Sec. 22.567  Technical channel assignment criteria.

    The rules in this section establish technical assignment criteria 
for the channels listed in Sec. 22.561. The criteria in paragraphs (a) 
through (f) of this section permit channel assignments to be made in a 
manner such that reception by public mobile receivers of signals from 
base transmitters, within the service area of such base transmitters, is 
protected from interference caused by the operation of independent co-
channel base and fixed transmitters in the Paging and Radiotelephone 
Service and central office stations, including Basic Exchange Telephone 
Radio Systems (BETRS), in the Rural Radiotelephone Service. Additional 
criteria in paragraph (g) of this section permit channel assignments to 
be made in a manner such that BETRS communications are protected from 
interference caused by the operation of independent co-channel base and 
fixed transmitters in the Paging and Radiotelephone Service and other 
central office stations in the Rural Radiotelephone Service. Separate 
criteria in paragraph (h) of this section apply only to assignment of 
the channels designated in Sec. 22.561 as mobile channels to base and

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fixed transmitters, and permit these channel assignments to be made in a 
manner such that reception by public base and fixed receivers of signals 
from associated mobile and fixed transmitters is protected from 
interference caused by the operation of independent co-channel base and 
fixed transmitters.
    (a) Contour overlap. The FCC may grant an application requesting 
assignment of a channel to a proposed base, fixed or central office 
station transmitter only if:
    (1) The interfering contour of the proposed transmitter does not 
overlap the service contour of any protected co-channel transmitter 
controlled by a carrier other than the applicant, unless that carrier 
has agreed in writing to accept any interference that may result from 
operation of the proposed transmitter; and
    (2) The service contour of the proposed transmitter does not overlap 
the interfering contour of any protected co-channel transmitter 
controlled by a carrier other than the applicant, unless the application 
contains a statement that the applicant agrees to accept any 
interference that may result from operation of the protected co-channel 
transmitter; and
    (3) The area and/or population to which service would be provided by 
the proposed transmitter is substantial, and service gained would exceed 
that lost as a result of agreements to accept interference.
    (b) Protected transmitter. For the purposes of this section, 
protected transmitters are authorized transmitters for which there is a 
current FCC public record and transmitters proposed in prior-filed 
pending applications, in the Paging and Radiotelephone Service and the 
Rural Radiotelephone Service.
    (c) VHF service contour. For base stations transmitting on the VHF 
channels, the radial distance from the transmitting antenna to the 
service contour along each cardinal radial is calculated as follows:

d=1.609 x h0.40  x p0.20

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts
    (1) Whenever the actual HAAT is less than 30 meters (98 feet), 30 
must be used as the value for h in the above formula.
    (2) The value used for p in the above formula must not be less than 
27 dB less than the maximum ERP in any direction, or 0.1 Watt, whichever 
is more.
    (3) The distance from the transmitting antenna to the service 
contour along any radial other than the eight cardinal radials is 
routinely calculated by linear interpolation of distance as a function 
of angle. However, in resolving petitions to deny, the FCC may calculate 
the distance to the service contour using the formula in paragraph (c) 
of this section with actual HAAT and ERP data for the inter-station 
radial and additional radials above and below the inter-station radial 
at 2.5 deg. intervals.
    (d) VHF interfering contour. For base and fixed stations 
transmitting on the VHF channels, the radial distance from the 
transmitting antenna to the interfering contour along each cardinal 
radial is calculated as follows:
    (1) If the radial antenna HAAT is less than 150 meters:

d=8.577 x h0.24 x p0.19

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts

    Whenever the actual HAAT is less than 30 meters (98 feet), 30 must 
be used as the value for h in the above formula.
    (2) If the radial antenna HAAT is 150 meters or more:

d=12.306 x h0.23 x p0.14

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts

    (3) The value used for p in the above formulas must not be less than 
27 dB less than the maximum ERP in any direction, or 0.1 Watt, whichever 
is more.
    (4) The distance from the transmitting antenna to the interfering 
contour along any radial other than the eight cardinal radials is 
routinely calculated by linear interpolation of distance as a

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function of angle. However, in resolving petitions to deny, the FCC may 
calculate the distance to the interfering contour using the appropriate 
formula in paragraph (d) of this section with actual HAAT and ERP data 
for the inter-station radial and additional radials above and below the 
inter-station radial at 2.5 deg. intervals.
    (e) UHF service contour. For base stations transmitting on the UHF 
channels, the radial distance from the transmitting antenna to the 
service contour along each cardinal radial is calculated as follows:

d=1.726 x h0.35 x p0.18

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts

    (1) Whenever the actual HAAT is less than 30 meters (98 feet), 30 
must be used as the value for h in the above formula.
    (2) The value used for p in the above formula must not be less than 
27 dB less than the maximum ERP in any direction, or 0.1 Watt, whichever 
is more.
    (3) The distance from the transmitting antenna to the service 
contour along any radial other than the eight cardinal radials is 
routinely calculated by linear interpolation of distance as a function 
of angle. However, in resolving petitions to deny, the FCC may calculate 
the distance to the service contour using the formula in paragraph (e) 
of this section with actual HAAT and ERP data for the inter-station 
radial and addition radials above and below the below the inter-station 
radial at 2.5 deg. intervals.
    (f) UHF interfering contour. For base and fixed stations 
transmitting on the UHF channels, the radial distance from the 
transmitting antenna to the interfering contour along each cardinal 
radial is calculated as follows:
    (1) If the radial antenna HAAT is less than 150 meters:

d=9.471 x h0.23 x p0.15

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts

    Whenever the actual HAAT is less than 30 meters (98 feet), 30 must 
be used as the value for h in the above formula.
    (2) If the radial antenna HAAT is 150 meters or more:

d=6.336 x h0.31 x p0.15

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts

    (3) The value used for p in the above formula must not be less than 
27 dB less than the maximum ERP in any direction, or 0.1 Watt, whichever 
is more.
    (4) The distance from the transmitting antenna to the interfering 
contour along any radial other than the eight cardinal radials is 
routinely calculated by linear interpolation of distance as a function 
of angle. However, in resolving petitions to deny, the FCC may calculate 
the distance to the interfering contour using the appropriate formula in 
paragraph (f) of this section with actual HAAT and ERP data for the 
inter-station radial and additional radials above and below the inter-
station radial at 2.5 deg. intervals.
    (g) Protection for BETRS. In applying the provisions of paragraph 
(a) of this section, if either or both of the transmitters involved is a 
BETRS central office station, the following contour substitutions must 
be used:
    (1) The service contour of the BETRS central office station(s) is a 
circle, centered on the central office station antenna, with a radius of 
40 kilometers (25 miles).
    (2) The interfering contour of any station of any type, when 
determining whether it would overlap the service contour of a BETRS 
central office station, is calculated as follows:

d=36.364 x h0.2 x  p0.1

where:

d is the radial distance in kilometers
h is the radial antenna HAAT in meters
p is the radial ERP in Watts

    Whenever the actual HAAT is less than 30 meters (98 feet), 30 must 
be used as the value for h in the above formula. The value used for p in 
the above formula must not be less than 27 dB

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less than the maximum ERP in any direction, or 0.1 Watt, whichever is 
more.
    (h) Assignment of mobile channels to base or fixed transmitters. 
Mobile channels may be assigned to base or fixed transmitters if the 
following criteria are met:
    (1) The paired base channel, as designated in Sec. 22.561, is 
assigned to base transmitters in the same geographical area operated by 
the same licensee.
    (2) The authorization is granted subject to the condition that no 
interference be caused to fixed receivers in use on or prior to the date 
of the grant.