Major Railroads Get FCC Power Output Waiver, Allowing PTC
The FCC Wireless Bureau OK’d a waiver Tuesday allowing railroads to operate locomotive radios at up to 50 watts transmitter power output (TPO) as part of positive train control, acting on a request by PTC-220, a joint venture of the…
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nation’s seven Class I freight railroads. “We find that not permitting PTC-220’s member railroads to operate mobile radios at 50 watts TPO would be contrary to the public interest because it would preclude sharing of scarce spectrum resources, which are needed for robust interoperable PTC deployment throughout the country,” the bureau said: PTC-220 also has no reasonable alternative. “PTC-220’s member railroads have installed more than 16,000 locomotive radios that operate at a constant 50 watts TPO in the 220-222 MHz band; the record shows that it is not possible to program the radios to operate at 50 watts TPO and satisfy the condition that TPO be 25 watts or less when external radio commands are not present.” The order will enable the railroads to “deploy Congressionally mandated, interoperable PTC safety systems on rail lines serving 16 western states,” the bureau said. It will also “benefit Amtrak and other railroads that operate as tenants on the members’ rail networks as well as passenger and commuter railroads leasing spectrum to deploy PTC on their own lines in the license area.”