PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12 th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 15-947 Released: August 21, 2015 OFFICE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY DECLARES THE DEERE & COMPANY REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF TV WHITE SPACE DEVICE RULES TO BE A “PERMIT-BUT- DISCLOSE” PROCEEDING FOR EX PARTE PURPOSES AND REQUESTS COMMENT ET Docket No. 15-184 Comment Date: September 21, 2015 Reply Comment Date: October 6, 2015 On July 13, 2015, Deere & Company (“Deere”) filed a request for a waiver, to the extent necessary, of the Commission's TV white space rules to permit the use of a TV white space device manufactured by Koos Technical Services, Inc. (“KTS”) intended for fixed operation in certain non-fixed agricultural applications. Specifically, Deere seeks a waiver to permit operation of a fixed TV white space device in the 470-698 MHz frequency band when installed on non-fixed, off-road agricultural equipment, such as tractors, self-propelled harvesting machines, sprayers, etc. The TV white space device would transmit real-time crop and equipment data as the agricultural equipment moves across a field and share that data via radio links with other machines equipped with TV white space devices on the farmland and/or with the farmhouse. Deere requests that the devices installed on the farm equipment be permitted to operate at the higher power levels permitted for fixed equipment as opposed to the lower power levels required for personal/portable operation. The TV white space devices would not have an integrated geolocation capability and would not be professionally-installed; instead, the device would obtain its geolocation data from an external navigation system installed on the same agricultural equipment as the device via a physical connection. Deere states that the white space device it plans to use complies in all other respects with the rules applicable to TV white space fixed devices. The device would re-register its new location with a TV white space database to obtain new lists of available channels every time the agricultural equipment to which the device is affixed moves beyond the + 50 meter area based on its latest registered location. Deere asserts that these devices will be installed on off-road farm equipment that would be used for agricultural purposes in rural areas and would meet a demand for broadband machine-to-machine data communications. . Deere states that the equipment will be compliant with all of the fixed white-space rules other than those for which it seeks a waiver. The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) is reviewing Deere’s waiver request. OET has concluded that in order to develop a complete record on the complex issues presented by this request, this 2proceeding will be treated, for ex parte purposes, as "permit-but-disclose" in accordance with Section 1.1200(a) of the Commission's rules, subject to the requirements under Section 1.1206(b). Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on the first page of this document. Comments may be filed: (1) using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) through the Federal Government’s eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by submitting paper copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998). ? Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. ? Paper Filers: Parties that choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. If more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by first- class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. ? All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission’s Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12 th St., SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the building. ? Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. ? U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 445 12 th Street, SW, Washington DC 20554. People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty). All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. Parties should also send a copy of their filings to Anh T. Wride, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission, Room 7-A162, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554, or by e-mail to Hugh.VanTuyl@fcc.gov. Parties must also serve one copy with the Commission’s copy contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554, (202) 488-5300, or via e-mail to fcc@bcpiweb.com. Documents are available for public inspection and copying during business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The documents may also be purchased from BCPI, telephone (202) 488-5300, facsimile (202) 488-5563, TTY (202) 488-5562, e-mail fcc@bcpiweb.com. 3Office of Engineering and Technology contact: Anh T, Wride at (202) 418-0577. By the Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology -FCC-