Channel Spacing and Bandwidth Limitations for Certain Economic Area (EA)-based 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) Licensees

In this document the Commission amends its rules to allow Economic Area (EA)-based 800 MHz Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) licensees to exceed a legacy channel spacing and bandwidth limitation, subject to conditions to protect 800 MHz public safety licensees from harmful interference. Licensees are permitted to exceed the channel spacing and bandwidth limitation in the 813.5-824/858.5-869 MHz band segment in National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) regions where 800 MHz reconfiguration is complete. In areas where 800 MHz reconfiguration is incomplete, EA-based 800 MHz licensees only are permitted to exceed the channel spacing and bandwidth limitation in the 813.5-821/858.5-866 MHz band segment. Any EA-based 800 MHz SMR licensee that intends to exceed the channel spacing and bandwidth limitation of the Commission's rules must provide 30 days written notice to public safety licensees with base stations in an affected NPSPAC region and within 113 kilometers (70 miles) of the border of an affected NPSPAC region. This rule change is necessary to allow EA-based 800 MHz SMR licensees to deploy advanced wireless services to effectively compete in the wireless marketplace.