Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel Gives Consent to County of Palm Beach, Florida To Operate On Instant Frequencies For $1 Million System Expansion.

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 18:47:21 -0500

Nextel Gives Consent to County of Palm Beach, Florida To Operate On Instant Frequencies
For $1 Million System Expansion.

Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of Application of

COUNTY OF PALM BEACH

Request for Waiver of General Category Freeze to Permit relocation of licensed transmitter
facilities of Station WNDD563, Palm Beach, Florida  )

FCC File No. 0000912467

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

   Adopted:  December 3, 2002 Released:  December 6, 2002

By the Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau:

I. INTRODUCTION

1. We have before us a request by the County of Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach) for a
waiver of the suspension of filing of new applications (freeze) for General Category
channels in the 806-821/851-866 MHz (800 MHz) band.    Palm Beach requests the waiver to
permit it to modify its current license for conventional Public Safety/Special Emergency
Service Radio Station WNDD563, Palm Beach, Florida.  Palm Beach seeks to operate Station
WNDD563 from four locations rather than the current single authorized location.
Specifically, Palm Beach seeks authorization to relocate the operation of each of the four
800 MHz General Category channels assigned to Station WNDD563 to a separate location
elsewhere in Palm Beach County.     For the reasons discussed herein, we grant Palm
Beach’s waiver request.

II. BACKGROUND

2. In 1994, the Commission proposed a new licensing framework for Specialized Mobile Radio
(SMR) systems in the 800 MHz band.   After release of the Further Notice, there was a
significant increase in the number of requests for General Category channels made by SMR
applicants and licensees.  On October 4, 1995, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau
imposed a freeze on the filing of new applications for 800 MHz General Category channels
to ensure that resolution of the spectrum allocation issues raised in the Further Notice
would not be compromised.   The freeze also applied to the filing of applications to
modify existing licenses so as to expand the station’s service contour.   The Commission
subsequently redesignated the General Category channels exclusively to the 800 MHz SMR
service, whereby mutually exclusive initial applications would be subject to competitive
bidding, and excluded private land mobile radio (PLMR) licensees from eligibility for this
spectrum.   On reconsideration, however, the Commission reversed its decision concerning
eligibility and reinstated the eligibility of PLMR applicants for General Category
channels.   The Commission also partially lifted the freeze on General Category channels
to permit potential Economic Area (EA) applicants   to relocate incumbents from the upper
10 MHz block of 800 MHz spectrum to the General Category channels.   In all other
respects, the Commission maintained the freeze so as not to frustrate its efforts
regarding future licensing of General Category channels.

3. On June 4, 2002, Palm Beach filed an application for modification of its authorization
to operate Station WNND593, which operates on General Category frequencies 852.3875,
853.5125, 852.2375 and 852.8875 MHz.   Palm Beach asserts that it needs to relocate the
facilities associated with Station WNDD593’s frequencies in order to build and launch a
countywide wireless mobile data network for use by the County’s public safety and local
government agencies.   It states that it is spending one million dollars to achieve mobile
data communications coverage throughout Palm Beach County, which is the largest county in
Florida.   Palm  Beach also  states that  the proposed modification will expand its
service contour  for two of the subject channels, but significantly reduce its service
contour for the other two channels.

4. Nextel Communications, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Nextel South Corp.,
is the EA licensee of EA 031 (Palm Beach) Blocks DD, E, EE, and F, which contain the four
frequencies on which Station WNDD563 operates.   Palm Beach asserts that Nextel, the EA
licensee, supports a grant of the subject application.   Nextel has indicated its consent
to Palm Beach’s proposed operation on the instant frequencies.

III. DISCUSSION

5. The Commission may grant a waiver of its rules if (a) it is in the public interest and
the underlying purpose of the rule would be frustrated or not served by application to the
present case, or (b) in view of unique or unusual factual circumstances, application of
the rule would be inequitable, unduly burdensome, or contrary to the public interest, or
the applicant has no reasonable alternative.   Palm Beach’s proposed operations require a
waiver of the Commission’s rules because there is a freeze on the filing of modification
applications for General Category Channels in the 800 MHz band.

6. The filing freeze regarding 800 MHz General Category Channels was intended to preserve
the licensing landscape of the General Category spectrum so the Commission could implement
its new licensing approach for the spectrum effectively.   We conclude that grant of a
waiver here would not frustrate the purposes of the General Category freeze.  We note that
Palm Beach seeks to relocate the facilities associated with four General Category
frequencies already licensed to it.  Thus, it does not seek to encumber any additional
General Category spectrum.  Consequently, the pivotal issue becomes what impact, if any,
its proposed operations, which would alter the service contours of Station WNDD593, would
have on the operations of the EA licensee.  In this regard, we note that Nextel has
consented to Palm Beach’s proposed modification.  Further, Nextel has agreed to move its
operations fifty-five miles from the proposed Palm Beach operation without significant
adverse impact.

7. Based on the record before us, we find that grant of the requested waiver to permit the
proposed relocation for the limited number of General Category channels is warranted.  We
believe that under the circumstances presented, it is in the public interest to facilitate
Palm Beach’s efforts to implement a countywide communications system which will foster
interoperability and more effective public safety communications.  We also find it very
persuasive that Nextel, the EA licensee, has consented to the proposal and has indicated
its willingness to accommodate Palm Beach’s modified facilities.   Thus, we believe that
grant of the waiver would not adversely affect the EA licensee’s operations.  In this
connection, we note that we have granted waivers of the General Category freeze when we
have determined that the waiver would not have a significant adverse impact on the EA
licensee's operations.  For example, in City of Denton, Texas,  we granted a waiver of the
General Category freeze to a public safety licensee that wished to relocate its tower 3.3
miles in order to improve its coverage. We concluded that grant of a waiver in that
instance would be consistent with the underlying purposes of the freeze because the
licensee was already short-spaced to the affected licensees, the frequency coordinator
found that there would be no interference to existing facilities, the effect on the
auctioned spectrum would be minimal since the applicant was relocating existing
facilities, and the relevant EA licensees did not object to the waiver request.   We
conclude that granting Palm Beach a waiver under the circumstances presented is consistent
with other General Category waiver decisions.

IV. ORDERING CLAUSES

8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), and Section 1.925 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §
1.925, that the waiver request filed by the County of Palm Beach, Florida on June 4, 2002
with respect to FCC File No. 0000912467 IS GRANTED.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Sections 4(i) and 309(a) of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 154(i), 309(a), that the Public Safety and Private
Wireless Division, Licensing and Technical Analysis Branch SHALL PROCESS FCC File No.
0000912467 in accordance with this Memorandum Opinion and Order.
10. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.131 and 0.331 of
the Commission’s Rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.131, 0.331.

 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

 D’wana R. Terry
 Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Division
 Wireless Telecommunications Bureau

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-02-3359A1.doc

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