Associations Request Clarification on FCC’s TETRA Ruling

Comments in response to the FCC’s waiver of certain rules that would permit deployment of TETRA technology in the 450 - 470 MHz industrial/business and 800 MHz ESMR bands were filed last week. Nearly all the comments request clarification on public-safety issues.

In their comments, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) and Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Motorola Solutions requested clarification that TETRA technology is not permitted in the 821 - 824 and 866 - 869 MHz bands or that public-safety systems in those bands are entitled to protection from co-channel and near-far interference created by TETRA systems that are deployed via waiver. “Failing to make this clarification, the commission would appear to be permitting TETRA systems to deploy on the same channels in the vicinity of public-safety systems, which is at odds with the waiver order’s expressed intention of not permitting the mingling of public-safety and TETRA systems pursuant to the waiver,” Motorola’s comments said.

“TIA respectfully requests that the commission clarify that, under the order, TETRA uses are not allowed within ESMR public-safety frequencies,” TIA said in its comments.

Motorola also said for the bands below 512 MHz, it is not permissible to transmit station identification in digital format. Motorola sought confirmation that this requirement applies to TETRA systems operating under waiver in the 450 MHz band. In the alternative, the commission could act on the long-standing proposals in WT Docket No. 07-100 to modify Section 90.425 to allow VHF and UHF stations that have earned channel exclusivity to transmit station identification in digital format, Motorola’s comments said.

Motorola also asked for clarification that any devices not already certified at the time the waiver order was issued must be certified at its maximum power, per the commission’s existing rules.

In its comments, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA) took exception to the FCC’s announcement that licensees wanting to replace their existing systems with TETRA equipment would not be required to secure frequency coordination if the only change was to reflect the TETRA emission, because such applications would not “have an impact on near-term frequency selections.” EWA requested that the FCC specifically clarify that “the frequency coordination exemption in the order applies only in those cases when an existing incumbent system is converting to TETRA on an exclusive channel.” Otherwise, the potential for co-channel and adjacent interference is quite high, a result that EWA presumes TETRA proponents would want to avoid.

EWA reminded the FCC that the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC), the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, NPSTC and TIA, which collectively “represent virtually every Part 90 licensee,” had advised against granting the waiver, and instead suggested opening a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) “in which the technical issues could be examined fully.”

NPSTC said its comments to the NPRM in this proceeding will be submitted separately by the comment deadline, set for June 27.

Source: www.radioresourcemag.com