The Federal Communications Commission has issued a final rule that will “reconfigure” the 800 MHz band to prevent public safety agencies from interfering with cellular technology licensees. The ruling follows almost nine years of deliberations within the U.S. government and the signing of an international agreement by U.S. and Mexican officials.
“As with channel plans previously adopted for non-border regions and the Canada border region, the [FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security] Bureau’s goal is to reconfigure licensees within the band in a manner which separates—to the greatest extent possible—public safety and other non-cellular licensees from licensees in the band that employ cellular technology,” the FCC said in a Federal Register notice.
According to the FCC, the new agreement “will separate incompatible technologies along the U.S.-Mexico border and thus resolve the ongoing interference problem in that region.”
Effective June 24, the international agreement establishes that all communications in the 806-824/851-869 MHz band within 110 km of the U.S-Mexico border—an area to be known as the ‘Sharing Zone’—will occur within specific channels assigned to each country. In addition, the agreement also designates limits on effective radiated power (ERP) and antenna height.
A bi-national task force will also be created to assist spectrum holders operating along the border with transitioning to the new plan.
