Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1981 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Iowa Department of Public Safety Iowa Department of Natural Resources Requests for Waiver of Section 90.209(b) of the Commission’s Rules ) ) ) ) ) ) ) WT Docket 99-87 ORDER Adopted: December 10, 2012 Released: December 10, 2012 By the: Deputy Chief, Policy and Licensing Division, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Deputy Chief, Mobility Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources,1 submitted a request for waiver, until November 14, 2014, of the Commission’s VHF/UHF narrowbanding deadline, which requires private land mobile radio licensees in the 150-174 MHz and 421- 512 MHz bands to operate using channel bandwidth of no more than 12.5 kHz, or equivalent efficiency, by January 1, 2013.2 By this Order, we grant the Waiver Request. II. BACKGROUND 2. The Iowa DPS is Iowa’s largest and most comprehensive state law enforcement agency and provides backup and assistance to the municipal and county law enforcement agencies in Iowa, as well as several other state law enforcement agencies with more limited scope of authority.3 1 See Iowa DPS Waiver Request, filed January 4, 2012, by the Iowa Department of Public Safety (Waiver Request). On August 23, 2012, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources petitioned the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to add ten of its authorizations to the Waiver Request. See email, dated August 23, 2012 from Robert O. Garrison, Chief, Law Enforcement Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources to Roberto Mussenden, Federal Communications Commission (FCC). See also Implementation of Sections 309(j) and 337 of the Communications Act of 1934 as Amended; Promotion of Spectrum Efficient Technologies on Certain Part 90 Frequencies, Third Memorandum Opinion and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order, WT Docket No. 99-87, RM-9332, 19 FCC Rcd 25045 (2004). 2 See 47 C.F.R. § 90.209(b)(5); see also Implementation of Sections 309(j) and 337 of the Communications Act of 1934 as Amended; Promotion of Spectrum Efficient Technologies on Certain Part 90 Frequencies, Third Memorandum Opinion and Order and Third Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order, WT Docket No. 99-87, RM-9332, 19 FCC Rcd 25045 (2004). On April 26, 2012, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Office of Engineering and Technology waived the January 1, 2013 narrowbanding deadline for 470-512 MHz band frequencies. See Implementation of Sections 309(j) and 337 of the Communications Act of 1934 as Amended; Promotion of Spectrum Efficient Technologies on Certain Part 90 Frequencies, Order, WT Docket No. 99-87, RM-9332, 27 FCC Rcd 4213 (WTB/PSHSB/OET 2012). 3 Waiver Request at 1. Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1981 2 3. In accordance with a plan that has been in place since 2008, the Iowa DPS has narrowbanded its in-car radios 4 and thirty-one repeater sites, which serve local law enforcement agencies, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Department of Corrections, Iowa Department of Natural Resources law enforcement bureaus, and several federal agencies.5 4. Iowa DPS also uses a vehicular repeater system (VRS) that extends its portable radio coverage when an officer is outside the vehicle in which the VRS is installed.6 The VRS converts the portable UHF signal to mobile VHF. The current VRS is crystal controlled, is not narrowband compliant, and cannot be made narrowband compliant.7 Iowa DPS has purchased new mobile multiband radios with an integral VRS feature.8 When a full complement of these new radios is purchased and installed, the entire Iowa DPS system will be fully narrowband-compliant. The VRS system is critical to Iowa DPS’s radio communications because of its system’s limited mobile [sic] coverage. Iowa DPS’s new multiband radios provide full interoperability with all Iowa law enforcement agencies. 9 5. The Iowa Legislature appropriated funding for the upgrade of the Iowa DPS system in three fiscal-year commitments.10 Iowa DPS used the first year’s appropriation to upgrade its towers and upgrade its infrastructure to narrowband standards.11 However, the first year’s appropriated funds were not adequate to purchase a full complement of mobile radios. Consequently, Iowa DPS was able to acquire only 100 of the new multiband radios with the integral VRS during the first year. 12 It has funding commitments for obtaining the remaining new radios,13 but the funding is spread over the next two years. In September, 2012 the Iowa DPS issued a request for proposals to obtain the remaining radios.14 6. On January 27, 2012, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) issued a Public Notice seeking comment on the Waiver Request.15 No party filed comments in support or opposition. III. DISCUSSION 7. The Iowa DPS seeks relief pursuant to Section 1.925 of the Commission’s rules, which provides that to obtain a waiver of the Commission’s rules, a petitioner must demonstrate either that: (i) the underlying purpose of the rule(s) would not be served or would be frustrated by application to the 4 Id. at 1-2. 5 Id. at 1-2. See also email, dated September 11, 2012 from Sergeant Thomas Lampe, Interoperability Office, Iowa State Patrol to Roberto Mussenden, FCC. 6 Waiver Request at 1. 7 Id. 8 Id. 9 Id. 10 Id. at 2. 11 Id. 12 Id. 13 Id. 14 See email, dated September 19, 2012 from Sergeant Thomas Lampe, Interoperability Office, Iowa State Patrol to Roberto Mussenden, FCC. 15 See Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Seeks Comment on Requests for Waiver of the January 1, 2013 VHF-UHF Narrowbanding Deadline, Public Notice, DA 12-90 (PSHSB 2012). Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1981 3 present case, and that a grant of the waiver would be in the public interest;16 or (ii) in view of unique or unusual factual circumstances of the instant case, application of the rule(s) would be inequitable, unduly burdensome, or contrary to the public interest, or the applicant has no reasonable alternative.17 8. Applying this standard to narrowbanding, we stated in the Narrowbanding Waiver Guidance Notice, jointly issued by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and the Office of Engineering and Technology, that narrowbanding waiver requests “will be subject to a high level of scrutiny” under the waiver standard.18 We have also provided recommended guidance on the factors that licensees should address in their requests and have recommended that in addressing these factors, licensees should seek to demonstrate that “(i) they have worked diligently and in good faith to narrowband their systems expeditiously; (ii) their specific circumstances warrant a temporary extension of the deadline; and (iii) the amount of time for which a waiver is requested is no more than is reasonably necessary to complete the narrowbanding process.”19 9. Based on the record before us, we conclude that the Iowa DPS has presented sufficient facts to meet the standard for grant of the requested waiver. The record shows that the DPS has been diligently working to complete narrowbanding of its system since 2008.20 While it has completed the majority of the work, we recognize Iowa DPS’s need for additional time to purchase and install narrowband VRS equipment. We believe a denial of this temporary waiver of the narrowband deadline would not be in the public interest as it would prevent DPS officers from using their VRS equipment, which would drastically curtail their ability to operate away from their vehicles, endangering bother their safety and that of the general public. In addition, we find that strict enforcement of the narrowbanding deadline, given that the Iowa DPS has narrowbanded the majority of its equipment, including its infrastructure, would only server to delay the full implementation of a state-wide interoperable system, which would not be in the public interest. IV. CONCLUSION 10. Based on the foregoing, we conclude that grant of the waiver is in the public interest. Accordingly, we grant a waiver of the Commission’s January 1, 2013 VHF/UHF narrowbanding deadline for the agencies and call signs listed in Appendix A, until November 14, 2014. 16 47 C.F.R. § 1.925(b)(3)(i). 17 47 C.F.R. § 1.925(b)(3)(ii). 18 Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and Office Of Engineering and Technology Provide Reminder of January 1, 2013 Deadline for Transition to Narrowband Operations in the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz Bands and Guidance for Submission of Requests for Waiver and Other Matters, Public Notice, 26 FCC Rcd 9647 (2011) (Narrowbanding Waiver Guidance Notice). 19 Id. at 9649. 20 See Waiver Request at 1-2. Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1981 4 V. ORDERING CLAUSES 11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED pursuant to Section 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), and Section 1.925(b)(3)(i) of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.925(b)(3)(i), that the Request for Waiver filed by the Iowa Department of Public Safety IS GRANTED. 12. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.191 and 0.392 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.191, 0.392. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Zenji Nakazawa Deputy Chief, Policy and Licensing Division Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Scot Stone Deputy Chief, Mobility Division Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Federal Communications Commission DA 12-1981 5 Appendix A: List of Affected Call Signs Iowa DPS KTD386 WPJW450 KUV804 WPCB710 WQPK449 KB79675 WXF810 KUV805 WPGB661 KKW287 WZN406 KUV806 WPHB834 KNAB310 KA48199 KUV807 WPJQ575 KNDX339 KAR788 KUV808 WSL657 KNFF623 KBC886 KUV809 WSL658 KNFH917 KBR494 KUV810 WXB982 KNHM284 KBR495 KUV811 WZT865 KQT919 KBR496 KUV812 WNLW767 KTM994 KBR497 KUV813 KLX898 KU2221 KBR498 KUV814 KIT886 KVN739 KCL345 KUV815 KNEC924 KVN740 KFQ895 KUX297 KQ7633 KVS221 KNCJ905 KVJ952 WNND396 KW6940 KNED336 KYN902 WNXS958 KWE492 KRJ719 KYU883 WPNV369 KYG600 KUV795 WBE366 WPNW779 KYO306 KUV796 WGP694 WPQB829 WNED230 KUV797 WNCJ786 WRL641 WNKU889KUV798 WNKE604 WPVS847 WNQH554KUV799 WNKN422 WPXI490 WNQN259KUV800 WNXR506 WPXI491 WPAV481 KUV801 WNXS930 WPXI696 WPGW547KUV802 WNXS931 WQEW364* WPGX506 KUV803 WNXS932 WQMC788* *IG License Iowa DNR KNAQ899 KNJL374 KNJR712 KQ7730 KX6370 KZB323 WPEH830 WPFF986 WPIY575 WXR326