Sharing Arrangement between the Department of Industry of Canada and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America Concerning the use of the Frequency Band 1670 to 1675 MHz by Fixed and Mobile (Except Aeronautical Mobile) Services along the Canada United States Border
TRAA
Spectrum Management and Telecommunications
Terrestrial Radiocommunication Agreements and Arrangements
Note
The technical and operational requirements described in this draft Arrangement allow for the coordination and sharing of the band 1670 to 1675 MHz along the Canada‑United States border. The Department of Industry of Canada and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America (the "Agencies") may use the technical criteria outlined in this draft Arrangement on a provisional basis for the processing of coordination requests or the issuing of licences within their respective authorities prior to final adoption of this Arrangement. This draft Arrangement is not binding on the Agencies and is subject to review and possible modification prior to being formally adopted. Consequently, licensees are advised that all stations deployed under this draft Arrangement are subject to compliance with the final provisions, as formally adopted between Canada and the United States.
Prepared by:
Industry Canada
Spectrum Engineering Branch
300 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C8
E-mail: spectrum_pubs@ic.gc.ca
All spectrum publications are available on the Internet at http://www.ic.gc.ca/spectrum.
Publication Date: May 2008
Arrangement J (Draft)
Sharing Arrangement between the Department of Industry of Canada and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America Concerning the use of the Frequency Band 1670 to 1675 MHz by Fixed and Mobile (Except Aeronautical Mobile) Services along the Canada United States Border
1. Scope
1.1 This Arrangement between the Department of Industry of Canada (Industry Canada) and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America (FCC), herein referred to as the "Agencies", governs the sharing and coordination of frequency spectrum for the establishment and operation of fixed and mobile (except aeronautical mobile) services operating in the 1670‑1675 MHz band along the Canada‑United States border.
1.2 This Arrangement is subject to review at any time at the request of either Agency, the U.S. Department of State or the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada.
2. General Principles
2.1 Both Agencies shall share the frequency band 1670‑1675 MHz on an equal basis along the border and, to the extent possible, both Agencies shall have full use of these frequencies or sub bands within their respective countries.
2.2 Both Agencies shall require that licensees in the frequency band 1670‑1675 MHz carry out coordination for all transmitting stations in their respective service areas within 120 km (75 miles) of the border in accordance with Part 3 of this Arrangement.
2.3 Both Agencies shall encourage licensees to enter into agreements with licensees on the other side of the border (Agreements). These Agreements are intended to facilitate coordination and the reasonable and timely development of the respective systems of the licensees. These Agreements also allow for the provision of services by each licensee within its licensed service area to the extent possible.
2.4 In entering into Agreements, the Agencies expect that licensees will take full advantage of interference mitigation techniques such as antenna directivity, polarization, frequency offset, shielding, site selection and/or power control to facilitate the coordination of systems.
2.5 The Agencies shall require that licensees be able to provide all data and calculations for determining compliance with this Arrangement and/or Agreements upon request.
2.6 If a licence for operation in the 1670‑1675 MHz band is transferred, assigned or reissued, the Agencies shall require any existing Agreement that formed the basis of coordination at the border area to continue to apply with respect to the new licensee unless a new Agreement is reached.
2.7 In certain exceptional circumstances, the Agencies may agree to special coordination procedures concerning proposed variation(s) in technical conditions in this Arrangement through an exchange of correspondence.
3. Cross‑Border Coordination of Fixed and Mobile (except aeronautical mobile) Systems
3.1 Coordination of a station shall be required if: (a) it is located at a distance less than 120 km (75 miles) from the United States‑Canada border; and (b) the power flux density (pfd) produced by the station at ground level anywhere in the other country's territory exceeds -106 dBW/m2 in any 1 MHz bandwidth.
3.2 When coordination is required, the following conditions shall apply:
3.2.1 The licensee seeking coordination shall determine the maximum pfd value at and beyond the border that could be produced by any single transmitting station of the system. In making this determination (calculation) the licensee shall use good engineering practice and generally accepted terrain-sensitive propagation models. All data and calculations used in determining compliance with their licence shall be retained by the licensees and made available to the Agencies upon request;
3.2.2 It shall be the responsibility of the licensee seeking coordination to communicate with licensees on the other side of the border;
3.2.3 A recipient of a coordination request shall respond by registered mailFootnote 1 (or mutually acceptable method) within 30 days of receipt to state any objection to the deployment of the proposed system. If no objection is raised within that time frame, then the licensee initiating the coordination request may proceed with deployment of the proposed system;
3.2.4 If a recipient of a coordination request raises an objection within 30 days of receipt of that request, licensees shall collaborate to develop a mutually acceptable solution to the potential interference problem;
3.2.5 In the event that licensees cannot reach a mutually acceptable solution within 30 days of a receipt of an objection, either licensee may request a resolution of the case by the Agencies. A station that requires coordination shall not be placed in operation until an understanding has been reached between the relevant licensees or until both Agencies have agreed to the sharing terms;
3.2.6 In cases where there is no licensee within 120 km (75 miles) on the opposite side of the border, a station of the proposed system shall not produce a pfd at or beyond the border that exceeds -106 dBW/m2 in any 1 MHz bandwidth, unless agreed to by both Agencies; and
3.2.7 The Agencies shall require that licensees coordinate using the process described above if proposed modifications to their facilities would result in a pfd at or beyond the border that exceeds -106 dBW/m2 in any 1 MHz bandwidth.
4. Information Exchange
4.1 To facilitate the coordination requirements of this Arrangement, the Agencies shall exchange information including, but not limited to: (1) licensee name(s); (2) licensed service areas; and (3) licensee point(s) of contact; or means to obtain that information.
4.2 Where necessary, the Agencies shall provide information to their respective licensees to facilitate the coordination requirements of this Arrangement.
4.3 To facilitate cross‑border coordination between licensees, the Agencies shall encourage licensees to exchange data as listed in Annex A to this Arrangement.
Annex A—Parameters for Coordination
- Licensee information (Corporate name/Mailing address/Phone/Fax/Email address)
- Location of transmitter (Community/State/Province)
- Geographical coordinates of transmitting antenna
- Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) (dBW)
- Ground elevation and antenna height above ground (m)
- Center frequency (MHz)
- Polarization
- Antenna pattern/tabulation of the pattern
- Azimuth of the maximum antenna gain
- Bandwidth and emission designation
Footnotes
- Footnote 1
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The date of postmark will be taken as the date of response.
- Date modified:
