Sec.  80.60   Partitioned licenses and disaggregated spectrum.

   (a) Except as specified in  Sec. 20.15(c) of this chapter with respect to
   commercial mobile radio service providers, charges must not be made for
   service of:

   (1) VHF Public Coast area licensees, see  Sec. 80.371(c)(1)(ii), may partition
   their geographic service area or disaggregate their spectrum pursuant to the
   procedures set forth in this section.

   (2) AMTS geographic area licensees, see  Sec. 80.385(a)(3), may partition their
   geographic service area or disaggregate their spectrum pursuant to the
   procedures set forth in this section. Site-based AMTS public coast station
   licensees may partition their license or disaggregate their spectrum
   pursuant to the procedures set forth in this section, provided that the
   partitionee or disaggregatee's predicted 38 dBu signal level contour does
   not extend beyond the partitioner or disaggregator's predicted 38 dBu signal
   level contour. The predicted 38 dBu signal level contours shall be
   calculated using the F(50, 50) field strength chart for Channels 7–13 in
    Sec. 73.699 (Fig. 10) of this chapter, with a 9 dB correction for antenna height
   differential.

   (3) Nationwide or multi-region LF, MF, and HF public coast station
   licensees, see  Sec.  Sec. 80.357(b)(1), 80.361(a), 80.363(a)(2), 80.371(b), and
   80.374, may partition their spectrum pursuant to the procedures set forth in
   this section, except that frequencies or frequency pairs licensed to more
   than one licensee as of March 13, 2002 may be partitioned only by the
   earliest licensee, and only on the condition that the partitionee shall
   operate on a secondary, non-interference basis to stations licensed as of
   March 13, 2002 other than the earliest licensee. Coordination with
   government users is required for partitioning of spectrum the licensing of
   which is subject to coordination with government users.

   (b) Technical standards. (1) Partitioning. In the case of partitioning, all
   requests for authorization for partial assignment of a license must include,
   as an attachment, a description of the partitioned service area. The
   partitioned service area shall be defined by coordinate points at every 3
   degrees along the partitioned service area unless an FCC-recognized service
   area is utilized (e.g., Metropolitan Service Area, Rural Service Area, or
   Economic Area) or county lines are used. The geographic coordinates must be
   specified in degrees, minutes, and seconds to the nearest second of latitude
   and longitude, and must be based upon the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83).
   In a case where an FCC-recognized service area or county lines are utilized,
   applicants need only list the specific area(s) (through use of FCC
   designations or county names) that constitute the partitioned area.

   (2) Disaggregation. VHF (156–162 MHz) spectrum may only be disaggregated
   according to frequency pairs. AMTS spectrum may be disaggregated in any
   amount.

   (3) Combined partitioning and disaggregation. The Commission will consider
   requests for partial assignment of licenses that propose combinations of
   partitioning and disaggregation.

   (c) License term. The license term for a partitioned license area and for
   disaggregated spectrum shall be the remainder of the original licensee's
   term as provided for in  Sec. 80.25 of this part.

   (d) Construction Requirements. (1) Partitioning. Partial assignors and
   assignees for license partitioning have two options to meet construction
   requirements. Under the first option, the partitionor and partitionee would
   each certify that they will independently satisfy the substantial service
   requirement for their respective partitioned areas. If either licensee
   failed to meet its substantial service showing requirement, only the
   non-performing licensee's renewal application would be subject to dismissal.
   Under the second option, the partitioner certifies that it has met or will
   meet the substantial service requirement for the entire market. If the
   partitioner fails to meet the substantial service standard, however, only
   its renewal application would be subject to forfeiture at renewal.

   (2) Disaggregation. Partial assignors and assignees for license
   disaggregation have two options to meet construction requirements. Under the
   first option, the disaggregator and disaggregatee would certify that they
   each will share responsibility for meeting the substantial service
   requirement for the geographic service area. If parties choose this option
   and either party fails to do so, both licenses would be subject to
   forfeiture at renewal. The second option would allow the parties to agree
   that either the disaggregator or the disaggregatee would be responsible for
   meeting the substantial service requirement for the geographic service area.
   If parties choose this option, and the party responsible for meeting the
   construction requirement fails to do so, only the license of the
   nonperforming party would be subject to forfeiture at renewal.

   (3) Site-based AMTS, and nationwide or multi-region LF, MF, and HF public
   coast. Parties seeking to acquire a partitioned license or disaggregated
   spectrum from a site-based AMTS, or nationwide or multi-region LF, MF, and
   HF public coast licensee will be required to construct and commence “service
   to subscribers” in all facilities acquired through such transactions within
   the original construction deadline for each facility as set forth in  Sec. 80.49.
   Failure to meet the individual construction deadline will result in the
   automatic termination of the facility's authorization.

   [ 63 FR 40063 , July 27, 1998, as amended at  67 FR 48563 , July 25, 2002;  69 FR 64671 , Nov. 8, 2004]

Subpart C—Operating Requirements and Procedures

Station Requirements—General