§  24.203   Construction requirements.

   (a) Licensees of 30 MHz blocks must serve with a signal level
   sufficient to provide adequate service to at least one-third of the
   population in their licensed area within five years of being licensed
   and two-thirds of the population in their licensed area within ten
   years of being licensed. Licensees may, in the alternative, provide
   substantial service to their licensed area within the appropriate five-
   and ten-year benchmarks. Licensees may choose to define population
   using the 1990 census or the 2000 census. Failure by any licensee to
   meet these requirements will result in forfeiture or non-renewal of the
   license and the licensee will be ineligible to regain it.

   (b) Licensees of 10 MHz blocks except for the 1910–1915 MHz and
   1990–1995 MHz, including 10 MHz C block licenses reconfigured pursuant
   to Amendment of the Commission's Rules Regarding Installment Payment
   Financing for Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licensees, WT
   Docket No. 97–82, Sixth Report and Order, FCC 00–313, and 15 MHz blocks
   resulting from the disaggregation option as provided in the
   Commission's Rules Regarding Installment Payment Financing for Personal
   Communications Services (PCS) Licensees, Second Report and Order and
   Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, WT Docket 97–82, 12 FCC Rcd
   16436 (1997), as modified by Order on Reconsideration of the Second
   Report and Order, WT Docket 97–82, 13 FCC Rcd 8345 (1998), must serve
   with a signal level sufficient to provide adequate service to at least
   one-quarter of the population in their licensed area within five years
   of being licensed, or make a showing of substantial service in their
   licensed area within five years of being licensed. Population is
   defined as the 1990 population census. Licensees may elect to use the
   2000 population census to determine the five-year construction
   requirement. Failure by any licensee to meet these requirements will
   result in forfeiture of the license and the licensee will be ineligible
   to regain it.

   (c) Licensees must file maps and other supporting documents showing
   compliance with the respective construction requirements within the
   appropriate five- and ten-year benchmarks of the date of their initial
   licenses.

   (d) Licensees in the paired 1910–1915 MHz and 1990–1995 MHz bands must
   make a showing of “substantial service” in their license area within
   ten years of the date of initial license issuance or renewal.
   “Substantial service” is defined as service which is sound, favorable,
   and substantially above a level of mediocre service which just might
   minimally warrant renewal. Failure by any licensee to meet this
   requirement will result in forfeiture of the license and the licensee
   will be ineligible to regain it.

   [ 58 FR 59183 , Nov. 8, 1993, as amended at  64 FR 26890 , May 18, 1999;  65 FR 53636 , Sept. 5, 2000;  69 FR 67835 , Nov. 22, 2004;  69 FR 75171 , Dec.
   15, 2004]