Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC Grants Burbank, California To Operate a Public Safety Radio Communications System in Frequency Band 470-480 MHz

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 15:01:48 -0500

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

In the Matter of Application of

CITY OF BURBANK, CALIFORNIA

To Operate a Public Safety Radio Communications System in Frequency Band
470-480 MHz in Burbank, California )

File No. 0001073667

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Adopted:   November 7, 2003 Released:  November 12, 2003

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

I. INTRODUCTION

1. We have before us the captioned application and associated request for waiver
(Waiver Request) filed by the City of Burbank, California (Burbank), for
authority to operate a public safety radio system on UHF frequencies  in the Los
Angeles metropolitan area.   Burbank seeks a waiver of Part 22 of the
Commission’s Rules to use spectrum that is designated for non-public safety
use.   For the reasons stated herein, we grant Burbank’s Waiver Request.

II. BACKGROUND

2. Burbank, located in the Los Angeles Basin, is a municipality which requires
communications for a number of municipal functions.  Its population of 100,000
swells to 200,000 during working hours and Burbank is home to a number of
industries and motion picture studios, which place increasing demands on
municipal functions at various times.   The departments or functions requiring
radio communications include police, fire, water, power, public works, park and
recreation, animal control, and code inspection.   Additionally, Burbank states
that it is involved in the Interagency Communications Interoperability System
(ICIS) Project, which will aid in wide area coverage for the Los Angeles Basin
for police and fire communications and granting the captioned application would
enable Burbank to work better in the ICIS project, thereby improving police and
fire safety, as well as safety for its citizens.   Burbank states that its
current radio system suffers from overcrowding of frequencies and congestion in
communications and that the requested channels will relieve these problems
during peak periods when more than one user group has to wait for the common
channel to clear.

3. Waiver Request.  The Waiver Request involves only one of the nine frequency
pairs requested in the captioned application.  Burbank requests a waiver of Part
22 of the Commission’s Rules for nonstandard channel pair 470/473.0500 MHz,
which is adjacent to paging control channels allocated under Section 22.621.
Specifically, the requested channel pair is located in a guard band between
spectrum allocated for Part 90 (private land mobile radio) and Part 22 (paging
control) in the Los Angeles area.  Because 470/473.0500 MHz is not designated
for public safety use, Burbank requires a waiver of Sections 22.7, 22.501,
22.621, 22.651, and 90.311 of the Commission’s Rules to use the subject
frequency,  which Burbank requests herein pursuant to Section 1.925 of the
Commission’s Rules.

4. In the Los Angeles area, the subject frequency pair (470/473.0500 MHz) is
licensed to the City of Pomona (Pomona)   for public safety use, and immediately
adjacent and offset to frequencies licensed to other public safety entities (as
well as Burbank itself)  in the Los Angeles area.  In this connection, Burbank
has coordinated the use of the subject frequency pair and received concurrence
letters from Pomona as well as the adjacent user.

III.     DISCUSSION

5. Section 1.925 of the Commission’s Rules provides that a waiver of the
Commission’s Rules may be granted if it is shown that the underlying purpose of
the rule(s) would not be served or would be frustrated by application to the
instant case, and that a grant of the requested waiver would be in the public
interest; or in view of the unique or unusual circumstances of the instant case,
application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome or contrary
to the public interest or if the applicant has no reasonable alternative.   We
therefore examine whether Burbank meets the criteria supporting grant of a
waiver under Section 1.925.

6.   In this case, we conclude that Burbank has demonstrated that grant of a
waiver is warranted under the first prong of the waiver standard.  The purpose
of the rules for which a waiver is sought is to assign paging control channels
under Part 22 with sufficient guard band spacing to adjacent private land mobile
radio operations under Part 90.  We conclude that the underlying purpose of the
rules would not be served by application to this case because our licensing
records reflect that there are no paging licensees on 470/473.0375 MHz, the Part
22 frequency pair that is adjacent to 470/473.0500 MHz.  Moreover, this Part 22
frequency pair is licensed to South Bay for public safety operations, and that
licensee has provided Burbank with a letter of concurrence.   Furthermore,
Pomona is already licensed for public safety operations on 470/473.0500 MHz, and
that licensee also has provided Burbank with a letter of concurrence.   Finally,
our licensing records reflect that Burbank is already licensed on the Part 90
frequency pair that is adjacent to 470/473.0500 MHz.  Thus, no other concurrence
is required.

7.  We also conclude that grant of a waiver would be in the public interest.
Based upon the record in this proceeding, we believe Burbank’s filings
demonstrate that it needs access to additional spectrum in order to promote
effective public safety communications.  We believe that it would further the
public interest by affording Burbank’s public safety community access to
additional radio spectrum in order to allow it to safely protect the lives and
property in its care.  Indeed, Section 1 of the Communications Act of 1934
defines one of the Commission’s over-arching purposes as “promoting safety of
life and property through the use of…radio communication.”   Further, we find it
significant that access to the subject frequency pair would further Burbank’s
participation in the ICIS project.  Based on the record before us, we believe
such participation promotes interoperability between public safety communities
in the Los Angeles Basin.

IV. CONCLUSION

8. As discussed above and based on the record before us, we find that Burbank’s
Request satisfies the criteria set forth under Section 1.925 to obtain a grant
of its application to operate a public safety communications system on
frequencies in the 470-480 MHz band.  We therefore grant Burbank’s Request for
Waiver.

V. ORDERING CLAUSES

9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 4(i) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), the request for
waiver associated with the captioned application filed by the City of Burbank on
October 29, 2002, as amended, to use frequency pair 470/473.0500 MHz, for public
safety services as requested in the captioned application IS GRANTED SUBJECT TO
the following CONDITIONS:  (1) Burbank’s agreement to mitigate and successfully
solve any interference problems that its system may cause to the City of Pomona
or to the South Bay Regional Public Communications Authority; and (2) Burbank’s
agreement that its system must accept any incidental interference that occurs
from the City of Pomona or from the South Bay Regional Public Safety
Communications Authority.

10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, 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 Licensing and Technical Analysis
Branch SHALL PROCESS File No. 0001073667 consistent with this Memorandum Opinion
and Order and the Commission’s Rules.

11. 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-03-3583A1.doc

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