FCC Announces Availability of Some 800 MHz Channels
The FCC Public Safety and Wireless bureaus said the 800 MHz rebanding is complete in nine additional National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) regions. With the rebanding a wrap, remaining channels in the interleaved segment of the band vacated…
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by Sprint are now available for licensing to public safety entities and, later, to critical infrastructure entities. Unoccupied channels in the expansion band and guard band are also available for licensing, the bureaus said. The NPSPAC regions cover: Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Eastern and Western Upstate New York (two regions), West Virginia and American Samoa. Finally, the bureaus announced the availability for licensing of additional channels vacated by Sprint in NPSPAC regions that aren't finished with band reconfiguration. Other channels outside those regions have also become available, the Tuesday notice said. The majority of vacated channels are in regions that had been affected by an application freeze along the border with Canada that has now been lifted, though other channels also are available, the bureaus said: “Potential applicants should check the Commission’s Vacated Channel Search Engine (VCSE) to determine which channels may be available in their region.” The 800 MHz rebanding has been in process since the FCC approved its landmark order in 2004.