[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 47, Volume 5]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 47CFR101.75]



[Page 623-624]

 

                       TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION

 

                         COMMISSION (CONTINUED)

 

PART 101_FIXED MICROWAVE SERVICES--Table of Contents

 

                   Subpart B_Applications and Licenses

 

Sec. 101.75  Involuntary relocation procedures.



    (a) If no agreement is reached during either the voluntary or 

mandatory negotiation period, an ET licensee may initiate involuntary 

relocation procedures under the Commission's rules. ET licensees are 

obligated to pay to relocate only the specific microwave links to which 

their systems pose an interference problem. Under involuntary 

relocation, the FMS licensee is required to relocate, provided that the 

ET licensee:

    (1) Guarantees payment of relocation costs, including all 

engineering, equipment, site and FCC fees, as well as any legitimate and 

prudent transaction expenses incurred by the FMS licensee that are 

directly attributable to an involuntary relocation, subject to a cap of 

two percent of the hard costs involved. Hard costs are defined as the 

actual costs associated with providing a replacement system, such as 

equipment and engineering expenses. ET licensees are not required to pay 

FMS licensees for internal resources devoted to the relocation process. 

ET licensees are not required to pay for transaction costs incurred by 

FMS licensees during the voluntary or mandatory periods once the 

involuntary period is initiated, or for fees that cannot be legitimately 

tied to the provision of comparable facilities;

    (2) Completes all activities necessary for implementing the 

replacement facilities, including engineering and cost analysis of the 

relocation procedure and, if radio facilities are used, identifying and 

obtaining, on the incumbents' behalf, new microwave frequencies and 

frequency coordination; and

    (3) Builds the replacement system and tests it for comparability 

with the existing 2 GHz system.

    (b) Comparable facilities. The replacement system provided to an 

incumbent during an involuntary relocation must be at least equivalent 

to the existing FMS system with respect to the following three factors:

    (1) Throughput. Communications throughput is the amount of 

information transferred within a system in a given amount of time. If 

analog facilities are being replaced with analog, the ET licensee is 

required to provide the FMS licensee with an equivalent number of 4 kHz 

voice channels. If digital facilities are being replaced with digital, 

the ET licensee must provide the FMS licensee with equivalent data 

loading bits per second (bps). ET licensees must provide FMS licensees 

with enough throughput to satisfy the FMS licensee's system use at the 

time of relocation, not match the total capacity of the FMS system.

    (2) Reliability. System reliability is the degree to which 

information is transferred accurately within a system. ET licensees must 

provide FMS licensees with reliability equal to the overall reliability 

of their system. For digital data systems, reliability is measured by 

the percent of time the bit error rate (BER) exceeds a desired value, 

and for analog or digital voice transmissions, it is measured by the 

percent of time that audio signal quality meets an established 

threshold. If an analog voice system is replaced with a digital voice 

system, only the resulting frequency response, harmonic distortion, 

signal-to-noise ratio and its reliability will be considered in 

determining comparable reliability.

    (3) Operating costs. Operating costs are the cost to operate and 

maintain the FMS system. ET licensees must compensate FMS licensees for 

any increased recurring costs associated with the replacement facilities 

(e.g., additional rental payments, increased utility fees) for five 

years after relocation. ET licensees may satisfy this obligation by 

making a lump-sum payment based on present value using current interest 

rates. Additionally, the maintenance costs to the FMS licensee must be 

equivalent to the 2 GHz system in order for the replacement system to be 

considered comparable.

    (c) The FMS licensee is not required to relocate until the 

alternative facilities are available to it for a reasonable time to make 

adjustments, determine



[[Page 624]]



comparability, and ensure a seamless handoff.

    (d) Twelve-month trial period. If, within one year after the 

relocation to new facilities, the FMS licensee demonstrates that the new 

facilities are not comparable to the former facilities, the ET licensee 

must remedy the defects or pay to relocate the microwave licensee to one 

of the following: its former or equivalent 2 GHz channels, another 

comparable frequency band, a land-line system, or any other facility 

that satisfies the requirements specified in paragraph (b) of this 

section. This trial period commences on the date that the FMS licensee 

begins full operation of the replacement link. If the FMS licensee has 

retained its 2 GHz authorization during the trial period, it must return 

the license to the Commission at the end of the twelve months. FMS 

licensees relocated from the 2110-2150 and 2160-2200 MHz bands may not 

be returned to their former 2 GHz channels. All other remedies specified 

in paragraph (d) are available to FMS licensees relocated from the 2110-

2150 MHz and 2160-2200 MHz bands, and may be invoked whenever the FMS 

licensee demonstrates that its replacement facility is not comparable, 

subject to no time limit.



[61 FR 29694, June 12, 1996, as amended at 65 FR 48183, Aug. 7, 2000; 68 

FR 3464, Jan. 24, 2003]