Sec.  22.537   Technical channel assignment criteria.

   The rules in this section establish technical assignment criteria for the
   channels listed in  Sec. 22.531. These criteria permit channel assignments to be
   made in a manner such that reception by public paging 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 transmitters.

   (a) Contour overlap. The FCC may grant an application requesting assignment
   of a channel to a proposed base 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 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.

   (c) VHF service contour. For paging stations transmitting on the VHF
   channels, the distance from the transmitting antenna to the service contour
   along each cardinal radial is calculated as follows:

   d=1.243×h ^0.40 ×p ^0.20

   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 ° intervals.

   (d) VHF interfering contour. For paging stations transmitting on the VHF
   channels, the distance from the transmitting antenna to the interfering
   contour along each cardinal radial is calculated as follows:

   d=6.509×h ^0.28 ×p ^0.17

   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 interfering contour
   along any radial other than the eight cardinal radials is routinely
   calculated by linear interpolation of distance as a function of angle. In
   resolving petitions to deny, however, the FCC may calculate the distance to
   the interfering contour using the 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 ° intervals.

   (e) 931 MHz service contour. For paging stations transmitting on the 931 MHz
   channels, the service contour is a circle, centered on the transmitting
   antenna, with a radius determined from Table E–1 of this section.

                                     Table E_1-931 MHz Paging Service Radii
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
     Service radius km (miles)                            Effective radiated po
wer (Watts)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
    Antenna HAAT meters (feet)         0-125       126-250      251-500      50
1-1000    1001-1860    1861-3500
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
0-177.............................    32.2 (20)    32.2 (20)    32.2 (20)    32
.2 (20)    32.2 (20)    32.2 (20)
(0-581)
178-305...........................    32.2 (20)    32.2 (20)    32.2 (20)    32
.2 (20)    37.0 (23)    41.8 (26)
(582-1001)
306-427...........................    32.2 (20)    32.2 (20)    37.0 (23)    41
.8 (26)    56.3 (35)    56.3 (35)
(1002-1401)
428-610...........................    32.2 (20)    37.0 (23)    41.8 (26)    56
.3 (35)    56.3 (35)    56.3 (35)
(1402-2001)
611-861...........................    37.0 (23)    41.8 (26)    41.8 (26)    56
.3 (35)    83.7 (52)    83.7 (52)
(2002-2825)
862-1219..........................    41.8 (26)    56.3 (35)    56.3 (35)    83
.7 (52)    83.7 (52)    83.7 (52)
(2826-3999)
1220+.............................    56.3 (35)    56.3 (35)    83.7 (52)    83
.7 (52)    83.7 (52)    83.7 (52)
(4000+)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

   (f) 931 MHz interfering contour. For paging stations transmitting on the 931
   MHz channels, the interfering contour is a circle, centered on the
   transmitting antenna, with a radius determined from Table E–2 of this
   section.

                                   Table E_2-931 MHz Paging Interfering Radii
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
   Interfering radius km (miles)                          Effective radiated po
wer (Watts)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
    Antenna HAAT meters (feet)         0-125       126-250      251-500      50
1-1000    1001-1860    1861-3500
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
0-177.............................    80.5 (50)    80.5 (50)    80.5 (50)    80
.5 (50)    80.5 (50)    80.5 (50)
(0-581)
178-305...........................    80.5 (50)    80.5 (50)    80.5 (50)    80
.5 (50)    88.5 (55)    96.6 (60)
(582-1001)
306-427...........................    80.5 (50)    80.5 (50)    88.5 (55)    96
.6 (60)   130.4 (81)   130.4 (81)
(1002-1401)
428-610...........................    80.5 (50)    88.5 (55)    96.6 (60)   130
.4 (81)   130.4 (81)   130.4 (81)
(1402-2001)
611-861...........................    88.5 (55)    96.6 (60)    96.6 (60)   130
.4 (81)  191.5 (119)  191.5 (119)
(2002-2825)
862-1219..........................    96.6 (60)   130.4 (81)   130.4 (81)  191.
5 (119)  191.5 (119)  191.5 (119)
(2826-3999)
1220+
(4000+)...........................   130.4 (81)   130.4 (81)  191.5 (119)  191.
5 (119)  191.5 (119)  191.5 (119)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

   (g) In-building radiation systems. The locations of in-building radiation
   systems must be within the service contour(s) of the licensee's authorized
   transmitter(s) on the same channel. In-building radiation systems are not
   protected facilities, and therefore do not have service or interfering
   contours.

   (h) Signal boosters on 931 MHz channels. For the purpose of compliance with
    Sec. 22.165 and notwithstanding paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section, signal
   boosters operating on the 931 MHz channels with an antenna HAAT not
   exceeding 30 meters (98 feet) are deemed to have as a service contour a
   circle with a radius of 1.0 kilometer (0.6 mile) and as an interfering
   contour a circle with a radius of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

   [ 59 FR 59507 , Nov. 17, 1994, as amended at  61 FR 31051 , June 19, 1996]