47 CFR 2.401 - Distress messages.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends its rules concerning signal boosters for consumer and industrial use in effort to enhance wireless coverage for consumers, particularly in rural, underserved, and difficult-to-serve areas by broadening the availability of signal boosters while ensuring that boosters do not adversely affect wireless networks.

In this Report and Order, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) provides for the efficient licensing of two-way in-flight broadband services, including Internet access, to passengers and flight crews aboard commercial airliners and private aircraft. Specifically, the Report and Order establishes technical and licensing rules for Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft (ESAA), i.e., earth stations on aircraft communicating with Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) geostationary-orbit (GSO) space stations operating in the 10.95-11.2 GHz, 11.45-11.7 GHz, 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth or downlink) and 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space or uplink) frequency bands.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) increases the Nation's supply of spectrum for mobile broadband by adopting flexible use rules for up to 40 megahertz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band (2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz), which we term the AWS-4 band. In so doing, we carry out a recommendation in the National Broadband Plan that the Commission enable the provision of stand-alone terrestrial services in the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) spectrum band. Specifically, we remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to mobile broadband use of this spectrum, and adopt service, technical, and licensing rules that will encourage innovation and investment in mobile broadband and provide a stable regulatory regime in which broadband deployment can develop.

This document amends the Commission's rules to correct grammatical, typographical, and display errors in the United States Table of Frequency Allocations (U.S. Table) and also remove inconsistencies between the non-Federal Table of Frequency Allocations (non-Federal Table) and parts 15 and 90 of the Commission's rules.

This document revises and streamlines the Commission rules to modernize the Experimental Radio Service (ERS). The rules adopted in the Report and Order updates the ERS to a more flexible framework to keep pace with the speed of modern technological change while continuing to provide an environment where creativity can thrive. To accomplish this transition, the Commission created three new types of ERS licenses—the program license, the medical testing license, and the compliance testing license—to benefit the development of new technologies, expedite their introduction to the marketplace, and unleash the full power of innovators to keep the United States at the forefront of the communications industry. The Commission's actions also modify the market trial rules to eliminate confusion and more clearly articulate its policies with respect to marketing products prior to equipment certification. The Commission believes that these actions will remove regulatory barriers to experimentation, thereby permitting institutions to move from concept to experimentation to finished product more rapidly and to more quickly implement creative problem-solving methodologies.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) sought comment on certain proposals to implement provisions of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Public Safety Spectrum Act) governing deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network in the 700 MHz band under a nationwide license issued to the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). In particular, the Commission considered the adoption of initial rules to protect against harmful radio frequency interference in the spectrum designated for public safety services, as well as other matters related to FirstNet's license and to facilitating the transition directed under the Public Safety Spectrum Act. The proposals considered in the document are intended to provide a solid foundation for FirstNet's operations, taking into account FirstNet's need for flexibility in carrying out its statutory duties under the Public Safety Spectrum Act to establish a nationwide public safety broadband network.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends its rules concerning signal boosters for consumer and industrial use in effort to enhance wireless coverage for consumers, particularly in rural, underserved, and difficult-to-serve areas by broadening the availability of signal boosters while ensuring that boosters do not adversely affect wireless networks.

The Federal Communications Commission is correcting the comment and reply comment dates for a proposed rule that appeared in the Federal Register of March 8, 2013. The document proposed rules for Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) increases the Nation's supply of spectrum for mobile broadband by adopting flexible use rules for up to 40 megahertz of spectrum in the 2 GHz band (2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz), which we term the AWS-4 band. In so doing, we carry out a recommendation in the National Broadband Plan that the Commission enable the provision of stand-alone terrestrial services in the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) spectrum band. Specifically, we remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to mobile broadband use of this spectrum, and adopt service, technical, and licensing rules that will encourage innovation and investment in mobile broadband and provide a stable regulatory regime in which broadband deployment can develop.

In this document, Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) have been filed in the Commission's rulemaking proceeding filed by Dale Woodin, Executive Director of American Society for Healthcare Engineering of American Hospital Association, on behalf of American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the American Hospital Association, and David R. Sidall, Esq., for DS Law PLLC, on behalf of Phillips Healthcare, Ari Q. Fitzgerald, Esq., for Hogan Lovells US LLP, on behalf of GE Healthcare, and William K. Keane, Esq., for Duane Morris LLP, on behalf of AFTRCC.

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau on its own motion extends by one month the comment and reply deadlines to the Fifth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking of dockets WP Docket No. 07-100, PS Docket No. 06-229, WT Docket No. 06-150. The Bureau takes this action to allow the First Responder Network Authority, a newly formed independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, sufficient time to file comments.