FCC Grants PTC-220 Waiver Request on Power and Antenna Height Limits, Coordination Limits for PTC Deployments
The FCC Wireless Bureau granted a waiver request Friday from the PTC-220 group of seven Class I freight railroads, waiving the commission’s Section 90.729(b) power and antenna height limits and Section 90.723(f) coordination limits subject to conditions meant to ensure…
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PTC-220 operations don’t cause harmful interference to other licensees on the 220 MHz band. PTC-220 has been acquiring spectrum on the 220 MHz band and leasing it to the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and other commuter railroads to implement positive train control communications technology. The FCC said it will require PTC-220 to provide a 30-day written notice to licensees about its intent to site a PTC base station that takes advantage of the waived power and antenna height limits, meet a predicted 38 dBu field strength at the license area’s border unless all affected co-channel licensees agree to a higher field strength and meet bright-line frequency and geographic spacing requirements meant to further reduce the risk of interference. The FCC said it is also requiring PTC to provide 30-day written notice to potentially affected Phase II licensees about deployment of a planned waiver-enabled PTC transmitter when the licensee is within 200 kHz and 20 kilometers of the transmitter. The FCC noted opposition to the waiver request from the BEC and DEMCO electric cooperatives, respectively located in South Carolina and Louisiana, but said it disagree with the cooperatives’ “blanket assertion that deployment of waiver-enabled PTC transmitters will harm existing 220 MHz Band stations or limit future expansion by incumbent licensees.”