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 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×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 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×h ^0.24 ×p ^0.19

   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×h ^0.23 ×p ^0.14

   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 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 °
   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×h ^0.35 ×p ^0.18

   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 ° 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×h ^0.23 ×p ^0.15

   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×h ^0.31 ×p ^0.15

   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 °
   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×h ^0.2 × p ^0.1

   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 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.