By Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs, Office of Emergency Communications
SOURCE: FirstNet.gov
DATE: March 13, 2019
Every February, 30,000 skiers and spectators descend on northwestern Wisconsin to take part in the largest cross-country race in North America, the American Birkebeiner. The more than 30-mile race from Cable to Hayward, known as the “Birkie,” tests the endurance of skiers. It also creates a huge emergency communications challenge for first responders.
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The 800 MHz band interstitial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released on October 22, 2018 was published in the Federal Register on November 27, 2018. The rules became effective as of December 27, 2018. Some of the key points of the order are discussed below:
Add 318 new interstitial channels in the 800 MHz Mid-Band, the portion of the 800 MHz band used most extensively for PLMR.
Direct Commission staff to announce when applications for 800 MHz Expansion Band, Guard Band, Sprint-vacated, and interstitial channels may be filed in the 44 of 55 National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee regions where 800 MHz rebanding has been completed.
Decline to give incumbent 800 MHz licensees filing priority for 800 MHz Expansion Band and Guard Band over non-incumbents after such an announcement.
Terminate the 1995 freeze on inter-category sharing of 800 MHz channels, making it no longer necessary for applicants to seek a waiver of the freeze.
Make available new 450-470 MHz Industrial/Business Pool channels in gaps located between Industrial/Business Pool spectrum and spectrum designated for other services.
Authorize trackside boosters on PLMR railroad channels to facilitate communication between the front and rear of trains where direct communication is unsatisfactory because of the length of the train or intervening terrain.
Extend conditional licensing to PLMR stations that operate in the 700 MHz public safety narrowband and the 800 MHz band.
Make underused Central Station Alarm channels available for other PLMR purposes provided that the Central Station Alarm frequency coordinator concurs.
On December 27, 2018, Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) filed a petition with FCC stating the following:
“The Commission has adopted many of the approaches endorsed by the LMCC in these proceedings. However, there is a critical area in which the FCC rejected the LMCC’s recommendations and adopted rules, in the LMCC’s opinion, that must be reconsidered if the full potential of the spectrum at issue is to be captured. Specifically, the LMCC urges the FCC to reconsider the definition of the interference contour to be used in coordinating an 800 MHz Mid-Band (809-817/854-862 MHz) application and the derating factors to be applied in that contour analysis. The derating factors, which were developed for use with an F(50,50) curve, are not appropriate when applied to a more conservative F(50,10) curve. The result will provide more adjacent channel protection than needed while simultaneously reducing the spectrum utilization that otherwise could be derived from introducing interstitial channels into the 800 MHz band.”
It is important to note that licensing of 800 MHz interstitials channels is not possible until FCC has addressed this petition. Furthermore, while the rules became effective on December 27, 2018, formal administrative and FCC release details have yet to be issued. Specifically, it is not possible to determine at present the dates for which the FCC will issue a Public Notice (PN) announcing the release dates of the spectrum and the applicable filing windows for when frequency advisory committees can begin certifications and submissions to the FCC for processing.