FCC 101.73 Revised as of October 1, 2007
Goto Year:2006 |
2008
Sec. 101.73 Mandatory negotiations.
(a) A mandatory negotiation period may be initiated at the option of the ET
licensee. Relocation of FMS licensees by Mobile Satellite Service (MSS)
operators (including MSS operators providing Ancillary Terrestrial Component
(ATC) service) and AWS licensees in the 2110–2150 MHz and 2160–2200 MHz
bands will be subject to mandatory negotiations only.
(b) Once mandatory negotiations have begun, an FMS licensee may not refuse
to negotiate and all parties are required to negotiate in good faith. Good
faith requires each party to provide information to the other that is
reasonably necessary to facilitate the relocation process. In evaluating
claims that a party has not negotiated in good faith, the FCC will consider,
inter alia, the following factors:
(1) Whether the ET licensee has made a bona fide offer to relocate the FMS
licensee to comparable facilities in accordance with Section 101.75(b);
(2) If the FMS licensee has demanded a premium, the type of premium
requested ( e.g., whether the premium is directly related to relocation,
such as system-wide relocations and analog-to-digital conversions, versus
other types of premiums), and whether the value of the premium as compared
to the cost of providing comparable facilities is disproportionate ( i.e.,
whether there is a lack of proportion or relation between the two);
(3) What steps the parties have taken to determine the actual cost of
relocation to comparable facilities;
(4) Whether either party has withheld information requested by the other
party that is necessary to estimate relocation costs or to facilitate the
relocation process.
(c) Any party alleging a violation of our good faith requirement must attach
an independent estimate of the relocation costs in question to any
documentation filed with the Commission in support of its claim. An
independent cost estimate must include a specification for the comparable
facility and a statement of the costs associated with providing that
facility to the incumbent licensee.
(d) Provisions for Relocation of Fixed Microwave Licensees in the 2110–2150
and 2160–2200 MHz bands. Except as otherwise provided in Sec. 101.69(e)
pertaining to FMS relocations by MSS/ATC operators, a separate mandatory
negotiation period will commence for each FMS licensee when an ET licensee
informs that FMS licensee in writing of its desire to negotiate. Mandatory
negotiations will be conducted with the goal of providing the FMS licensee
with comparable facilities defined as facilities possessing the following
characteristics:
(1) Throughput. Communications throughput is the amount of information
transferred within a system in a given amount of time. If analog facilities
are being replaced with analog, comparable facilities provide an equivalent
number of 4 kHz voice channels. If digital facilities are being replaced
with digital, comparable facilities provide equivalent data loading bits per
second (bps).
(2) Reliability. System reliability is the degree to which information is
transferred accurately within a system. Comparable facilities provide
reliability equal to the overall reliability of the FMS system. For digital
systems, reliability is measured by the percent of time the bit error rate
(BER) exceeds a desired value, and for analog or digital voice transmission,
it is measured by the percent of time that audio signal quality meets an
established threshold. If an analog system is replaced with a digital
system, only the resulting frequency response, harmonic distortion,
signal-to-noise and its reliability will be considered in determining
comparable reliability.
(3) Operating Costs. Operating costs are the cost to operate and maintain
the FMS system. ET licensees would compensate FMS licensees for any
increased recurring costs associated with the replacement facilities ( e.g.
, additional rental payments, and increased utility fees) for five years
after relocation. ET licensees could satisfy this obligation by making a
lump-sum payment based on present value using current interest rates.
Additionally, the maintenance costs to the FMS licensee would be equivalent
to the 2 GHz system in order for the replacement system to be comparable.
[ 61 FR 29694 , June 12, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 12758 , Mar. 18, 1997; 65 FR 48182 , Aug. 7, 2000; 68 FR 3464 , Jan. 24, 2003; 68 FR 68253 , Dec. 8, 2003;
69 FR 62622 , Oct. 27, 2004; 71 FR 29842 , May 24, 2006]
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