In addition to the rules in this subpart, program experimental applicants and licensees must follow the rules in subparts B and C of this part. In case of any conflict between the rules set forth in this subpart and the rules set forth in subparts B and C of this part, the rules in this subpart shall govern.

Program experimental licensees may be granted to the following entities: a college or university with a graduate research program in engineering that is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); a research laboratory; a hospital or health care institution; a manufacturer of radio frequency equipment; or a manufacturer that integrates radio frequency equipment into its end product. Each applicant must meet the following requirements:

(a) The radiofrequency experimentation will be conducted in a defined geographic area under the applicant's control;

(b) The applicant has institutional processes to monitor and effectively manage a wide variety of research projects; and

(c) The applicant has demonstrated expertise in radio spectrum management or partner with another entity that has such expertise.

(a) Licensees may operate in any frequency band, including those above 38.6 GHz, except for frequency bands exclusively allocated to the passive services (including the radio astronomy service). In addition, licensees may not use any frequency or frequency band below 38.6 GHz that is listed in § 15.205(a) of this chapter.

(b) Exception: Licensees may use frequencies listed in § 15.205(a) of this chapter for testing medical devices (as defined in § 5.402(b) of this chapter), if the device is designed to comply with all applicable service rules in part 18; part 95, subpart H; or part 95, subpart I of this chapter.

Applications must specify, and the Commission will grant authorizations for, a geographic area that is inclusive of an institution's real-property facilities where the experimentation will be conducted and that is under the applicant's control. If an applicant wants to conduct experiments in more than one defined geographic area, it shall apply for a license for each location.

Experiments are not permitted under this subpart and a conventional experimental radio license is required when:

(a) An environmental assessment must be filed with the Commission as required by § 5.63(a), or

(b) An orbital debris mitigation plan must be filed with the Commission as required by § 5.64, or

(c) The applicant requires non-disclosure of proprietary information as part of its justification for its license application; or

(d) A product development or a market trial is to be conducted.

(a) Each program experimental radio applicant must identify a single point of contact responsible for all experiments conducted under the license, including

(1) Ensuring compliance with the notification requirements of § 5.309 of this part; and

(2) Ensuring compliance with all applicable FCC rules.

(b) The responsible individual will serve as the initial point of contact for all matters involving interference resolution and must have the authority to discontinue any and all experiments being conducted under the license, if necessary.

(c) The license application must include the name of the responsible individual and contact information at which the person can be reached at any time of the day; this information will be listed on the license. Licensees are required to keep this information current.

A “Stop Buzzer” point of contact must be identified and available at all times during operation of each experiment conducted under a program license. A “stop buzzer” point of contact is a person who can address interference concerns and cease all transmissions immediately if interference occurs.

(a) At least ten calendar days prior to commencement of any experiment, program experimental licensees must provide the following information to the Commission's program experimental registration Web site.

(1) A narrative statement describing the experiment, including a description and explanation of measures taken to avoid causing harmful interference to any existing service licensee;

(2) Contact information for the researcher-in-charge of the described experiment;

(3) Contact information for a “stop buzzer”; and

(4) Technical details including:

(i) The frequency or frequency bands;

(ii) The maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) or effective radiated power (ERP) under consideration;

(iii) The emission designators to be used;

(iv) A description of the geographic area in which the test will be conducted;

(v) The number of units to be used; and

(vi) A mitigation plan as required by § 5.311, if necessary.

(5) For program license experiments that may affect frequency bands used for the provision of commercial mobile services, emergency notifications, or public safety purposes, a list of those critical service licensees that are authorized to operate in the same bands and geographic area of the planned experiment.

(b) Experiments may commence without specific approval or authorization once ten calendar days have elapsed from the time of posting to the above Web site. During that ten-day period, the licensee of an authorized service may contact the program licensee to resolve any objections to an experiment. It is expected that parties will work in good faith to resolve such objections, including modifying experiments if necessary to reach an agreeable resolution. However, only the Commission has the authority to prevent a program licensee from beginning operations (or to order the cessation of operations). Therefore, if an incumbent licensee believes that it will suffer interference (or in fact, has experienced interference), it must bring its concerns to the Commission for action. In such an event, the Commission will evaluate the concerns, and determine whether a planned experiment should be permitted to commence as proposed (or be terminated, if the experiment has commenced).

(c) The Commission can prohibit or require modification of specific experiments under a program experimental radio license at any time without notice or hearing if in its discretion the need for such action arises.

(d) Within 30 days after completion of each experiment conducted under a program experimental radio license, the licensee shall file a narrative statement describing the results of the experiment, including any interference incidents and steps taken to resolve them. This narrative statement must be filed to the Commission's program experimental registration Web site and be associated with the materials described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(e)(1) The Commission may ask licensees for additional information to resolve an interference incident, gain a better understanding of new technology development, or for auditing purposes to ensure that licensees are actually conducting experiments. Failure to comply with a Commission request for additional information under this section, or if, upon review of such information, the Commission determines that a licensee is not actually conducting experimentation, could result in forfeiture of the program license and loss of privilege of obtaining such a license in the future.

(2) All information submitted pursuant to this section will be treated as routinely available for publicly inspection, within the meaning of § 0.459 of this chapter. Licensees are permitted to request that information requested by the Commission pursuant to this section be withheld from public inspection. The Commission will consider such requests pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 0.459 of this chapter.

In addition to the notification requirements of § 5.309, for experiments that may affect frequency bands used for the provision of commercial mobile services, emergency notifications, or public safety purposes, the program experimental radio licensee shall, prior to commencing transmissions, develop a specific plan to avoid interference to these bands. The plan must include provisions for:

(a) Providing notice to parties, including other Commission licensees that are authorized to operate in the same bands and geographic area as the planned experiment and, as appropriate, their end users;

(b) Rapid identification, and elimination, of any harm the experiment may cause; and

(c) Identifying an alternate means for accomplishing potentially-affected vital public safety functions during the experiment.

(a) An innovation zone is a specified geographic location with pre-authorized boundary conditions (such as frequency band, maximum power, etc.) created by the Commission on its own motion or in response to a request from the public. Innovation zones will be announced via public notice and posted on the Commission's program experimental registration Web site.

(b) A program experimental licensee may conduct experiments in an innovation zone consistent with the specified boundary conditions without specific authorization from the Commission. All licensees operating under this authority must comply with the requirements and limitations set forth for program licensees in this part, including providing notification of its intended operations on the program experimental registration Web site prior to operation.