Why did the FCC auction the spectrum I am currently using?
The federal government concluded that spectrum in the 2.1 GHz and 1.7 GHz bands was somewhat underutilized and therefore not serving the public interest to the highest degree possible. At the same time, the government recognized that wireless services providers needed additional spectrum in order to provide advanced, broadband wireless services to American consumers. The FCC determined that incumbent fixed service microwave operators could be relocated at the expense of new AWS licensees without interruption. Accordingly, the FCC scheduled Auction 66, Advanced Wireless Services, to start in early August 2006 to sell 90 MHz of spectrum on a per channel, per market basis to the highest bidders.

What is relocation?
The FCC's relocation policy is designed to allow early entry for new technology providers into reallocated spectrum by allowing providers of new services to negotiate financial arrangements for the re-accommodation of incumbent licensees. This policy also is designed to allow gradual relocation of incumbents during which, as the new entrant deploys individual sites throughout its geographic license area over time, the new entrant is obligated to relocate incumbent facilities on a link-by-link basis, based on an interference analysis using FCC-specified criteria. By establishing these relocation procedures, the FCC aims to facilitate the introduction of Advanced Wireless and Mobile Satellite Services in this spectrum band, while also ensuring continued incumbent services to the public.

Who are the new users of the spectrum and what will they do with it? Advanced Wireless Service ("AWS") is the collective term used for new and innovative fixed and mobile wireless applications using bandwidth that is sufficient for the provision of a variety of applications, including those using voice and data content. AWS is commonly associated with so-called third generation (3G) applications and has been predicted to build on the success of such current-generation commercial wireless services as cellular and Broadband PCS.

When will the new users of the spectrum be licensed by the FCC?
The FCC began issuing AWS licenses to auction winners on November 29, 2006.

What is the status of my link and why is that so important to my rights?
Active microwave links licensed by the FCC will have one of two status associated with them—primary or secondary. An incumbent whose link status is primary has the right to continued use of the spectrum until one of the three following events occurs. First, the incumbent decides to self-relocate its system at their own expense, provide the FCC with a discontinuance notice and register the relocation for cost-sharing at the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse, if they so choose. Second, the incumbent is approached by an AWS licensee and strikes a deal to have its system relocated at the AWS licensee's expense. In this situation, the reimbursement rights would transfer to the AWS licensee who paid for the relocation, and it could register the link for cost-sharing purposes at the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse. Third, ten years after the issuance of first AWS licenses (November 29, 2016), all affected microwave links in the AWS spectrum band will automatically become secondary, per the FCC's rules. Once this occurs, the AWS license needs to provide a six-month written notice to the incumbent outlining their intensions to use their frequencies in a geographic-specific location.

An incumbent whose microwave link has the status of secondary in the newly auctioned AWS band has some rights to the continued use of the spectrum. Per the FCC's relocation rules, the AWS licensee who desires to use their spectrum associated with its recently awarded license only needs to provide the incumbent with a 30 day written notice to vacant the affected spectrum in a geographical area.

When may I self-relocate and seek reimbursement through the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse?
Claims for reimbursement under the cost-sharing plan are limited to relocation expenses incurred on or after the date when the first AWS license is issued in the relevant AWS band - November 29, 2006.

When does a voluntarily relocating incumbent obtain reimbursement rights for a relocated facility?
A voluntarily relocating microwave incumbent obtains reimbursement rights for a link on the date that the incumbent notifies the FCC that it intends to discontinue, or has discontinued, the use of the link.

When the relocation takes place, what am I entitled to?
Whether the relocation is performed by the microwave incumbent (self-relocation) or by an AWS licensee, all microwave incumbents whose links are primary in status are entitled to comparable facilities.

What are comparable facilities?
Per the FCC, an incumbent whose microwave system is primary in its status is entitled to comparable facilities regardless of who relocated the system - self-relocation or AWS/MSS licensee relocation. There are three components that determine comparable facilities - throughput (the amount of information transferred within the system in a given amount of time), reliability (the degree to which information is transferred accurately and dependably within the system) and operating costs (cost to operate and maintain the system).

What is a third-party cost estimate?
A third-party cost estimate is just that - an independent and objective cost estimate to replace the incumbent's system from a neutral, third-party.

Why do I need to provide a third-party cost estimate?
In a situation when a microwave incumbent self-relocates, it is required by the FCC to provide a third-party cost estimate to support its reimbursement claim. The FCC believes that an independent appraisal will, in most cases, be a necessary safeguard against excessive costs, system upgrades, items outside of the scope of the relocation effort and the like.

What is an incomplete relocation?
An incomplete relocation is one in which the final costs are unknown at the time the relocation is registered for cost-sharing. In such situations, the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse administers the appropriate cost-sharing test without final costs and notifies the affected parties of the general cost-sharing activity. The notifications may not include specific dollar amounts of the obligation, however, until the relocator provides the final relocation costs to the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse.

What is sunset?
Sunset is the term the FCC uses to describe the date on which its rules for fixed microwave and BRS relocations and cost-sharing in the AWS band terminate.

When will sunset take place?
Sunset is scheduled to take place ten (10) years after the first AWS license was awarded, i.e., on November 29, 2016. However, there are two exceptions to this sunset date: first, cost-sharing on eligible BRS relocations will end on November 29, 2021, 15 years after the first F block license was awarded; and second, for the licensees in the 2180 to 2200 MHz band, sunset will take place on December 8, 2013, ten years after the mandatory negotiation period began for the MSS/ATC operators.

What is the negotiation period associated with these relocations?
The FCC's policy provides for only one stage of negotiations - a mandatory period - during which new entrants and incumbents are required to negotiate the terms for relocation in good faith. The length of the mandatory negotiation period varies by one year depending on the incumbent's classification, i.e., whether the incumbent is a public safety or non-public safety entity. For public safety incumbents, the mandatory negotiation period is 3 years; for non-public safety incumbents, the mandatory negotiation period is 2 years.

If no agreement is reached during mandatory negotiations, the new entrant is permitted to proceed to the involuntary relocation of the incumbent. During the involuntary relocation process, the FCC's Emerging Technologies procedures require new entrants to construct, test, and deliver replacement facilities comparable to facilities in use by the incumbent at the time of relocation, subject to a one year "right of return" (i.e., if after a twelve month trial period the new facilities prove not to be comparable to the old facilities, the incumbent could return to the old frequency band or otherwise be relocated or reimbursed).

What triggers mandatory negotiations?
Mandatory negotiation period will be triggered when an AWS licensee informs an incumbent microwave licensee, in writing, of its desire to negotiate for the relocation of a specific microwave facility. The result will be a series of independent mandatory negotiation periods, each specific to individual incumbent microwave facility.

What is a cost cap and what is the amount?
For the purpose of cost-sharing on the relocated systems, the FCC established "caps" or maximum amounts of money one party can register as part of its reimbursement claim. On a per link basis, the cap is $250,000 for equipment expenditures and $150,000 for tower modifications.

When do I need to file my self-relocation with the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse to eligible for reimbursement?
The FCC requires self-relocating microwave incumbents in the 2.1 GHz band to file its reimbursement claims with the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse within 30 calendar days of the date that they submit their notice of service discontinuance with the FCC.

What is a discontinuance of service notice?
A discontinuance of service notice is the cancellation of a microwave license for a recently relocated microwave system served to the FCC.

How does the Clearinghouse determine when a cost-sharing obligation has been triggered?
The Proximity Threshold Test is a bright-line test that does not require extensive engineering studies or analyses, and it yields consistent, predictable results by eliminating the variations - and thus disputes - which can be associated with the use of interference standards such as the TIA TSB 10-F. The FCC concluded that the use of such a bright-line test in this context will expedite the relocation process by facilitating cost-sharing, minimizing the possibility of disputes that may arise through the use of other standards or tests, and encouraging new entrants to relocate incumbent licensees in the first instance.

The length of the Proximity Threshold Test box shall be X, where X is a line extending through both nodes of the microwave link to a distance of 48 kilometers (30 miles) beyond each node. The width of the rectangle shall be Y, where Y is a line perpendicular to X and extending for a distance of 24 kilometers (15 miles) on both sides of X. Thus, the box is represented as follows:

How will cost-sharing disputes be resolved?
The FCC requires participants in the cost-sharing plan to submit disputes to the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse for resolution in the first instance. Where parties are unable to resolve issues before the Clearinghouse, parties are encouraged to use expedited ADR procedures, such as binding arbitration, mediation, or other ADR techniques.

What costs are eligible for reimbursement?
The actual cost of relocating a system includes, but is not limited to, such items as: radio terminal equipment (TX and/or RX--antenna, necessary feed lines, MUX/Modems); towers and/or modifications; back-up power equipment; monitoring or control equipment; engineering costs (design/path survey); installation; systems testing; FCC filing costs; site acquisition and civil works; zoning costs; training; disposal of old equipment; test equipment (vendor required); spare equipment; project management; site lease renegotiation; required antenna upgrades for interference control; power plant upgrade (if required); electrical grounding systems; heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) (if required); alternate transport equipment; leased facilities; and end user units served by the base station that is being relocated. In addition to actual costs, reimbursable costs may include the cost of an independent third party appraisal conducted pursuant to the FCC's rules and incumbent transaction expenses that are directly attributable to the relocation, subject to a cap of two percent of the "hard" costs involved. Hard costs are defined as the actual costs associated with providing a replacement system, such as equipment and engineering expenses.

How is the cost-sharing for a self-relocating incumbent different in the 2130-2150 and 2180-2200?
With respect to cost-sharing obligations on MSS operators for Fixed Microwave Service ("FS") incumbent self-relocation in the 2180-2200 MHz band, the FCC declined to impose cost sharing on MSS operators for voluntary self-relocation by FS incumbents in that band. Accordingly, for FS incumbents that elect to self-relocate their paired channels in the 2130-2150 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz bands (with AWS in the lower band and MSS in the upper band), the FCC has imposed cost-sharing obligations on AWS licensees but not on MSS operators. When a microwave incumbent voluntarily relocates a paired microwave link with paths in the 2130-2150 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz bands, it is entitled to partial reimbursement from the first AWS beneficiary, equal to fifty percent of its actual costs for relocating the paired link, or half of the reimbursement cap, whichever is less. This amount is subject to depreciation.

How will the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse administer cost-sharing on fixed microwave links that have a dual status—both primary and secondary?
In such situations, the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse recommends that a relocator register only the relocation costs associated with the primary segment of the fixed microwave link, as the secondary segment would not be eligible for cost-sharing by subsequent benefitting AWS licensees. Additionally, if there are relocation costs common to both segments of the fixed microwave link (i.e., engineering costs), the relocator should divide those expenses in half and include 50% as part of its registered costs.

How will AWS licenses that have been disaggregated or partitioned be treated for cost-sharing at the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse?
The CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse recommends that any party entering into an agreement to disaggregate or partition an AWS license to address the related cost-sharing of eligible relocations in their agreement to divide the license. The cost-sharing policy at the CTIA Spectrum Clearinghouse for a disaggregated or portioned license is that whichever licensee, the disaggregator/disaggregatee or the partitionor/partitionee, that first triggers a cost-sharing obligation for the license, a combination of FCC-defined block and market, will bear the entire finance obligation for cost-sharing of that license on a per relocation basis.