Telecom Business Alert – 4.9 GHz Further Notice Expected; FirstNet Board Meeting; 911 Reliability; Regulatory Fees, Vol XII, Issue 38
4.9 GHz Band Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Last week, FCC staff at the UTC Critical Infrastructure Industries (CII) Policy Summit indicated that a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the 4.9 GHz band proceeding is expected before the end of 2015. This follows the Commission’s June 2012 Fourth Report and Order and Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. In response to that Notice, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council recommended a plan by which electric utilities, oil and gas companies and other CII companies be eligible to share the 4.9 GHz band on a co-primary basis with public safety (originally reported in our October 2013 Alert). For additional information, please contact Greg Kunkle (kunkle@khlaw.com; 202.434.4178).
FirstNet Board and Committee Meetings Announced
On October 1, FirstNet will hold two public meetings of its four Board Committees: Governance and Personnel; Finance; Technology; and Consultation and Outreach. An open meeting of the full Board will be held on October 2, 2015. Details on the meeting times and location were published in the Federal Register on September 17.
911 Reliability Certifications
The initial annual certification of compliance with the FCC’s 911 Reliability Rules is due October 15. As reported in our August 17 Alert, the rules apply to all covered 911 service providers. Covered providers must audit and monitor all critical 911 circuits to mitigate the risk of 911 call failure and file an annual certification of compliance. For additional information, please contact Wes Wright (wright@khlaw.com; 202.434.4239).
Reminder: Annual FCC Regulatory Fees
As mentioned in our September 8 Alert, Licensees of certain facilities such as Satellite Earth Stations are required to make annual regulatory fee payments. The regulatory fees for the fiscal year 2015 will be due this Thursday, September 24.
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Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert is a complimentary weekly electronic update created by the Telecommunications and the Business Counseling and Transactional practice groups of Keller and Heckman LLP. Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert © 2015. All rights reserved. Articles may be copied with attribution. To sign up for our weekly alert, please send us an email at telecomalert@khlaw.com and provide us with your name and email. Please follow us on Twitter at @KHtelecom.