View Rule

The proceeding was launched to modernize rules governing the 800 MHz Cellular Radiotelephone Service (Cellular Service).   On November 10, 2014, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O) and a companion Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM).  In the R&O, the FCC eliminated or streamlined numerous regulatory requirements, while retaining Cellular licensees’ ability to expand into areas not yet licensed.  In the FNPRM, the FCC proposed and sought comment on additional reforms, including the Cellular radiated power and related technical rules, to promote flexibility and help foster deployment of new technologies such as LTE.  On March 24, 2017, the FCC released a Second R&O and a companion Second FNPRM.  In the Second R&O, the FCC revised the Cellular radiated power rules to permit compliance with limits based on power spectral density (PSD) as an option for licensees deploying wideband technologies such as LTE, while retaining the existing non-PSD limits for licensees that deploy narrowband technologies.  This ensures that carriers are treated similarly regardless of technology choice, and aligns the Cellular power rules with those used to provide mobile broadband in other service bands.  The Second R&Oalso made conforming changes to Cellular technical rules to accommodate PSD, and adopted additional licensing reforms.  In the Second FNPRM, the FCC seeks comment on other measures to give Cellular licensees more flexibility and administrative relief, and on ways to consolidate and clarify the rules for the Cellular Service as well as other geographically licensed wireless services.