[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 47, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2006]

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

[CITE: 47CFR2.102]



[Page 539-541]

 

                       TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION

 

              CHAPTER I--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

 

PART 2_FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS AND RADIO TREATY MATTERS; GENERAL RULES AND 

REGULATIONS--Table of Contents

 

     Subpart B_Allocation, Assignment, and Use of Radio Frequencies

 

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 275 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 of this chapter, 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-Federal stations may be authorized to use Federal 

frequencies in the bands above 25 MHz if the Commission finds, after 

consultations with the appropriate Federal agency or agencies, that such 

use is necessary for coordination of Federal and non-Federal activities: 

Provided, however, that:

    (1) Non-Federal operation on Federal frequencies shall conform with 

the conditions agreed upon by the Commission and NTIA (the more 

important of which are contained in paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3), and 

(c)(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 Federal 

stations and, should harmful interference result, that the interfering 

non-Federal operation shall immediately terminate; and

    (4) Non-Federal operation has been certified as necessary by the 

Federal agency involved and this certification has been furnished, in 

writing, to the non-Federal licensee with which communication is 

required.



[[Page 540]]



    (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-Federal 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-Federal 

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-Federal 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 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,



[[Page 541]]



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.



[49 FR 2373, Jan. 19, 1984, 70 FR 46585, Aug. 10, 2005]