08-21-1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • Performance Standards In addition to regulating licenses, the FCC establishes performance standards for cellular and PCS providers. The FCC requires cellular and PCS licensees to provide, within a specified period of time, a coverage ratio of a minimum quality for either a composite geographic service area or a percentage of an area's population. • The FCC establishes operational requirements for ESMR operators. Individual SMR operators are prevented by the FCC from owning another SMR system within 40 miles of its existing system • unless that existing system is "fully loaded." A fully loaded system is defined as one which provides service to 70 mobile users per channel. Therefore, in order to accumulate other SMR licenses, an ESMR carrier must demonstrate that a certain number of users are using the existing system on a regular basis. In 1994, Congress and the FCC determined that all carriers that provide comparable services should be regulated in the same manner. To achieve this regulatory parity, beginning in August 1996, cellular, ESMR, and PCS providers will all be regulated by the FCC in the same manner as common carriers. Safety Standards As previously discussed, ANSUIEEE establishes operational safety standards for human exposure • to radio frequency electromagnetic fields. These ANSI/IEEE standards are considered "consensus standards," agreed upon by committees comprised of university, industry and government representatives. The FCC currently requires cellular,ESMR and PCS providers to comply with the ANSI/IEEE standards for radio frequency electromagnetic fields as a condition of licensure. Federal Aviation Administration Under authority granted by the Federal Aviation Act, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has jurisdiction over the following communication facilities: (1) towers that exceed 200 feet in height; (2) towers that are located within 20,000 feet of a major commercial or militaryi� a ;_d (3) towers that are located within 10,000 feet of a general aviation airport. The FAA reviews the location and height of such towers and may require them to be painted and/or illuminated to prevent possible interference with nearby airport operations. The FAA also reviews possible interference issues with aircraft-to-ground communications that may be caused by transmission facilities located in or near airport flight paths. Under the requirements of the FAA, wireless communications providers are responsible for filing a notice with the FAA if their facilities are subject to FAA review.