does
   not propose a change in the geographic coordinates of the facilities
   (other than as necessary to conform the actual location with the
   Commission's Antenna Survey Branch database), the proponent may also
   propose the following to the extent consistent with this subpart:

   (i) An increase in the height of the center of radiation of the
   transmission antenna or a decrease in such height of no more than 8
   meters (provided that such change does not result in an increase in
   antenna support structure lease costs to the EBS licensee and the
   consent of the owner of the antenna support structure is obtained).

   (ii) A change in the EIRP of the transmission system of up to 1.5 dB in
   any direction.

   (iii) Digitization, precision frequency offset, or other upgrades to
   the EBS transmission or reception systems that allow the proponent(s)
   to invoke more advantageous interference protection requirements
   applicable to upgraded systems.

   (2) Safe harbor No. 2. This safe harbor applies when an EBS licensee
   has channel-shifted its single video programming or data transmission
   track to spectrum licensed to another licensee. Under §  27.5(i)(2),
   that track must be on the high-power channel licensed to the EBS
   licensee upon completion of the transition. For example, before the
   transition, an A Group licensee might have shifted its EBS video
   programming to channel C1. If one of the pre-transition A Group
   channels is licensed with technical parameters substantially similar to
   those of pre-transition channel C1, the Transition Plan may provide for
   high-power channel A4 to be licensed with the same technical parameters
   as the pre-transition channel C1. However, if the pre-transition A
   Group channels are licensed to operate with technical parameters
   materially different from those of pre-transition channel C1, the
   proponent(s) may:

   (i) Arrange a channel swap with the licensee of the C Group so that the
   A Group licensee will receive high-power channel C4 (which will
   automatically be licensed with the same transmission parameters as the
   pre-transition channel C1) in exchange for channel A4.

   (ii) Arrange for high-power channel A4 to operate with transmission
   parameters substantially similar to those of the pre-transition channel
   C1 ( see paragraph (d)(1) of this section).

   (3) Safe harbor No. 3. This safe harbor applies when a four-channel
   group is shared among multiple licensees in a given geographic area.
   Absent an agreement otherwise, a proponent may:

   (i) Secure a 6 MHz MBS channel for each licensee in exchange for the
   non-MBS channels assigned to the group. Following the channel swap(s)
   necessary to secure those additional MBS channels, the Transition Plan
   can provide for the licensing of the remaining channels in the LBS,
   UBS, and Guard Bands on a pro rata basis (with channel(s) in each
   segment being disaggregated when and if necessary to provide each with
   its pro rata share of the spectrum in each segment);

   (ii) Provide for pro rata segmentation of the default MBS channel for
   the group, provided that the proponent commits to provide each of the
   licensees with the technology necessary for its EBS video programming
   or data transmissions to be digitized, transmitted and received
   utilizing the provided bandwidth. The non-MBS channels would be divided
   among the sharing licensees on a pro rata basis (with channel(s) in
   each segment being disaggregated when and if necessary to provide each
   with its pro rata share of the spectrum in each segment); or

   (iii) Assign the default MBS channel assigned to the channel group to
   one of the licensees, if that licensee is the only one that elects to
   migrate video programming or data transmission tracks to the MBS. The
   remaining spectrum assigned to the group may be allocated among the
   licensees on a pro rata basis, with the 6 MHz in the MBS counting
   against that licensee's portion. To the extent necessary, the non-MBS
   spectrum can be disaggregated when and if necessary to provide each
   with its pro rata share of the spectrum in each segment. If the
   proponent chooses to effectuate a channel swap to provide more than one
   channel in the MBS, the remaining channels assigned to the group (after
   considering that one or more LBS/UBS channels and associated Transition
   Band channels will have been swapped away to provide the additional MBS
   channel) can be allocated among the licensees on a pro rata basis (with
   channel(s) in each segment being disaggregated when and if necessary to
   provide each with its pro rata share of the spectrum in each segment).

   (4) Safe harbor No. 4. This safe harbor applies when an EBS licensee
   uses one or more of its channels for studio-to-transmitter links. The
   proponent may provide for one of the following options:

   (i) The use of the LBS and/or UBS band for the point-to-point
   transmission of the EBS video or data (through superchannelization of
   the licensee's contiguous LBS or UBS channels), provided the proponent
   commits to retune the existing point-to-point equipment to operate on
   those channels or to replace the existing equipment with new equipment
   tuned to operate on those channels and the proposal complies with the
   LBS/UBS technical and interference protection rules;

   (ii) The migration of the EBS programming to the MBS by retuning the
   existing point-to-point equipment to operate in the MBS or replacing it
   with equipment tuned to operate in the MBS; or

   (iii) The replacement of the point-to-point link with point-to-point
   equipment licensed to the EBS licensee in alternative spectrum, so long
   as the replacement facilities meet the definition of “comparable
   facilities” set out in §  101.75(b) of this chapter.

   [ 69 FR 72034 , Dec. 10, 2004, as amended at  71 FR 35192 , June 19, 2006]

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