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FCC Grants L.A. County Extension Until End-October to Analyze LA-RICS (10/4/12)
The FCC granted the County of Los Angeles waiver request in part and extended the county’s construction deadline until Oct. 31, subject to conditions.
Los Angeles County requested a waiver to extend from June 30, 2012, to June 30, 2013, the construction deadline associated with 20 narrowband UHF licenses that are to be integrated into the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS). In the alternative, the county requested an extension until Oct. 31, 2012 to complete an analysis of its options for continuation of LA-RICS in light of Section 6103 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
The county has received four extensions for the licenses, citing an expanding scope of the project and funding and planning issues. Under the most recent waiver, the licenses were set to expire June 30, 2012.
The FCC noted that any future request by the county for additional extensions would be “subject to a high level of scrutiny and must include a showing that the county has made substantial progress towards completion of the system.”
The county cites the FCC’s waiver of narrowbanding requirements for T-band licensees in light of the Spectrum Act. The commission agreed with the county’s argument, because under the T-band narrowbanding waiver, the county’s operational wideband licenses that are authorized on main frequencies interleaved with the narrowband frequencies may remain in wideband mode beyond Jan. 1, 2013. The bandwidth overlap of the county’s wideband channels with the interleaved narrowband channels would prevent new applicants in the vicinity from using the narrowband channels if they were otherwise available.
If the county elects to pursue an extension, the FCC said it must file a report with the FCC by Oct. 31, detailing the status of the county’s efforts to select a vendor and finalize all contracts to begin construction, how quickly the county could begin construction of the LA-RICS system and how long construction would take. “We also note that further requests for extension by the county will be subject to a high level of scrutiny and must include a detailed showing that the county has made substantial progress towards completion of the system,” the FCC said.
FCC Grants L.A. County Extension Until End-October to Analyze LA-RICS (10/4/12)
The FCC granted the County of Los Angeles waiver request in part and extended the county’s construction deadline until Oct. 31, subject to conditions.
Los Angeles County requested a waiver to extend from June 30, 2012, to June 30, 2013, the construction deadline associated with 20 narrowband UHF licenses that are to be integrated into the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS). In the alternative, the county requested an extension until Oct. 31, 2012 to complete an analysis of its options for continuation of LA-RICS in light of Section 6103 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
The county has received four extensions for the licenses, citing an expanding scope of the project and funding and planning issues. Under the most recent waiver, the licenses were set to expire June 30, 2012.
The FCC noted that any future request by the county for additional extensions would be “subject to a high level of scrutiny and must include a showing that the county has made substantial progress towards completion of the system.”
The county cites the FCC’s waiver of narrowbanding requirements for T-band licensees in light of the Spectrum Act. The commission agreed with the county’s argument, because under the T-band narrowbanding waiver, the county’s operational wideband licenses that are authorized on main frequencies interleaved with the narrowband frequencies may remain in wideband mode beyond Jan. 1, 2013. The bandwidth overlap of the county’s wideband channels with the interleaved narrowband channels would prevent new applicants in the vicinity from using the narrowband channels if they were otherwise available.
If the county elects to pursue an extension, the FCC said it must file a report with the FCC by Oct. 31, detailing the status of the county’s efforts to select a vendor and finalize all contracts to begin construction, how quickly the county could begin construction of the LA-RICS system and how long construction would take. “We also note that further requests for extension by the county will be subject to a high level of scrutiny and must include a detailed showing that the county has made substantial progress towards completion of the system,” the FCC said.
