A government summary outlining the reclassification of specialized mobile radio operators “may pose more questions than it answers,” said SMR organization leader Alan Shark.
“Reclassified operators are being thrown into competition with huge new services without really knowing where they stand. It has often appeared that the [Federal Communications Commission] does not understand how our members will be affected,” said Shark, president and chief executive officer of the American Mobile Telecommunications Association.
According to the FCC, mobile operators now will be in the new commercial mobile radio service category if their service zis provided for profit, and the service includes interconnection to a public telephone network.
The process of moving some private radio operators into a new category began three years ago, when Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) proposed the change for the sake of regulatory parity. The stated goal was to create a structure under which all wireless providers would be treated the same way.
The four groups in the Part 90 reclassification are SMR, 220 MHz, paging and business radio. FCC reasoning is that truly private radio offers service to narrowly defined categories of users. Therefore, public safety, industrial/land transportation categories will continue to be regulated as private mobile radio service.
The changes went into effect Aug. 10, although the FCC granted a request by the Personal Communications Industry Association for a 120-day conditional operating period for companies with pending applications.
Some companies might operate as a “functional equivalent” of a CMRS but be classified as PMRS, the FCC said. “There is no established test for determining the functional equivalent of a CMRS provider.”
The FCC lists these characteristics for commercial land mobile service:
service offered for profit;
interconnect service available;
service offered to the public or a substantial portion of the public;
used by general public for both business and personal communications;
often designed to provide communication over large geographic areas using large spectrum blocks, although smaller systems exist.
The FCC lists these characteristics for private land mobile service:
systems usually don’t provide interconnection;
are non-profit;
are used by businesses or government organizations for internal communications;
used for the safety of life and property;
communications limited to a defined group of users;
most systems have limited capacity and geographic coverage.
Licensees can apply to the FCC to modify their license if they are not a true CMRS provider and don’t intend to be one, but may have indicated on Form 600 an intention to provide interconnection.
CMRS license applications now will be placed on public notice for 30 days before they can be granted.
