Sec.  101.75   Involuntary relocation procedures.

   (a) If no agreement is reached during the mandatory negotiation period, an
   ET licensee may initiate involuntary relocation procedures under the
   Commission's rules. ET licensees are obligated to pay to relocated only the
   specific microwave links to which their systems pose an interference
   problem. Under involuntary relocation, the FMS licensee is required to
   relocate, provided that the ET licensee:

   (1) Guarantees payment of relocation costs, including all engineering,
   equipment, site and FCC fees, as well as any legitimate and prudent
   transaction expenses incurred by the FMS licensee that are directly
   attributable to an involuntary 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. ET licensees are not required to pay FMS licensees for
   internal resources devoted to the relocation process. ET licensees are not
   required to pay for transaction costs incurred by FMS licensees during the
   voluntary or mandatory periods once the involuntary period is initiated, or
   for fees that cannot be legitimately tied to the provision of comparable
   facilities;

   (2) Completes all activities necessary for implementing the replacement
   facilities, including engineering and cost analysis of the relocation
   procedure and, if radio facilities are used, identifying and obtaining, on
   the incumbents' behalf, new microwave frequencies and frequency
   coordination; and

   (3) Builds the replacement system and tests it for comparability with the
   existing 2 GHz system.

   (b) Comparable facilities. The replacement system provided to an incumbent
   during an involuntary relocation must be at least equivalent to the existing
   FMS system with respect to the following three factors:

   (1) Throughput. Communications throughput is the amount of information
   transferred within a system in a given amount of time. If analog facilities
   are being replaced with analog, the ET licensee is required to provide the
   FMS licensee with an equivalent number of 4 kHz voice channels. If digital
   facilities are being replaced with digital, the ET licensee must provide the
   FMS licensee with equivalent data loading bits per second (bps). ET
   licensees must provide FMS licensees with enough throughput to satisfy the
   FMS licensee's system use at the time of relocation, not match the total
   capacity of the FMS system.

   (2) Reliability. System reliability is the degree to which information is
   transferred accurately within a system. ET licensees must provide FMS
   licensees with reliability equal to the overall reliability of their system.
   For digital data systems, reliability is measured by the percent of time the
   bit error rate (BER) exceeds a desired value, and for analog or digital
   voice transmissions, it is measured by the percent of time that audio signal
   quality meets an established threshold. If an analog voice system is
   replaced with a digital voice system, only the resulting frequency response,
   harmonic distortion, signal-to-noise ratio and its reliability will be
   considered in determining comparable reliability.

   (3) Operating costs. Operating costs are the cost to operate and maintain
   the FMS system. ET licensees must compensate FMS licensees for any increased
   recurring costs associated with the replacement facilities (e.g., additional
   rental payments, increased utility fees) for five years after relocation. ET
   licensees may satisfy this obligation by making a lump-sum payment based on
   present value using current interest rates. Additionally, the maintenance
   costs to the FMS licensee must be equivalent to the 2 GHz system in order
   for the replacement system to be considered comparable.

   (c) The FMS licensee is not required to relocate until the alternative
   facilities are available to it for a reasonable time to make adjustments,
   determine comparability, and ensure a seamless handoff.

   (d) Twelve-month trial period. If, within one year after the relocation to
   new facilities, the FMS licensee demonstrates that the new facilities are
   not comparable to the former facilities, the ET licensee must remedy the
   defects or pay to relocate the microwave licensee to one of the following:
   its former or equivalent 2 GHz channels, another comparable frequency band,
   a land-line system, or any other facility that satisfies the requirements
   specified in paragraph (b) of this section. This trial period commences on
   the date that the FMS licensee begins full operation of the replacement
   link. If the FMS licensee has retained its 2 GHz authorization during the
   trial period, it must return the license to the Commission at the end of the
   twelve months. FMS licensees relocated from the 2110–2150 and 2160–2200 MHz
   bands may not be returned to their former 2 GHz channels. All other remedies
   specified in paragraph (d) are available to FMS licensees relocated from the
   2110–2150 MHz and 2160–2200 MHz bands, and may be invoked whenever the FMS
   licensee demonstrates that its replacement facility is not comparable,
   subject to no time limit.

   [ 61 FR 29694 , June 12, 1996, as amended at  65 FR 48183 , Aug. 7, 2000;  68 FR 3464 , Jan. 24, 2003;  71 FR 29842 , May 24, 2006]