Radio rental license?

[jelimoore]

I think any coordinator would want your business and I've used a local and distant one over the years.

Good to know. Didn't know if I had to use one within the state/region. Thanks for the help.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

hmm some finer details.

Private Carriage - Private Carriers Telecom Regulation

Is your telecommunications company unwittingly exposing itself to regulatory oversight, compliance obligations, and an assortment of compliance costs by ignoring the “Private Carrier” exemption from certain Federal Communications Commission (and State Public Utility Commission) regulations? As...

commlawgroup.com

 

[prcguy]

Now that I think about it I had a private carrier license, not common carrier.

hmm some finer details.

Private Carriage - Private Carriers Telecom Regulation

Is your telecommunications company unwittingly exposing itself to regulatory oversight, compliance obligations, and an assortment of compliance costs by ignoring the “Private Carrier” exemption from certain Federal Communications Commission (and State Public Utility Commission) regulations? As...

commlawgroup.com

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Review the following list of factors which the FCC and Courts have established as being key indicia of whether a particular service offering is or is not being offered on a “private carriage” basis:

• Contract Negotiations: Private carriers individually negotiate contracts and otherwise “tailor” the terms and conditions of their services to meet the unique needs of their customers. By contrast, common carriers offer services for set prices and terms.
• Length of Contracts: Private carriers are more likely to enter into contracts with a medium-to-long range term. By contrast, common carriers offer services on a month-to-month or other short term arrangements.
• Customers Involved: Private carriers enter into contracts with sophisticated business entities and stable clientele. Customers of private carriers have unique communications requirements. By contrast, common carriers cater to “mass market” customers.
• Tailoring: Private carriers tailor contracts and services to the special requirements of their customers. By contrast, common carriers generally offer generic services pursuant to standardized terms.

How they distinguish the two from these very general terms is a mystery. Are you a common carrier if you advertise your rates and terms? If you just work word of mouth, what possible documentation would FCC be privy of?

 

[jelimoore]

Review the following list of factors which the FCC and Courts have established as being key indicia of whether a particular service offering is or is not being offered on a “private carriage” basis:

• Contract Negotiations: Private carriers individually negotiate contracts and otherwise “tailor” the terms and conditions of their services to meet the unique needs of their customers. By contrast, common carriers offer services for set prices and terms.
• Length of Contracts: Private carriers are more likely to enter into contracts with a medium-to-long range term. By contrast, common carriers offer services on a month-to-month or other short term arrangements.
• Customers Involved: Private carriers enter into contracts with sophisticated business entities and stable clientele. Customers of private carriers have unique communications requirements. By contrast, common carriers cater to “mass market” customers.
• Tailoring: Private carriers tailor contracts and services to the special requirements of their customers. By contrast, common carriers generally offer generic services pursuant to standardized terms.

How they distinguish the two from these very general terms is a mystery. Are you a common carrier if you advertise your rates and terms? If you just work word of mouth, what possible documentation would FCC be privy of?

That's the sad thing, there's not really a good way to know without being the subject of a landmark court case. And as one of my friends has told me "I never want to be the topic of discussion in a law class" and I very much agree with him.

 

[RadioGuy7268]

You need to look at the "station class" designation for some of those rental companies. A Private Carrier will be listed as an MO6 - or MO6I - instead of just the plain old 'MO' Mobile designation.

The advice given above is correct though - contact a Frequency Coordinator and they'll step you through what you need to know.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

That's the sad thing, there's not really a good way to know without being the subject of a landmark court case. And as one of my friends has told me "I never want to be the topic of discussion in a law class" and I very much agree with him.

It probably comes down to what reporting if any, is required. here is scant information on the FCC website. Community repeaters were around decades before cellular and CMRS services. It was a mom and pop industry before NEXTEL and all.

In south Florida, the dealers have licensed all of the UHF spectrum for "rental" services, it is tough to find a clean repeater pair. Then there are NXDN licenses on a single 6.25 slice that pretty much wipes out putting a DMR channel centerd near that spot.

I had a client who used three different radio shops for his county wide locations. The dealers each loaded the customers radios with all sorts of simplex channels he was not licensed for. Then there was the mystery repeater, on a tall building, shared by two entities, each thinking the other held the license. The last time it was licensed, Motorola was still in the licensing game, Mid 1980s or so. One of the entities pulled out the Motorola letter. I knew the folks in the memo, they retired 2 decades before.

I called the coordinator and he told me that there was so much unlicensed operations the best way was to set up a scanner and find a clear channel! Can you imagine? I said, nope, lets coordinate it properly using FCC records and if someone shows up, that should not be there, we will simply call the FCC to deal with it. The wild west.