FCC 23.20 Revised as of October 1, 2007
Goto Year:2006 |
2008
Sec. 23.20 Assignment of frequencies.
(a) Only those frequencies which are in accordance with Sec. 2.106 of this
chapter may be authorized for use by stations in the Fixed Public and Fixed
Public Press Services. Selection of specific frequencies within such bands
shall be made by the applicants therefor. After an application has been
filed with the Commission for a particular frequency, its availability for
assignment as requested will be determined by a study of the probabilities
of interference to and from existing services assigned on the same or
adjacent frequencies and, if necessary, by coordination with other agencies
utilizing frequencies in these ranges. The applicant will be notified of the
results of such study and coordination. All new assignments of frequencies
may be made subject to certain conditions as may be required to minimize the
possibility of harmful interference to existing services.
(b) In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio
Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West
Virginia, and at the Naval Radio Research Observatory site at Sugar Grove,
Pendleton County, West Virginia, any applicant for a station authorization
other than mobile, temporary base, temporary fixed, Personal Radio, Civil
Air Patrol, or Amateur seeking a station license for a new station, a
construction permit to construct a new station or to modify an existing
station license in a manner which would change either the frequency, power,
antenna height or directivity, or location of such a station within the area
bounded by 39 °15' N. on the north, 78 °30' W. on the east, 37 °30' N. on the
south and 80 °30' W. on the west shall, at the time of filing such
application with the Commission, simultaneously notify the Director,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P. O. Box No. 2, Green Bank, West
Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars of the proposed
station. Such notification shall include the geographical coordinates of the
antenna, antenna height, antenna directivity if any, proposed frequency,
type of emission, and power. In addition, the applicant shall indicate in
his application to the Commission the date notification was made to the
Observatory. After receipt of such applications, the Commission will allow a
period of twenty (20) days for comments or objections in response to the
notifications indicated. If an objection to the proposed operation is
received during the twenty day period from the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory,
the Commission will consider all aspects of the problem and take whatever
action is deemed appropriate.
(c) [Reserved]
(d) Protection for Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone, Boulder County,
Colorado: Applicants for a station authorization to operate in the vicinity
of Boulder County, Colorado under this part are advised to give due
consideration, prior to filing applications, to the need to protect the
Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone from harmful interference. These are the
research laboratories of the Department of Commerce, Boulder County,
Colorado. To prevent degradation of the present ambient radio signal level
at the site, the Department of Commerce seeks to ensure that the field
strengths of any radiated signals (excluding reflected signals) received on
this 728 hectare site (in the vicinity of coordinates 40 °07'50" N Latitude,
105 °14'40" W Longitude) resulting from new assignments (other than mobile
stations) or from the modification or relocation of existing facilities do
not exceed the following values:
Frequency range Field strength (mV/m) in authorized bandwidth of service
Power flux density^1(dBW/m^2) in authorized bandwidth of service
Below 540 kHz 10 65.8
540 to 1600 Khz 20 59.8
1.6 to 470 MHz 10 ^265.8
470 to 890 MHz 30 ^256.2
Above 890 MHz 1 ^285.8
^1Equivalent values of power flux density are calculated assuming free space
characteristic impedance of 376.7=120π ohms.
^2Space stations shall conform to the power flux density limits at the
earth's surface specified in appropriate parts of the FCC rules, but in no
case should exceed the above levels in any 4 kHz band for all angles of
arrival.
(1) Advance consultation is recommended particularly for those applicants
who have no reliable data which indicates whether the field strength or
power flux density figures in the above table would be exceeded by their
proposed radio facilities (except mobile stations). In such instances, the
following is a suggested guide for determining whether coordination is
recommended:
(i) All stations within 2.4 kilometers;
(ii) Stations within 4.8 kilometers with 50 watts or more effective radiated
power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction
of the Table Mountain Radio Receiving Zone;
(iii) Stations within 16.1 kilometers with 1 kW or more ERP in the primary
plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of Table Mountain Receiving
Zone;
(iv) Stations within 80.5 kilometers with 25 kW or more ERP in the primary
plane or polarization in the azimuthal direction of Table Mountain Receiving
Zone.
(2) Applicants concerned are urged to communicate with the Radio Frequency
Management Coordinator, Department of Commerce, Research Support Services,
NOAA R/E5X2, Boulder Laboratories, Boulder, CO 80303; telephone (303)
497–6548, in advance of filing their applications with the Commission.
(3) The Commission will not screen applications to determine whether advance
consultation has taken place. However, applicants are advised that such
consultation can avoid objections from the Department of Commerce or
proceedings to modify any authorization which may be granted which, in fact,
delivers a signal at the site in excess of the field strength specified
herein.
(e) Protection for Federal Communications Commission monitoring stations:
(1) Applicants in the vicinity of an FCC monitoring station for a radio
station authorization to operate new transmitting facilities or changed
transmitting facilities which would increase the field strength produced
over the monitoring station over that previously authorized are advised to
give consideration, prior to filing applications, to the possible need to
protect the FCC stations from harmful interference. Geographical coordinates
of the facilities which require protection are listed in Sec. 0.121(c) of the
Commission's Rules. Applications for stations (except mobile stations) which
will produce on any frequency a direct wave fundamental field strength of
greater than 10 mV/m in the authorized bandwidth of service (−65.8 dBW/m^2
power flux density assuming a free space characteristic impedance of 120
ohms) at the referenced coordinates, may be examined to determine extent of
possible interference. Depending on the theoretical field strength value and
existing root-sum-square or other ambient radio field signal levels at the
indicated coordinates, a clause protecting the monitoring station may be
added to the station authorization.
(2) In the event that calculated value of expected field exceeds 10 mV/m
(−65.8 dBW/m^2 ) at the reference coordinates, or if there is any question
whether field strength levels might exceed the threshold value, advance
consultation with the FCC to discuss any protection necessary should be
considered. Prospective applicants may communicate with: Chief, Compliance
and Information Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC
20554, Telephone (202) 632–6980.
(3) Advance consultation is suggested particularly for those applicants who
have no reliable data which indicates whether the field strength or power
flux density figure indicated would be exceeded by their proposed radio
facilities (except mobile stations). In such instances, the following is a
suggested guide for determining whether an applicant should coordinate:
(i) All stations within 2.4 kilometers (1.5 statute miles);
(ii) Stations within 4.8 kilometers (3 statute miles) with 50 watts or more
average effective radiated power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization
in the azimuthal direction of the Monitoring Stations.
(iii) Stations within 16 kilometers (10 statute miles) with 1 kW or more
average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction
of the Monitoring Station;
(iv) Stations within 80 kilometers (50 statute miles) with 25 kW or more
average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction
of the Monitoring Station;
(4) Advance coordination for stations operating above 1000 MHz is
recommended only where the proposed station is in the vicinity of a
monitoring station designated as a satellite monitoring facility in
Sec. 0.121(c) of the Commission's Rules and also meets the criteria outlined in
paragraphs (e)(2) and (3) of this section.
(5) The Commission will not screen applications to determine whether advance
consultation has taken place. However, applicants are advised that such
consultation can avoid objections from the Federal Communications Commission
or modification of any authorization which will cause harmful interference.
(f) Any applicant for a new permanent base or fixed station to be located on
the islands of Puerto Rico, Desecheo, Mona, Vieques, and Culebra, or for a
modification of an existing authorization which would change the frequency,
power, antenna height, directivity, or location of a station on these
islands and would increase the likelihood of the authorized facility causing
interference, shall notify the Interference Office, Arecibo Observatory, HC3
Box 53995, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612, in writing or electronically, of the
technical parameters of the proposal. Applicants may wish to consult
interference guidelines, which will be provided by Cornell University.
Applicants who choose to transmit information electronically should e-mail
to: prcz@naic.edu.
(1) The notification to the Interference Office, Arecibo Observatory shall
be made prior to, or simultaneously with, the filing of the application with
the Commission. The notification shall state the geographical coordinates of
the antenna (NAD–83 datum), antenna height above ground, ground elevation at
the antenna, antenna directivity and gain, proposed frequency and FCC Rule
Part, type of emission, effective radiated power, and whether the proposed
use is itinerant. Generally, submission of the information in the technical
portion of the FCC license application is adequate notification. In
addition, the applicant shall indicate in its application to the Commission
the date notification was made to the Arecibo Observatory.
(2) After receipt of such applications, the Commission will allow the
Arecibo Observatory a period of 20 days for comments or objections in
response to the notification indicated. The applicant will be required to
make reasonable efforts in order to resolve or mitigate any potential
interference problem with the Arecibo Observatory and to file either an
amendment to the application or a modification application, as appropriate.
If the Commission determines that an applicant has satisfied its
responsibility to make reasonable efforts to protect the Observatory from
interference, its application may be granted.
(3) The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to operations that
transmit on frequencies above 15 GHz.
[ 28 FR 13032 , Dec. 5, 1963, as amended at 42 FR 8329 , Feb. 9, 1977; 42 FR 27894 , June 1, 1977; 44 FR 77167 , Dec. 31, 1979; 50 FR 39002 , Sept. 26,
1985; 58 FR 44904 , Aug. 25, 1993; 61 FR 8477 , Mar. 5, 1996; 62 FR 55530 ,
Oct. 27, 1997; 70 FR 31373 , June 1, 2005]
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