(a) All systems subject to parts 21 and 94 of this chapter in effect as of July 31, 1996, which are licensed or which are proposed in an application on file, as of July 31, 1996, are subject to the requirements under part 21 or part 94 of this chapter as contained in the CFR edition revised as of October 1, 1995 and amended in the Federal Register through July 31, 1996, as applicable, indefinitely.

(b) For purposes of this section, a “system” shall include:

(1) The originally licensed system;

(2) Any modification to the original system involving a change in antenna azimuth, antenna beam width, channel loading, emission, station location, antenna height, authorized power, or authorized frequencies;

(3) Additional links constructed to complete an integrated communications network; or

(4) Operationally connecting new facilities and/or frequencies.

(c) All radio frequency devices authorized pursuant to part 2 of this chapter as being in compliance with applicable part 21 or part 94 of this chapter in effect as of July 31, 1996, requirements can be used indefinitely with systems licensed under this part 101.

(a) [Reserved]

(b) A separate application form must be filed electronically via ULS for each Digital Electronic Message Service (DEMS) Nodal Station. No license is required for a DEMS User Station or for a Multiple Address System (MAS) remote or mobile station. Authority for a DEMS Nodal Station licensee to serve a specific number of user stations to be licensed in the name of the carrier must be requested on FCC Form 601 filed for the DEMS Nodal Station. Authority for any number of MAS remotes and authority to serve MAS mobiles (to the extent this part permits such operation) within a specified area will be included in the authority for the MAS fixed master stations.

(c) [Reserved]

(d) For stations authorized under subpart H (Private Operational Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service), subpart I (Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service), and subpart L of this part (Local Multipoint Distribution Service), construction of new or modified stations may be initiated prior to grant of an authorization. As a condition to commencing construction under this paragraph (d), the Commission may, at any time and without hearing or notice, prohibit such construction for any reason. Any construction conducted under this paragraph is at the applicant's sole risk.

(a) A station license may not be granted to or held by a foreign government or by a representative of a foreign government.

(b) In the Common Carrier service, a station license may not be granted or held by:

(1) Any alien or the representative of any alien;

(2) Any corporation organized under the laws of any foreign government;

(3) Any corporation of which more than one-fifth of the capital stock is owned of record or voted by: Aliens or their representatives; a foreign government or representatives thereof; or any corporation organized under the laws of a foreign country; or

(4) Any corporation directly or indirectly controlled by any other corporation of which more than one-fourth of the capital stock is owned of record or voted by aliens or their representatives, or by a foreign government or representative thereof, or by any corporation organized under the laws of a foreign government, if the Commission finds that the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license.

Applications, except FCC Form 175, must contain all technical information required by the application form and any additional information necessary to fully describe the proposed facilities and to demonstrate compliance with all technical requirements of the rules governing the radio service involved (see subparts C, F, G, I, J, and L of this part, as appropriate). The following paragraphs describe a number of technical requirements.

(a)-(d) [Reserved]

(e) Each application in the Private Operational Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service and the Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point Microwave Service must include the following information:

(f) All applicants for regular authorization must, before filing an application, major amendments to a pending application, or modifications to a license, prior coordinate the proposed frequency usage with existing users in the area and other applicants with previously filed applications in accordance with the procedures in § 101.103. In those frequency bands shared with the communication-satellite service, an applicant for a new station, for new points of communication, for the initial frequency assignment in a shared band for which coordination has not been previously effected, or for authority to modify the emission or radiation characteristics of an existing station in a manner that may increase the likelihood of harmful interference, must ascertain in advance whether the station(s) involved lie within the great circle coordination distance contours of an existing Earth station or one for which an application has been accepted for filing, and must coordinate his proposal with each such Earth station operator or applicant. For each potential interference path, the applicant must perform the computations required to determine that the expected level of interference to or from the terrestrial station does not exceed the maximum permissible interference power level in accordance with the technical standards and requirements of § 25.251 of this chapter. The Commission may, in the course of examining any application, require the submission of additional showings, complete with pertinent data and calculations in accordance with part 25 of this chapter, showing that harmful interference will not likely result from the proposed operation. (Technical characteristics of the Earth stations on file and coordination contour maps for those Earth stations will be kept on file for public inspection in the offices of the Commission's Space Bureau in Washington, DC.)

(g) Each application in the Local Multipoint Distribution Service and 24 GHz Service must contain all technical information required by FCC Form 601 and any other applicable form or associated Public Notices and by any applicable rules in this part.

(a) Operation at temporary locations. (1) Authorizations may be issued upon proper application for rendition of temporary service to subscribers under the following conditions:

(i) When a fixed station, authorized to operate at temporary locations, is to remain at a single location for more than 6 months, an application for a station authorization designating that single location as the permanent location shall be filed at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the 6 month period;

(ii) The station shall be used only for rendition of communication service at a remote point where the provision of wire facilities is not practicable within the required time frame; and

(iii) The antenna structure height employed at any location shall not exceed the criteria set forth in § 17.7 of this chapter unless, in each instance, authorization for use of a specific maximum antenna structure height for each location has been obtained from the Commission prior to erection of the antenna. See § 101.125.

(2) Applications for authorizations to operate stations at temporary locations under the provisions of this section shall be made upon FCC Form 601. Blanket applications may be submitted for the required number of transmitters. An application for authority to operate a fixed station at temporary locations must specify the precise geographic area within which the operation will be confined. The area specified must be defined as a radius of operation about a specific coordinate (latitude/longitude), or as a county, or as a State. Exception to this specific requirement may be made for exceptionally large areas, such as the continental United States. Sufficient data must be submitted to show the need for the proposed area of operation.

(3) Operations in the 17.8-19.7 GHz band for any services and in the 17.7-17.8 GHz band for MVPD operations are prohibited in the areas defined in § 1.924 of this chapter. Operations proposed in the areas defined in § 1.924 of this chapter may not commence without prior specific notification to, and authorization from, the Commission.

(b) Conditional authorization. (1) An applicant for a new point-to-point microwave radio station(s) or a modification of an existing station(s) in the 952.95-956.15 and 956.55-959.75 MHz band segments; the 3700-4200, 5925-6425, 6525-6875, and 6875-7125 MHz bands; the 10.550-10.680, 10.700-11.700, 12.700-13.150, 13.200-13.250, 17.700-18.300, and 19.300-19.700 GHz bands; and the 21.800-22.000 and 23.000-23.200 GHz band segments (see § 101.147(s)(8) for specific service usage) may operate the proposed station(s) during the pendency of its applications(s) upon the filing of a properly completed formal application(s) that complies with subpart B of this part, if the applicant certifies that the following conditions are satisfied:

(i) The frequency coordination procedures of § 101.103 have been successfully completed;

(ii) The antenna structure(s) has been previously studied by the Federal Aviation Administration and determined to pose no hazard to aviation safety as required by subpart B of part 17 of this chapter; or the antenna or tower structure does not exceed 6.1 meters above ground level or above an existing man-made structure (other than an antenna structure), if the antenna or tower has not been previously studied by the Federal Aviation Administration and cleared by the FCC;

(iii) The grant of the application(s) does not require a waiver of the Commission's rules:

(iv) The applicant has determined that the facility(ies) will not significantly affect the environment as defined in § 1.1307 of this chapter;

(v) The station site does not lie within 56.3 kilometers of any international border, within areas identified in §§ 1.924(a) through (d) of this chapter unless the affected entity consents in writing to conditional operation or, if for any services on frequencies in the 17.8-19.7 GHz band and for MVPD operations in the 17.7-17.8 GHz band, within any of the areas identified in § 1.924 of this chapter;

(vi) If operated on frequencies in the 10.6-10.68 GHz band, the station site does not lie within any of the following regions:

(vii) With respect to the 21.8-22.1 GHz and 23.0-23.3 GHz band, the filed application(s) does not propose to operate on a frequency pair centered on other than 21.825/23.025 GHz, 21.875/23.075 GHz, 21.925/23.125 GHz, 21.975/23.175 GHz, 22.025/23.225 GHz or 22.075/23.275 GHz and does not propose to operate with an E.I.R.P. greater than 55 dBm. The center frequencies are shifted from the center frequencies listed above for certain bandwidths as follows: add 0.005 GHz for 20 MHz bandwidth channels, add 0.010 GHz for 30 megahertz bandwidth channels, and subtract 0.005 GHz for 40 MHz bandwidth channels. See specific channel listings in § 101.147(s).

(viii) The filed application(s) is consistent with the proposal that was coordinated pursuant to § 101.103.

(2) Conditional authority ceases immediately if the application(s) is returned by the Commission because it is not acceptable for filing.

(3) Conditional authorization does not prejudice any action the Commission may take on the subject application(s). Conditional authority is accepted with the express understanding that such authority may be modified or cancelled by the Commission at any time without hearing if, in the Commission's discretion, the need for such action arises. An applicant operating pursuant to this conditional authority assumes all risks associated with such operation, the termination or modification of the conditional authority, or the subsequent dismissal or denial of its applications(s).

(a) Except as provided for in paragraph (d) of this section, licenses not authorized pursuant to competitive bidding procedures may not be assigned or transferred prior to the completion of construction of the facility.

(b) [Reserved]

(c) At its discretion, the Commission may require the submission of an affirmative, factual showing (supported by affidavits of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof) to demonstrate that the proposed assignor or transferor has not acquired an authorization or operated a station for the principal purpose of profitable sale rather than public service. This showing may include, for example, a demonstration that the proposed assignment or transfer is due to changed circumstances (described in detail) affecting the licensee subsequent to the acquisition of the license, or that the proposed transfer of radio facilities is incidental to a sale of other facilities or merger of interests.

(d) If a proposed transfer of radio facilities is incidental to a sale or other facilities or merger of interests, the showing specified under paragraph (c) of this section shall be submitted and include an additional exhibit that:

(1) Discloses complete details as to the sale of facilities or merger of interests;

(2) Segregates clearly by an itemized accounting, the amount of consideration involved in the sale of facilities or merger of interests; and

(3) Demonstrates that the amount of consideration assignable to the facilities or business interests involved represents their fair market value at the time of the transaction.

In the Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) licensees may add, remove, or relocate facilities within the area authorized by the license without prior authorization. Upon request by an incumbent licensee or the Commission, an LMDS licensee shall furnish the technical parameters, location and coordinates of the completion of the addition, removal, relocation or modification of any of its facilities within the BTA. The LMDS licensee must provide such information within ten (10) days of receiving a written request. This section also applies to 24 GHz licensees that are licensed according to Economic Areas.

(a) Each Station, except in Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service, Local Multipoint Distribution Service, and the 24 GHz Service, authorized under this part must be in operation within 18 months from the initial date of grant.

(b) For the 70 GHz, 80 GHz, and 90 GHz bands, the 12-month construction period will commence on the date of each registration of each individual link; adding links will not change the overall renewal period of the license.

(c) Failure to timely begin operation means the authorization cancels automatically.

(d) The frequencies associated with all point-to-multipoint authorizations which have cancelled automatically or otherwise been recovered by the Commission will again be made available for reassignment on a date and under terms set forth by Public Notice. See § 101.1331(d) for treatment of MAS incumbent site-by-site licenses recovered in EAs.

(e)-(f) [Reserved]

(g) MVPD licensees which have both analog and digital emissions designators specified on the license and which already have, or may transition from analog to digital operations, or a combination of both, meet their completion of construction requirements and do not automatically surrender their license provided they are using either set of emissions. If the licensee has completed the transition to digital, the license can remove the unused analog emission designators the next time a modification or renewal application is filed.

In addition to the provisions of § 1.953 of this chapter, a site-based license will be automatically terminated in whole or in part without further notice to the licensee upon the voluntary removal or alteration of the facilities, so as to render the station not operational for a period of 30 days or more. A licensee is subject to this provision commencing on the date it is required to be providing service or operating under § 101.63. This provision is inapplicable to blanket authorizations to operate fixed stations at temporary locations pursuant to the provisions of § 101.31(a)(2). See § 101.305 for additional rules regarding temporary and permanent discontinuation of service.

Licenses for stations authorized under this part will be issued for a period not to exceed 10 years. Unless otherwise specified by the Commission, the expiration of regular licenses shall be on the date (month and day) selected by licensees in the year of expiration.

(a) FSS licensees may require the incumbent to cease operations, provided that the FSS licensee turns on a system within interference range of the incumbent, as determined by TIA Bulletin 10-F or any standard successor. FSS licensee notification to the affected FS licensee must be in writing and must provide the incumbent with no less than six months to vacate the spectrum. After the six-month notice period has expired, the FS licensee must relinquish its license to the Commission, unless it has entered into an agreement with the affected FSS licensee that allows it to continue to operate on a mutually agreed upon basis.

(b) If the parties cannot agree on a schedule or an alternative arrangement, requests for extension will be accepted and reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Commission will grant such extensions only if the incumbent can demonstrate that:

(1) It cannot relocate within the six-month period (e.g., because no alternative spectrum or other reasonable option is available); and

(2) The public interest would be harmed if the incumbent is forced to terminate operations (e.g., if public safety communications services would be disrupted).