Travelers' Information Stations

In this document, the Commission clarifies and amends its rules pertaining to public safety Travelers' Information Stations (TIS), which Public Safety Pool-eligible entities operate to transmit noncommercial, travel-related information over AM band frequencies to motorists on a localized basis. First, the Commission clarifies that permissible content under the TIS rules must continue to have a nexus to travel, an emergency, or an imminent threat of danger. Second, the Commission clarifies that TIS licensees may transmit any communications related directly to the imminent safety-of-life or property, and may transmit emergency communications during a period of emergency in which the normal communication facilities are disrupted as a result of hurricane, flood, earthquake or similar disaster. Third, the Commission partially removes the present restriction on so-called "ribbon" networks of TIS transmitters (i.e., multiple simulcast transmitters), requiring only that simulcast TIS transmissions be relevant to travelers in the vicinity of each transmitter in the network. Finally, the Commission updates the definition of TIS in the rules to replace the reference to the former Local Government Radio Service with a reference to the Public Safety Pool. These rule changes will remove confusion about what type of content is permissible on the TIS, thus improving administrative efficiency for the both the Commission and TIS licensees.