§ 90.699   Transition of the upper 200 channels in the 800 MHz band to EA
licensing.

   In order to facilitate provision of service throughout an EA, an EA licensee
   may  relocate  incumbent  licensees in its EA by providing “comparable
   facilities” on other frequencies in the 800 MHz band. Such relocation is
   subject to the following provisions:

   (a)-(c) [Reserved]

   (d) Comparable facilities. The replacement system provided to an incumbent
   during an involuntary relocation must be at least equivalent to the existing
   800 MHz system with respect to the following four factors:

   (1) System. System is defined functionally from the end user's point of view
   (i.e., a system is comprised of base station facilities that operate on an
   integrated basis to provide service to a common end user, and all mobile
   units  associated  with  those  base  stations).  A system may include
   multiple-licensed facilities that share a common switch or are otherwise
   operated as a unitary system, provided that the end user has the ability to
   access all such facilities. A system may cover more than one EA if its
   existing geographic coverage extends beyond the EA borders.

   (2) Capacity. To meet the comparable facilities requirement, an EA licensee
   must relocate the incumbent to facilities that provide equivalent channel
   capacity. We define channel capacity as the same number of channels with the
   same bandwidth that is currently available to the end user. For example, if
   an  incumbent's  system  consists  of  five  50 kHz (two 25 kHz paired
   frequencies) channels, the replacement system must also have five 50 kHz
   channels. If a different channel configuration is used, it must have the
   same overall capacity as the original configuration. Comparable channel
   capacity requires equivalent signaling capability, baud rate, and access
   time.  In  addition,  the  geographic coverage of the channels must be
   coextensive with that of the original system.

   (3) Quality of service. Comparable facilities must provide the same quality
   of service as the facilities being replaced. Quality of service is defined
   to mean that the end user enjoys the same level of interference protection
   on the new system as on the old system. In addition, where voice service is
   provided, the voice quality on the new system must be equal to the current
   system. Finally, reliability of service is considered to be integral to
   defining quality of service. Reliability is the degree to which information
   is transferred accurately within the system. Reliability is a function of
   equipment failures (e.g., transmitters, feed lines, antennas, receivers,
   battery back-up power, etc.) and the availability of the frequency channel
   due to propagation characteristics (e.g., frequency, terrain, atmospheric
   conditions, radio-frequency noise, etc.) For digital data systems, this will
   be measured by the percent of time the bit error rate exceeds the desired
   value. For analog or digital voice transmissions, this will be measured by
   the  percent  of  time  that audio signal quality meets an established
   threshold. If analog voice system is replaced with a digital voice system
   the resulting frequency response, harmonic distortion, signal-to-noise
   ratio, and reliability will be considered.

   (4)  Operating  costs. Operating costs are those costs that affect the
   delivery of services to the end user. If the EA licensee provides facilities
   that entail higher operating cost than the incumbent's previous system, and
   the cost increase is a direct result of the relocation, the EA licensee must
   compensate the incumbent for the difference. Costs associated with the
   relocation process can fall into several categories. First, the incumbent
   must be compensated for any increased recurring costs associated with the
   replacement facilitates (e.g., additional rental payments, increased utility
   fees). Second, increased maintenance costs must be taken into consideration
   when  determining whether operating costs are comparable. For example,
   maintenance costs associated with analog systems may be higher than the
   costs  of digital equipment because manufacturers are producing mostly
   digital equipment and analog replacement parts can be difficult to find. An
   EA licensee's obligation to pay increased operating costs will end five
   years after relocation has occurred.

   (e)-(f) [Reserved]

   [ 62 FR 41217 , July 31, 1997, as amended at  77 FR 28798 , May 16, 2012]

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Subpart T—Regulations Governing Licensing and Use of Frequencies in the 220-222
MHz Band

   Source:  56 FR 19603 , Apr. 29, 1991, unless otherwise noted.

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