47 C.F.R. § 25.253

Current through October 31, 2024
Section 25.253 - Special requirements for ancillary terrestrial components operating in the 1626.5-1660.5 MHz/1525-1559 MHz bands
(a) An ancillary terrestrial component in these bands shall:
(1) In any band segment coordinated for the exclusive use of an MSS applicant within the land area of the U.S., where there is no other L-Band MSS satellite making use of that band segment within the visible portion of the geostationary arc as seen from the ATC coverage area, the ATC system will be limited by the in-band and out-of-band emission limitations contained in this section and the requirement to maintain a substantial MSS service.
(2) In any band segment that is coordinated for the shared use of the applicant's MSS system and another MSS operator, where the coordination agreement existed prior to February 10, 2005 and permits a level of interference to the other MSS system of less than 6% [DELTA]T/T, the applicant's combined ATC and MSS operations shall increase the system noise level of the other MSS to no more then 6% [DELTA]T/T. Any future coordination agreement between the parties governing ATC operation will supersede this paragraph.
(3) In any band segment that is coordinated for the shared use of the applicant's MSS system and another MSS operator, where a coordination agreement existed prior to February 10, 2005 and permits a level of interference to the other MSS system of 6% [DELTA]T/T or greater, the applicant's ATC operations may increase the system noise level of the other MSS system by no more than an additional 1% [DELTA]T/T. Any future coordination agreement between the parties governing ATC operations will supersede this paragraph.
(4) In a band segment in which the applicant has no rights under a coordination agreement, the applicant may not implement ATC in that band.
(b) ATC base stations shall not exceed an out-of-channel emissions measurement of -57.9 dBW/MHz at the edge of a MSS licensee's authorized and internationally coordinated MSS frequency assignment.
(c) An applicant for an ancillary terrestrial component in these bands shall:
(1) Demonstrate, at the time of application, how its ATC network will comply with the requirements of footnotes US308 and US315 to the table of frequency allocations contained in § 2.106 of this chapter regarding priority and preemptive access to the L-band MSS spectrum by the aeronautical mobile-satellite en-route service (AMS(R)S) and the global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS).
(2) Coordinate with the terrestrial CMRS operators prior to initiating ATC transmissions when co-locating ATC base stations with terrestrial commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) base stations that make use of Global Positioning System (GPS) time-based receivers.
(3) Provide, at the time of application, calculations that demonstrate the ATC system conforms to the [DELTA]T/T requirements in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section, if a coordination agreement that incorporates the ATC operations does not exist with other MSS operators.
(d) Applicants for an ancillary terrestrial component in these bands must demonstrate that ATC base stations shall not:
(1) Exceed a peak EIRP of 31.9-10*log (number of carriers) dBW/200kHz, per sector, for each carrier in the 1525-1541.5 MHz and 1547.5-1559 MHz frequency bands;
(2) Exceed an EIRP in any direction toward the physical horizon (not to include man-made structures) of 26.9-10*log (number of carriers) dBW/200 kHz, per sector, for each carrier in the 1525-1541.5 MHz and 1547.5-1559 MHz frequency bands;
(3) Exceed a peak EIRP of 23.9 -10*log(number of carriers) dBW/200 kHz, per sector, for each carrier in the 1541.5-1547.5 MHz frequency band;
(4) Exceed an EIRP toward the physical horizon (not to include man-made structures) of 18.9-10*log(number of carriers) dBW/200 kHz, per sector, for each carrier in the 1541.5-1547.5 MHz frequency band;
(5) Exceed a total power flux density level of -56.8 dBW/m2/200 kHz at the edge of all airport runways and aircraft stand areas, including takeoff and landing paths from all carriers operating in the 1525-1559 MHz frequency bands. The total power flux density here is the sum of all power flux density values associated with all carriers in a sector in the 1525-1559 MHz frequency band, expressed in dB(Watts/m2/200 kHz). Free-space loss must be assumed if this requirement is demonstrated via calculation;
(6) Exceed a total power flux density level of -56.6 dBW/ m2/200 kHz at the water's edge of any navigable waterway from all carriers operating in the 1525-1541.5 MHz and 1547.5-1559 MHz frequency bands. The total power flux density here is the sum of all power flux density values associated with all carriers in a sector in the 1525-1541.5 MHz and 1547.5-1559 MHz frequency bands, expressed in dB(Watts/m2/200 kHz). Free-space loss must be assumed if this requirement is demonstrated via calculation;
(7) Exceed a total power flux density level of -64.6 dBW/ m2/200 kHz at the water's edge of any navigable waterway from all carriers operating in the 1541.5-1547.5 MHz frequency band. The total power flux density here is the sum of all power flux density values associated with all carriers in a sector in the 1541.5-1547.5 MHz frequency band, expressed in dB(Watts/m2/200 kHz). Free-space loss must be assumed if this requirement is demonstrated via calculation;
(8) Exceed a peak antenna gain of 16 dBi;
(9) Generate EIRP density, averaged over any two-millisecond active transmission interval, greater than -70 dBW/MHz in the 1559-1605 MHz band or greater than a level determined by linear interpolation in the 1605-1610 MHz band, from -70 dBW/MHz at 1605 MHz to -46 dBW/MHz at 1610 MHz. The EIRP, averaged over any two-millisecond active transmission interval, of discrete out-of-band emissions of less than 700 Hz bandwidth from such base stations shall not exceed -80 dBW in the 1559-1605 MHz band or exceed a level determined by linear interpolation in the 1605-1610 MHz band, from -80 dBW at 1605 MHz to -56 dBW at 1610 MHz. A root-mean-square detector function with a resolution bandwidth of one megahertz or equivalent and no less video bandwidth shall be used to measure wideband EIRP density for purposes of this rule, and narrowband EIRP shall be measured with a root-mean-square detector function with a resolution bandwidth of one kilohertz or equivalent.
(e) Applicants for an ancillary terrestrial component in these bands must demonstrate, at the time of the application, that ATC base stations shall use left-hand-circular polarization antennas with a maximum gain of 16 dBi and overhead gain suppression according to the following:

Angle from direction of maximum gain, in vertical plane, above antenna (degrees) Antenna discrimination pattern (dB)
0Gmax
5Not to Exceed Gmax -5
10Not to Exceed Gmax -19
15 to 55Not to Exceed Gmax -27
55 to 145Not to Exceed Gmax -30
145 to 180Not to Exceed Gmax -26

Where: Gmax is the maximum gain of the base station antenna in dBi.

(f) Prior to operation, ancillary terrestrial component licensees shall:
(1) Provide the Commission with sufficient information to complete coordination of ATC base stations with Search-and-Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking (SARSAT) earth stations operating in the 1544-1545 MHz band for any ATC base station located either within 27 km of a SARSAT station, or within radio horizon of the SARSAT station, whichever is less.
(2) Take all practicable steps to avoid locating ATC base stations within radio line of sight of Mobile Aeronautical Telemetry (MAT) receive sites in order to protect U.S. MAT systems consistent with ITU-R Recommendation ITU-R M.1459. MSS ATC base stations located within radio line of sight of a MAT receiver must be coordinated with the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) for non-Government MAT receivers on a case-by-case basis prior to operation. For government MAT receivers, the MSS licensee shall supply sufficient information to the Commission to allow coordination to take place. A listing of current and planned MAT receiver sites can be obtained from AFTRCC for non-Government sites and through the FCC's IRAC Liaison for Government MAT receiver sites.
(g) ATC mobile terminals shall:
(1) Be limited to a peak EIRP level of 0 dBW and an out-of-channel emissions of -67 dBW/4 kHz at the edge of an MSS licensee's authorized and internationally coordinated MSS frequency assignment.
(2) Be operated in a fashion that takes all practicable steps to avoid causing interference to U.S. radio astronomy service (RAS) observations in the 1660-1660.5 MHz band.
(3) Not generate EIRP density, averaged over any two-millisecond active transmission interval, greater than -70 dBW/MHz in the 1559-1605 MHz band or greater than a level determined by linear interpolation in the 1605-1610 MHz band, from -70 dBW/MHz at 1605 MHz to -46 dBW/MHz at 1610 MHz. The EIRP, averaged over any two-millisecond active transmission interval, of discrete out-of-band emissions of less than 700 Hz bandwidth from such mobile terminals shall not exceed -80 dBW in the 1559-1605 MHz band or exceed a level determined by linear interpolation in the 1605-1610 MHz band, from -80 dBW at 1605 MHz to -56 dBW at 1610 MHz. The EIRP density of carrier-off-state emissions from such mobile terminals shall not exceed -80 dBW/MHz in the 1559-1610 MHz band, averaged over a two-millisecond interval. A root-mean-square detector function with a resolution bandwidth of one megahertz or equivalent and no less video bandwidth shall be used to measure wideband EIRP density for purposes of this rule, and narrowband EIRP shall be measured with a root-mean-square detector function with a resolution bandwidth of one kilohertz or equivalent.
(h) When implementing multiple base stations and/or base stations using multiple carriers, where any third-order intermodulation product of these base stations falls on an L-band MSS band coordinated for use by another MSS operator with rights to the coordinated band, the MSS ATC licensee must notify the MSS operator. The MSS operator may request coordination to modify the base station carrier frequencies, or to reduce the maximum base station EIRP on the frequencies contributing to the third-order intermodulation products. The threshold for this notification and coordination is when the sum of the calculated signal levels received by an MSS receiver exceeds -70 dBm. The MSS receiver used in these calculations can be assumed to have an antenna with 0 dBi gain. Free-space propagation between the base station antennas and the MSS terminals can be assumed and actual signal polarizations for the ATC signals and the MSS system may be used.

47 C.F.R. §25.253

70 FR 19319 , Apr. 13, 2005