Sec.  22.503   Paging geographic area authorizations.

   The FCC considers applications for and issues paging geographic area
   authorizations in the Paging and Radiotelephone Service in accordance with
   the rules in this section. Each paging geographic area authorization
   contains conditions requiring compliance with paragraphs (h) and (i) of this
   section.

   (a) Channels. The FCC may issue a paging geographic area authorization for
   any channel listed in  Sec. 22.531 of this part or for any channel pair listed in
    Sec. 22.561 of this part.

   (b) Paging geographic areas. The paging geographic areas are as follows:

   (1) The Nationwide paging geographic area comprises the District of Columbia
   and all States, Territories and possessions of the United States of America.

   (2) Major Economic Areas (MEAs) and Economic Areas (EAs) are defined below.
   EAs are defined by the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
   See Final Redefinition of the MEA Economic Areas,  60 FR 13114  (March 10,
   1995). MEAs are based on EAs. In addition to the Department of Commerce's
   172 EAs, the FCC shall separately license Guam and the Northern Mariana
   Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, and American
   Samoa, which have been assigned FCC-created EA numbers 173–175,
   respectively, and MEA numbers 49–51, respectively.

   (3) The 51 MEAs are composed of one or more EAs as defined in the following
   table:


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   MEAs                                  EAs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 (Boston)................................  1-3.
2 (New York City).........................  4-7, 10.
3 (Buffalo)...............................  8.
4 (Philadelphia)..........................  11-12.
5 (Washington)............................  13-14.
6 (Richmond)..............................  15-17, 20.
7 (Charlotte-Greensboro-Greenville-         18-19, 21-26, 41-42, 46.
 Raleigh).
8 (Atlanta)...............................  27-28, 37-40, 43.
9 (Jacksonville)..........................  29, 35.
10 (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Orlando).........  30, 33-34.
11 (Miami)................................  31-32.
12 (Pittsburgh)...........................  9, 52-53.
13 (Cincinnati-Dayton)....................  48-50.
14 (Columbus).............................  51.
15 (Cleveland)............................  54-55.
16 (Detroit)..............................  56-58, 61-62.
17 (Milwaukee)............................  59-60, 63, 104-105, 108.
18 (Chicago)..............................  64-66, 68, 97, 101.
19 (Indianapolis).........................  67.
20 (Minneapolis-St. Paul).................  106-107, 109-114, 116.
21 (Des Moines-Quad Cities)...............  100, 102-103, 117.
22 (Knoxville)............................  44-45.
23 (Louisville-Lexington-Evansville)......  47, 69-70, 72.
24 (Birmingham)...........................  36, 74, 78-79.
25 (Nashville)............................  71.
26 (Memphis-Jackson)......................  73, 75-77.
27 (New Orleans-Baton Rouge)..............  80-85.
28 (Little Rock)..........................  90-92, 95.
29 (Kansas City)..........................  93, 99, 123.
30 (St. Louis)............................  94, 96, 98.
31 (Houston)..............................  86-87, 131.
32 (Dallas-Fort Worth)....................  88-89, 127-130, 135, 137-
                                             138.
33 (Denver)...............................  115, 140-143.
34 (Omaha)................................  118-121.
35 (Wichita)..............................  122.
36 (Tulsa)................................  124.
37 (Oklahoma City)........................  125-126.
38 (San Antonio)..........................  132-134.
39 (El Paso-Albuquerque)..................  136, 139, 155-157.
40 (Phoenix)..............................  154, 158-159.
41 (Spokane-Billings).....................  144-147, 168.
42 (Salt Lake City).......................  148-150, 152.
43 (San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose).......  151, 162-165.
44 (Los Angeles-San Diego)................  153, 160-161.
45 (Portland).............................  166-167.
46 (Seattle)..............................  169-170.
47 (Alaska)...............................  171.
48 (Hawaii)...............................  172.
49 (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands)  173.
50 (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands)..  174.
51 (American Samoa).......................  175.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

   (c) Availability. The FCC may determine whether to issue a paging geographic
   area authorization for any specific channel or channel pair in any specific
   paging geographic area. The FCC may replace existing site specific
   authorizations for facilities on a channel or channel pair located in a
   paging geographic area with a paging geographic area authorization for that
   channel or channel pair, if in its sole discretion, the FCC determines that
   the public interest would be served by such replacement.

   (d) Filing windows. The FCC accepts applications for paging geographic area
   authorizations only during filing windows. The FCC issues Public Notices
   announcing in advance the dates of the filing windows, and the specific
   paging geographic areas and channels for which applications may be accepted.

   (e) One grant per geographic area. The FCC may grant one and only one
   application for a paging geographic area authorization for any specific
   channel or channel pair in any specific paging geographic area defined in
   paragraph (b) of this section. Selection from among mutually exclusive
   applications for a paging geographic area authorization will be made in
   accordance with the procedures in  Sec.  Sec. 22.131 and 22.200 through 22.299. If
   after the selection process but prior to filing a “long form” application, a
   successful bidder decides to partition the paging geographic area, the FCC
   may require and accept multiple “long form” applications from the consortium
   members.

   (f) Exclusive right to expand. During the term of a paging geographic area
   authorization, the FCC does not accept, from anyone other than the paging
   geographic area licensee, any major application for authorization to operate
   a facility that would serve unserved area within the paging geographic area
   specified in that paging geographic area authorization, on the channel
   specified in that paging geographic area authorization, unless any extension
   of the interfering contour of the proposed facility falls:

   (1) Within the composite interfering contour of another licensee; or,

   (2) Into unserved area and the paging geographic area licensee consents to
   such extension.

   (g) Subsequent applications not accepted. During the term of a paging
   geographic area authorization, the FCC does not accept any application for
   authorization relating to a facility that is or would be located within the
   paging geographic area specified in that paging geographic area
   authorization, on the channel specified in that paging geographic area
   authorization, except in the following situations:

   (1) FCC grant of an application authorizing the construction of the facility
   could have a significant environmental effect as defined by  Sec. 1.1307 of this
   chapter. See  Sec. 22.115(a)(5).

   (2) Specific international coordination procedures are required, prior to
   assignment of a channel to the facility, pursuant to a treaty or other
   agreement between the United States government and the government of Canada
   or Mexico. See  Sec. 22.169.

   (3) The paging geographic area licensee or another licensee of a system
   within the paging geographic area applies to assign its authorization or for
   FCC consent to a transfer of control.

   (h) Adjacent geographic area coordination required. Before constructing a
   facility for which the interfering contour (as defined in  Sec. 22.537 or  Sec. 22.567
   of this part, as appropriate for the channel involved) would extend into
   another paging geographic area, a paging geographic area licensee must
   obtain the consent of the relevant co-channel paging geographic area
   licensee, if any, into whose area the interfering contour would extend.
   Licensees are expected to cooperate fully and in good faith attempt to
   resolve potential interference problems before bringing matters to the FCC.
   In the event that there is no co-channel paging geographic area licensee
   from whom to obtain consent in the area into which the interfering contour
   would extend, the facility may be constructed and operated subject to the
   condition that, at such time as the FCC issues a paging geographic area
   authorization for that adjacent geographic area, either consent must be
   obtained or the facility modified or eliminated such that the interfering
   contour no longer extends into the adjacent geographic area.

   (i) Protection of existing service. All facilities constructed and operated
   pursuant to a paging geographic area authorization must provide co-channel
   interference protection in accordance with  Sec. 22.537 or  Sec. 22.567, as
   appropriate for the channel involved, to all authorized co-channel
   facilities of exclusive licensees within the paging geographic area.
   Non-exclusive licensees on the thirty-five exclusive 929 MHz channels are
   not entitled to exclusive status, and will continue to operate under the
   sharing arrangements established with the exclusive licensees and other
   non-exclusive licensees that were in effect prior to February 19, 1997. MEA,
   EA, and nationwide geographic area licensees have the right to share with
   non-exclusive licensees on the thirty-five exclusive 929 MHz channels on a
   non-interfering basis.

   (j) Site location restriction. The transmitting antenna of each facility
   constructed and operated pursuant to a paging geographic area authorization
   must be located within the paging geographic area specified in the
   authorization.

   (k) Coverage requirements. Failure by an MEA or EA licensee to meet either
   the coverage requirements in paragraphs (k)(1) and (k)(2) of this section,
   or alternatively, the substantial service requirement in paragraph (k)(3) of
   this section, will result in automatic termination of authorizations for
   those facilities that were not authorized, constructed, and operating at the
   time the geographic area authorization was granted. MEA and EA licensees
   have the burden of showing when their facilities were authorized,
   constructed, and operating, and should retain necessary records of these
   sites until coverage requirements are fulfilled. For the purpose of this
   paragraph, to “cover” area means to include geographic area within the
   composite of the service contour(s) determined by the methods of  Sec.  Sec. 22.537 or
   22.567 as appropriate for the particular channel involved. Licensees may
   determine the population of geographic areas included within their service
   contours using either the 1990 census or the 2000 census, but not both.

   (1) No later than three years after the initial grant of an MEA or EA
   geographic area authorization, the licensee must construct or otherwise
   acquire and operate sufficient facilities to cover one third of the
   population in the paging geographic area. The licensee must notify the FCC
   at the end of the three-year period pursuant to  Sec. 1.946 of this chapter,
   either that it has satisfied this requirement or that it plans to satisfy
   the alternative requirement to provide substantial service in accordance
   with paragraph (k)(3) of this section.

   (2) No later than five years after the initial grant of an MEA or EA
   geographic area authorization, the licensee must construct or otherwise
   acquire and operate sufficient facilities to cover two thirds of the
   population in the paging geographic area. The licensee must notify the FCC
   at the end of the five year period pursuant to  Sec. 1.946 of this chapter,
   either that it has satisfied this requirement or that it has satisfied the
   alternative requirement to provide substantial service in accordance with
   paragraph (k)(3) of this section.

   (3) As an alternative to the coverage requirements of paragraphs (k)(1) and
   (k)(2) of this section, the paging geographic area licensee may demonstrate
   that, no later than five years after the initial grant of its paging
   geographic area authorization, it provides substantial service to the paging
   geographic area. “Substantial service” means service that is sound,
   favorable, and substantially above a level of mediocre service that would
   barely warrant renewal.

   [ 62 FR 11633 , Mar. 12, 1997, as amended at  63 FR 68945 , Dec. 14, 1998;  64 FR 33782 , June 24, 1999]