Sec. 2.102  Assignment of frequencies.

    (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the assignment of 
frequencies and bands of frequencies to all stations and classes of 
stations and the licensing and authorizing of the use of all such 
frequencies between 9 kHz and 400 GHz, and the actual use of such 
frequencies for radiocommunication or for any other purpose, including 
the transfer of energy by radio, shall be in accordance with the Table 
of Frequency Allocations in Sec. 2.106.
    (b) On the condition that harmful interference will not be caused to 
services operating in accordance with the Table of Frequency Allocations 
the following exceptions to paragraph (a) of this section may be 
authorized:
    (1) In individual cases the Commission may, without rule making 
proceedings, authorize on a temporary basis only, the use of frequencies 
not in accordance with the Table of Frequency Allocations for projects 
of short duration or emergencies where the Commission finds that 
important or exceptional circumstances require such utilization. Such 
authorizations are not intended to develop a service to be operated on 
frequencies other than those allocated such service.
    (2) A station for the development of techniques or equipment to be 
employed by services set forth in column 5 of the Table of Frequency 
Allocations may be authorized the use of frequencies allocated to those 
services or classes of stations.
    (3) Experimental stations pursuant to part 5, may be authorized the 
use of any frequency or frequency band not exclusively allocated to the 
passive services (including the Radio Astronomy Service).
    (4) In the event a band is reallocated so as to delete its 
availability for use by a particular service, the Commission may provide 
for the further interim use of the band by stations in that service for 
a temporary, specific period of time.
    (c) Non-Government stations may be authorized to use Government 
frequencies in the bands above 25 MHz if the Commission finds, after 
consultations with the appropriate Government agency or agencies, that 
such use is necessary for coordination of Government and non-Government 
activities: Provided, however, that:
    (1) Non-Government operation on Government frequencies shall conform 
with the conditions agreed upon by the Commission and the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) (the more 
important of which are contained in paragraphs (c) (2), (3), and (4) of 
this section);
    (2) Such operations shall be in accordance with NTIA rules governing 
the service to which the frequencies involved are allocated;
    (3) Such operations shall not cause harmful interference to 
Government stations and, should harmful interference result, that the 
interfering non-Government operation shall immediately terminate; and

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    (4) Non-Government operation has been certified as necessary by the 
Government agency involved and this certification has been furnished, in 
writing, to the non-Government licensee with which communication is 
required.
    (d) Aircraft stations may communicate with stations of the maritime 
mobile service. They shall then conform to those provisions of the 
international Radio Regulations which relate to the maritime mobile 
service. For this purpose aircraft stations should use the frequencies 
allocated to the maritime mobile service. However, having regard to 
interference which may be caused by aircraft stations at high altitudes, 
maritime mobile frequencies in the bands above 30 MHz shall not be used 
by aircraft stations in any specific area without the prior agreement of 
all administrations of the area in which interference is likely to be 
caused. In particular, aircraft stations operating in Region 1 should 
not use frequencies in the bands above 30 MHz allocated to the maritime 
mobile service by virtue of any agreement between administrations in 
that Region.
    (e) Non-Government services operating on frequencies in the band 25-
50 MHz must recognize that it is shared with various services of other 
countries; that harmful interference may be caused by skywave signals 
received from distant stations of all services of the United States and 
other countries radiating power on frequencies in this band; and that no 
protection from such harmful interference generally can be expected. 
Persons desiring to avoid such harmful interference should consider 
operation on available frequencies higher in the radio spectrum not 
generally subject to this type of difficulty.
    (f) The stations of a service shall use frequencies so separated 
from the limits of a band allocated to that service as not to cause 
harmful interference to allocated services in immediately adjoining 
frequency bands.
    (g) In the bands above 25 MHz which are allocated to the non-
Government land mobile service, fixed stations may be authorized on the 
following conditions:
    (1) That such stations are authorized in the service shown in Column 
5 of the Table of Frequency Allocations in the band in question;
    (2) That harmful interference will not be caused to services 
operating in accordance with the Table of Frequency Allocations.
    (h) Special provisions regarding the use of spectrum allocated to 
the fixed and land mobile services below 25 MHz by non-Government 
stations.
    (1) Only in the following circumstances will authority be extended 
to stations in the fixed service to operate on frequencies below 25 MHz.
    (i) With respect to aeronautical fixed stations, only when a showing 
can be made that more suitable facilities are not available.
    (ii) With respect to fixed stations, except aeronautical fixed 
stations, only to:
    (A) Provide communication circuits in emergency and/or disaster 
situations, where safety of life and property are concerned;
    (B) Provide standby and/or backup facilities to satellite and cable 
circuits used for international public correspondence;
    (C) Provide standby and/or backup communications circuits to regular 
domestic communication circuits which have been disrupted by disasters 
and/or emergencies;
    (D) Provide communication circuits wholly within the State of Alaska 
and the United States insular areas in the Pacific; and
    (E) Provide communication circuits to support operations which are 
highly important to the national interest and where other means of 
telecommunication are unavailable.
    (2) Only in the following circumstances will authority be extended 
to stations in the land mobile service to operate below 25 MHz.
    (i) Provide communication circuits in emergency and/or disaster 
situations, where safety of life and property are concerned;
    (ii) Provide standby and/or backup communications circuits to 
regular domestic communication circuits which have been disrupted by 
disasters and/or emergencies;
    (iii) Provide communication circuits wholly within the State of 
Alaska and

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the United States insular areas in the Pacific; and
    (iv) Provide communication circuits to support operations which are 
highly important to the national interest and where other means of 
telecommunication are unavailable.
    (3) Except in the State of Alaska and the United States Pacific 
insular areas, the Commission does not intend to seek international 
protection for assignments made pursuant to paragraphs (h) (1)(ii) and 
(2) of this section; this results in the following constraints upon the 
circuits/assignments.
    (i) The Commission will not accept responsibility for protection of 
the circuits from harmful interference caused by foreign operations.
    (ii) In the event that a complaint of harmful interference resulting 
from operation of these circuits is received from a foreign source, the 
offending circuit(s) must cease operation on the particular frequency 
concerned.
    (iii) In order to accommodate the situations described in paragraphs 
(h)(3) (i) and (ii) of this section, equipments shall be capable of 
transmitting and receiving on any frequency in the bands assigned to the 
particular operation and capable of immediate change among the 
frequencies.