Implementation of the GMPCS MoU and Petition of the NTIA To Establish Emissions Limits for Mobile and Portable Earth Stations in the 1610-1660.5 MHz Band

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 2, 25

[IB Docket No. 99-67; FCC 99-37]

Implementation of the GMPCS MoU and Petition of the NTIA To

Establish Emissions Limits for Mobile and Portable Earth Stations in

the 1610-1660.5 MHz Band

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has proposed rules and policies implementing

the international Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite

(GMPCS) Memorandum of Understanding and Arrangements adopted last

spring by the International

[[Page 16688]]

Telecommunications Union. Among other things, the Notice proposes to

apply our current part 2 equipment certification procedures to

terminals used in conjunction with authorized GMPCS systems that are

for sale or lease and use in the United States. It also contemplates a

customs procedure for allowing terminals to be carried into the United

States.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 3, 1999; reply

comments must be submitted on or before May 18, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications Commission, 445 Twelfth Street S.W.,

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracey Weisler (202) 418-0744 or Bill

Bell (202) 418-0741.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice

of Proposed Rulemaking in IB Docket No. 99-67; FCC 99-37, adopted

February 25, 1999 and released March 5, 1999. The complete text of this

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Information Center,

445 Twelfth Street, Room CYA257, S.W., Washington, DC 20554. and also

may be purchased from the Commissions's copy contractor, International

Transcription Service, 1231 20th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036,

phone: 202-857-3800; facsimile: 202-857-3805.

To file formally in this proceeding, comments can be filed using

the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (``ECFS'') or by

paper copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking

Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (May 1, 1998). Comments filed through the ECFS

can be sent as an electronic file via the Internet to http://

www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html>. Generally, only one copy of an

electronic submission must be filed. If multiple docket or rulemaking

numbers appear in the caption of this proceeding, however, commenters

must transmit one electronic copy of the comments to each docket or

rulemaking number referenced in the caption. In completing the

transmittal screen, commenters should include their full name, Postal

Service mailing address, and the applicable docket or rulemaking

number. Parties may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-

mail. To get filing instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should

send an e-mail to [email protected], and should include the following words

in the body of the message, ``get form .'' A

sample form and directions will be sent in reply.

Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four

copies of each filing. If more than one docket or rulemaking number

appear in the caption of this proceeding, commenters must submit two

additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. All

filings must be sent to the Commission's Secretary, Magalie Roman

Salas, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, The

Portals, 445 Twelfth Street, S.W., Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554.

Parties who choose to file by paper should also submit their

comments on diskette. These diskettes should be submitted to: Paul

Gordon, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, The

Portals, 445 Twelfth Street, S.W., Room 2C223, Washington, DC 20554.

Such a submission should be on a 3.5 inch diskette formatted in an IBM

compatible format using WordPerfect 5.1 for Windows or compatible

software. The diskette should be accompanied by a cover letter and

should be submitted in ``read only'' mode. The diskette should be

clearly labelled with the commenter's name, proceeding (including the

lead docket number in this case [IB Docket No. 99-67]), type of

pleading (comment or reply comment), date of submission, and the name

of the electronic file on the diskette. The label should also include

the following phrase ``Disk Copy--Not an Original.'' Each diskette

should contain only one party's pleading, preferably in a single

electronic file. In addition, commenters must send diskette copies to

the Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Service,

Inc., 1231 20th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037. Comments and reply

comments should be captioned using the docket number in this proceeding

only.

As required by Section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the

Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

(IRFA) of the expected impact on small entities of the proposals

suggested in this document.

Summary of Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

The Commission's proposed rulemaking (1) outlines the provisions of

the GMPCS MoU and recognizes the need to facilitate transport terminals

delivering new international voice, data and broadband services across

national borders; (2) seeks comment on the categories of GMPCS

terminals that should fall under the ITU definition for purposes of

equipment certification; (3) seeks comment on the requirement to

certify terminals for sale or lease and use in the United States and

how to treat terminals brought into the United States as personal

effects for temporary use or transit; (4) seeks comment on the current

technical requirements and procedures for earth station licensing under

Part 25 and whether to expand those requirements for certification; (5)

proposes to adopt NTIA's out-of-band emission proposal for terminals

operating in the 1610-1660.5 MHz range; and (6) seeks comment on how

best to implement and enforce our new procedures in conjunction with

the Commission's Compliance and Information Bureau and the U.S. Customs

Service.

Administrative Matters

This is a non-restricted notice and comment rulemaking proceeding.

Ex parte presentations are permitted, except during the Sunshine Agenda

period, provided they are disclosed as provided in the Commission's

rules. See generally 47 CFR 1.1202, 1.1203, and 1.1206(a). The Sunshine

Agenda period is the period of time that commences with the release of

public notice that a matter has been placed on the Sunshine Agenda and

terminates when the Commission (1) releases the text of a decision or

order in the matter; (2) issues a public notice stating that the matter

has been deleted from the Sunshine Agenda; or (3) issues a public

notice stating that the matter has been returned to the staff for

further consideration, whichever occurs first. 47 CFR 1.1202(f). During

the Sunshine Agenda period, no presentations, ex parte or otherwise,

are permitted unless specifically exempted. 47 CFR 1.1203. Pursuant to

applicable procedures set forth in Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the

Commission's Rules, 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.419, interested parties may file

comments on or before May 3, 1999 and reply comments on or before May

18, 1999.

To file formally in this proceeding, you must file an original and

five copies of all comments, reply comments, and supporting comments.

If you want each Commissioner to receive a personal copy of your

comments send additional copies to Office of the Secretary, Federal

Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554. Comments and reply

comments will be available for public inspection during regular

business hours in the Federal Communications Commission, Reference

Information Center, Room CYA257, Twelfth Street, S.W., Washington, DC

20554.

[[Page 16689]]

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Statement

As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act,1 the

Commission has prepared this present Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis of the possible significant economic impact on small entities

by the policies and rules proposed in this Notice of Proposed Rule

Making (``Notice''). Written public comments are requested on this

IRFA. Comments must be identified as responses to the IRFA and must be

filed by the deadlines for comments on the Notice provided above. The

Commission will send a copy of this Notice, including the IRFA, to the

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. In

addition, the Notice and IRFA will be published in the Federal

Register.

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\1\ 5 U.S.C. 603.

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Need for and Objectives of the Proposed Rules

This Notice proposes to extend the FCC's current equipment

certification procedure to GMPCS terminals that are to be sold for use

in the United States, while allowing terminals manufactured and sold

elsewhere to enter the United States for transit or temporary use if

they have complied with the GMPCS-MoU notification process and bear the

``GMPCS-MoU ITU Registry'' mark.

Legal Basis

This action is taken pursuant to Sections 4(i), 7(a), 303(c),

303(f), 303(g), and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and

303(r), 307, 309, and 310.

Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the

Proposed Rules Will Apply

The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of and, where

feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be

affected by the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA generally defines

the term ``small entity `` as having the same meaning as the terms

``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental

jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same

meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business

Act. A small business concern is one which: (1) is independently owned

and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3)

satisfies any additional criteria established by the Small Business

Administration (SBA).

The Commission has not developed a definition of small entities

applicable to geostationary or non-geostationary orbit fixed-satellite,

mobile satellite operators or terminal manufacturers. Therefore, the

applicable definition of small entity in the satellite services

industry is the definition under the Small Business Administration

(SBA) rules applicable to Communications Services ``Not Elsewhere

Classified.'' 2 This definition provides that a small entity

is expressed as one with $11.0 million or less in annual receipts.

According to Census Bureau data, there are 848 firms that fall under

the category of Communications Services, Not Elsewhere Classified. Of

those, approximately 775 reported annual receipts of $11 million or

less and qualify as small entities.3 The Census Bureau

category is very broad and commercial satellite services constitute

only a subset of its total. Although it is difficult to estimate the

number of entities that will be required to or choose to comply with

the procedures proposed in this Notice, we note that the Commission has

licensed 12 entities to provide GMPCS in the United States. Of these

licensees, only VITA and LEO One qualify as small

businesses.4 The other entities are not small businesses

because they each have revenues in excess of $11 million annually or

have parent companies or investors that have revenues in excess of $11

million annually. We request comment on the description and number of

small entities that are significantly impacted by this proposal.

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\2\ See 13 CFR 121.201, Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)

Code 4899.

\3\ U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1992

Census of Transportation, Communications, and Utilities, UC92-S-1,

Subject Series, Establishment and Firm Size, Table 2D, Employment

Size of Firms: 1992, SIC Code 4899 (issued May 1995).

\4\ See Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, IB Docket No. 96-426, 11

FCC Rcd 19841 (1996) at 44.

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Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other Compliance

Requirements

In this proceeding, we are proposing to use current forms and

procedures to implement new proposed requirements. Therefore, this

proposed action may create minimal additional mandatory reporting

requirements for license applications and/or new equipment

certification requirements for certain sectors of the satellite

operator, service provider and equipment manufacturing industry.

Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities

and Significant Alternatives Considered

It should be noted that the Commission received a petition from the

National Telecommunications and Information Agency regarding

establishment of an out-of-band emission limit for certain GMPCS

terminals in 1998 and comments were later filed by several entities.

However, no Petitions for Rulemaking were filed to initiate the MoU

portion of this proceeding, and there have been no comments in this

proceeding that suggest alternatives to the proposed procedure.

Therefore, we request comment on alternative licensing and equipment

certification procedures that might minimize the amount of economic

impact on small entities.

Federal Rules that May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict with the

Proposed Rules

None.

Ordering Clauses

Accordingly, It is Ordered that, pursuant to Sections 4(i), 7(a),

303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934,

as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and

303(r), 307, 309(a), 310, NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of our intent to adopt

these proposed rule revisions. It is Further Ordered that the

Commission's Office of Public Affairs, Reference Operations Division,

shall send a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business Administration, in accordance with

Section 603(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et. seq.

(1981).

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 2

Communications equipment.

47 CFR Part 25

Communications equipment, Satellites.

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 99-8499 Filed 4-5-99; 8:45 am]

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