§ 27.1166   Reimbursement under the Cost-Sharing Plan.

   (a) Registration of reimbursement rights. Claims for reimbursement under the
   cost-sharing plan are limited to relocation expenses incurred on or after
   the date when the first AWS license is issued in the relevant AWS band
   (start date). If a clearinghouse is not selected by that date (see § 27.1162)
   claims  for reimbursement (see § 27.1166) and notices of operation (see
   § 27.1170) for activities that occurred after the start date but prior to the
   clearinghouse selection must be submitted to the clearinghouse within 30
   calendar days of the selection date.

   (1) To obtain reimbursement, an AWS relocator must submit documentation of
   the relocation agreement to the clearinghouse within 30 calendar days of the
   date a relocation agreement is signed with an incumbent. In the case of
   involuntary relocation, an AWS relocator must submit documentation of the
   relocated system within 30 calendar days after the end of the relocation.

   (2) To obtain reimbursement, a voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent
   must submit documentation of the relocation of the link to the clearinghouse
   within  30  calendar  days of the date that the incumbent notifies the
   Commission that it intends to discontinue, or has discontinued, the use of
   the link, pursuant to § 101.305 of the Commission's rules.

   (b) Documentation of expenses. Once relocation occurs, the AWS relocator, or
   the voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent, must submit documentation
   itemizing the amount spent for items specifically listed in § 27.1164(b), as
   well as any reimbursable items not specifically listed in § 27.1164(b) that
   are directly attributable to actual relocation costs. Specifically, the AWS
   relocator, or the voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent must submit, in
   the  first  instance,  only  the  uniform  cost  data requested by the
   clearinghouse along with a copy, without redaction, of either the relocation
   agreement, if any, or the third party appraisal described in (b)(1) of this
   section,  if relocation was undertaken by the microwave incumbent. AWS
   relocators and voluntarily relocating microwave incumbents must maintain
   documentation of cost-related issues until the applicable sunset date and
   provide  such  documentation  upon  request, to the clearinghouse, the
   Commission, or entrants that trigger a cost-sharing obligation. If an AWS
   relocator pays a microwave incumbent a monetary sum to relocate its own
   facilities,  the AWS relocator must estimate the costs associated with
   relocating the incumbent by itemizing the anticipated cost for items listed
   in § 27.1164(b). If the sum paid to the incumbent cannot be accounted for,
   the remaining amount is not eligible for reimbursement.

   (1) Third party appraisal. The voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent,
   must also submit an independent third party appraisal of its compensable
   relocation  costs. The appraisal should be based on the actual cost of
   replacing the incumbent's system with comparable facilities and should
   exclude the cost of any equipment upgrades or items outside the scope of
   § 27.1164(b).

   (2) Identification of links. The AWS relocator or the voluntarily relocating
   microwave  incumbent must identify the particular link associated with
   appropriate expenses (i.e., costs may not be averaged over numerous links).
   Where  the AWS relocator or voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent
   relocates both paths of a paired channel microwave link (e.g., 2110-2130 MHz
   with 2160-2180 MHz and 2130-2150 MHz with 2180-2200 MHz), the AWS relocator
   or voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent must identify the expenses
   associated with each paired microwave link.

   (c) Full Reimbursement. An AWS relocator who relocates a microwave link that
   is either fully outside its market area or its licensed frequency band may
   seek full reimbursement through the clearinghouse of compensable costs, up
   to the reimbursement cap as defined in § 27.1164(b). Such reimbursement will
   not be subject to depreciation under the cost-sharing formula.

   (d)  Good  Faith Requirement. New entrants and incumbent licensees are
   expected to act in good faith in satisfying the cost-sharing obligations
   under  § § 27.1160 through 27.1174. The requirement to act in good faith
   extends to, but is not limited to, the preparation and submission of the
   documentation required in paragraph (b) of this section.

   (e) MSS Participation in the Clearinghouse. MSS operators are not required
   to submit reimbursements to the clearinghouse for links relocated due to
   interference from MSS space-to-Earth downlink operations, but may elect to
   do so, in which case the MSS operator must identify the reimbursement claim
   as such and follow the applicable procedures governing reimbursement in part
   27. MSS reimbursement rights and cost-sharing obligations for space-to-Earth
   downlink operations are governed by § 101.82 of this chapter.

   (f) Reimbursement for Self-relocating FMS links in the 2130-2150 MHz and
   2180-2200 MHz bands. Where a voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent
   relocates  a paired microwave link with paths in the 2130-2150 MHz and
   2180-2200 MHz bands, it may not seek reimbursement from MSS operators, but
   is entitled to reimbursement from the first AWS beneficiary for its actual
   costs for relocating the paired link, subject to the reimbursement cap in
   § 27.1164(b).  This  amount  is subject to depreciation as specified in
   § 27.1164(b). An AWS licensee who is obligated to reimburse relocation costs
   under  this  rule  is  entitled to obtain reimbursement from other AWS
   beneficiaries in accordance with § § 27.1164 and 27.1168. For purposes of
   applying the cost-sharing formula relative to other AWS licensees that
   benefit from the self-relocation, depreciation shall run from the date on
   which the clearinghouse issues the notice of an obligation to reimburse the
   voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent.

   [ 71 FR 29835 , May 24, 2006, as amended at  78 FR 8270 , Jan. 5, 2013]

   return arrow Back to Top