In-Flight Phone Corp.; Allocation of Spectrum Below 5 GHz Transferred From Government Use

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[ET Docket No. 94-32; DA 95-1365]

In-Flight Phone Corp.; Allocation of Spectrum Below 5 GHz

Transferred From Government Use

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Public notice.

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SUMMARY: This Public Notice solicits comment on a pioneer's preference

request filed by In-Flight Phone Corp. (In-Flight). The action is taken

in response to a filing by In-Flight.

DATES: Comments are due July 3, 1995; reply comments are due July 13,

1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Rodney Small, Office of Engineering and Technology, (202) 776-1622.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is the text of the Commission's Public

Notice in GEN Docket No. 94-32, released June 16, 1995. The pioneer's

preference request filed by In-Flight is available for inspection and

copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room

239), 1919 M Street NW., Washington, D.C., and also may be purchased

from the Commission's duplication contractor, International

Transcription Service, (202) 857-3800, 2100 M Street NW., Suite 140,

Washington D.C. 20037.

Comment Sought on In-Flight Phone Corp. Pioneer's Preference Request

On March 16, 1995, In-Flight Corp. (In-Flight) filed a Petition for

Declaratory Ruling (Petition) asking that its pioneer's preference (PP)

Request filed in the Narrowband Personal Communications Services

proceeding, ET Docket No. 92-100, now be considered in ET Docket No.

94-32, Allocation of Spectrum Below 5 GHz Transferred from Federal

Government Use. The Petition was placed on Public Notice on April 28,

1994; see DA 95-967. No comments were filed on this Public Notice. On

June 8, 1995, in response to the Commission's Third Report and Order in

the pioneer's preference review proceeding (see ET Docket No. 93-266,

FCC 95-218, released June 8, 1995), In-Flight filed a Supplement to its

PP Request. In the Supplement, In-Flight asks that the

[[Page 32679]] Commission issue a public notice soliciting comment on

the PP Request.

In-Flight filed its PP Request in ET Docket No. 92-100 on October

30, 1992, seeking a preference in the 901-902 MHz and 940-941 MHz bands

for a live ground-to-air audio news, information, and entertainment

service for airline passengers. However, because the rules adopted in

ET Docket No. 92-100 were not related to In-Flight's proposal, its PP

Request was not acted upon by the Commission.

In May 1994, the Commission released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in

ET Docket No. 94-32, seeking information on potential applications of

50 megahertz of transferred Federal Government spectrum; see 9 FCC Rcd

2175 and 59 FR 25589, May 17, 1994. In November 1994, a Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking was released proposing the allocation of the

spectrum; see 9 9 FCC Rcd 6779 and 59 FR 59393, November 17, 1994. A

First Report and Order and Second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Second

NPRM) was released in February 1995; see 10 FCC Rcd 4769 and 60 FR

13102, March 10, 1995. The Second NPRM proposes that the 4660-4685 MHz

band be allocated for a General Wireless Communications Service (GWCS).

In its Petition, In-Flight argued that its PP Request should be

considered in ET Docket No. 94-32 because the proposed service rules

would allow it to apply for a license to provide its service in the

4660-4685 MHz band. In-Flight claimed that the service for which the

preference is sought is identical in all relevant respects to the

service it would provide as a GWCS licensee. In-Flight also requested

that the Commission issue the recommended ruling well in advance of the

August 10, 1995 statutory deadline for issuing final rules in ET Docket

No. 94-32, so that the Commission would have sufficient time to decide

whether to award a pioneer's preference to In-Flight.

In its Supplement, In-Flight notes that the Commission recently

decided in ET Docket No. 93-266 that public notices would no longer be

issued inviting comment on pioneer's preference requests--rather, such

comment would be solicited in the notices of proposed rule making that

propose to establish rules governing the services for which the

preferences are sought; see Second Report and Order and Further Notice

of Proposed Rule Making, 10 FCC Rcd 4523 (1995) and 60 FR 13396, March

13, 1995. However, In-Flight states that because an NPRM has already

been issued in Docket No. 94-32, the only way the Commission can give

parties an opportunity to comment on its PP Request is to issue a

public notice.

We concur with In-Flight that due to the special circumstances

surrounding its PP Request, issuance of a public notice is appropriate

in this case. Accordingly, we are assigning file number PP-88 to the

Request and invite comment on it and the Supplement. Comments must

reference both PP-88 and ET Docket No. 94-32 on the cover page.

Comments are due July 3, 1995, and reply comments are due July 13,

1995. We note that In-Flight's PP Request has been formally opposed.

Accordingly, the PP Request constitutes a restricted Commission

proceeding in which ex parte presentations are prohibited; see 47 CFR

1.1208(c).

In-Flight's PP Request, including the Supplement, is available for

inspection in the FCC Reference Center, Room 239, 1919 M Street N.W.,

Washington, DC during regular business hours. This material may also be

purchased from the Commission's duplication contractor, International

Transcription Service, Inc., 2100 M Street, NW, Suite 140, Washington,

DC 20036, (202) 857-3800. For further information, contact Thomas

Derenge or Rodney Small in the Office of Engineering and Technology,

(202) 739-0703 or (202) 776-1622, respectively.

Federal Communications Commission.

William F. Caton,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-15395 Filed 6-22-95; 8:45 am]

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