Goto Section: 15.712 | 15.714 | Table of Contents

FCC 15.713
Revised as of October 1, 2018
Goto Year:2017 | 2019
  § 15.713   White space database.

   (a) Purpose. The white space database serves the following functions:

   (1) To determine and provide to a white space device, upon request, the
   available channels at the white space device's location in the TV
   bands, the 600 MHz guard bands, the 600 MHz duplex gap, the 600 MHz
   service band, and channel 37. Available channels are determined based
   on the interference protection requirements in § 15.712. A database must
   provide fixed and Mode II personal portable white space devices with
   channel availability information that includes scheduled changes in
   channel availability over the course of the 48 hour period beginning at
   the time the white space devices make a re-check contact. In making
   lists of available channels available to a white space device, the
   white space database shall ensure that all communications and
   interactions between the white space database and the white space
   device include adequate security measures such that unauthorized
   parties cannot access or alter the white space database or the list of
   available channels sent to white space devices or otherwise affect the
   database system or white space devices in performing their intended
   functions or in providing adequate interference protections to
   authorized services operating in the TV bands. In addition, a white
   space database must also verify that the FCC identifier (FCC ID) of a
   device seeking access to its services is valid; under this requirement
   the white space database must also verify that the FCC ID of a Mode I
   device provided by a fixed or Mode II device is valid. A list of
   devices with valid FCC IDs and the FCC IDs of those devices is to be
   obtained from the Commission's Equipment Authorization System.

   (2) To determine and provide to an unlicensed wireless microphone user,
   upon request, the available channels at the microphone user's location
   in the 600 MHz guard bands, the 600 MHz duplex gap, and the 600 MHz
   service band. Available channels are determined based on the
   interference protection requirements in § 15.236.

   (3) To register the identification information and location of fixed
   white space devices and unlicensed wireless microphone users.

   (4) To register protected locations and channels as specified in
   paragraph (b)(2) of this section, that are not otherwise recorded in
   Commission licensing databases.

   (b) Information in the white space database. (1) Facilities already
   recorded in Commission databases. Identifying and location information
   will come from the official Commission database. These services
   include:

   (i) Digital television stations.

   (ii) Class A television stations.

   (iii) Low power television stations.

   (iv) Television translator and booster stations.

   (v) Broadcast Auxiliary Service stations (including receive only
   sites), except low power auxiliary stations.

   (vi) Private land mobile radio service stations.

   (vii) Commercial mobile radio service stations.

   (viii) Offshore radiotelephone service stations.

   (ix) Class A television station receive sites.

   (x) Low power television station receive sites.

   (xi) Television translator station receive sites.

   (2) Facilities that are not recorded in Commission databases.
   Identifying and location information will be entered into the white
   space database in accordance with the procedures established by the
   white space database administrator(s). These include:

   (i) MVPD receive sites.

   (ii) Sites where low power auxiliary stations, including wireless
   microphones and wireless assist video devices, are used and their
   schedule for operation.

   (iii) Fixed white space device registrations.

   (iv) 600 MHz service band operations in areas where the part 27 600 MHz
   service licensee has commenced operations, as defined in § 27.4 of this
   chapter.

   (v) Locations of health care facilities that use WMTS equipment
   operating on channel 37 (608-614 MHz).

   (c) Restrictions on registration. (1) Television translator, low power
   TV and Class A station receive sites within the protected contour of
   the station being received are not eligible for registration in the
   database.

   (2) MVPD receive sites within the protected contour or more than 80
   kilometers from the nearest edge of the protected contour of a
   television station being received are not eligible to register that
   station's channel in the database.

   (d) Determination of available channels. The white space database will
   determine the available channels at a location using the interference
   protection requirements of § 15.712, the location information supplied
   by a white space device, and the data for protected stations/locations
   in the database.

   (e) White space device initialization. (1) Fixed and Mode II white
   space devices must provide their location and required identifying
   information to the white space database in accordance with the
   provisions of this subpart.

   (2) Fixed and Mode II white space devices shall not transmit unless
   they receive, from the white space database, a list of available
   channels and may only transmit on the available channels on the list
   provided by the database.

   (3) Fixed white space devices register and receive a list of available
   channels from the database by connecting to the Internet, either
   directly or through another fixed white space device that has a direct
   connection to the Internet.

   (4) Mode II white space devices receive a list of available channels
   from the database by connecting to the Internet, either directly or
   through a fixed or Mode II white space device that has a direct
   connection to the Internet.

   (5) A fixed or Mode II white space device that provides a list of
   available channels to a Mode I device shall notify the database of the
   FCC identifier of such Mode I device and receive verification that that
   FCC identifier is valid before providing the list of available channels
   to the Mode I device.

   (6) A fixed device with an antenna height above ground that exceeds 30
   meters or an antenna height above average terrain (HAAT) that exceeds
   250 meters shall not be provided a list of available channels. The HAAT
   is to be calculated using computational software employing the
   methodology in § 73.684(d) of this chapter.

   (f) Unlicensed wireless microphone database access. Unlicensed wireless
   microphone users in the 600 MHz band may register with and access the
   database manually via a separate Internet connection. Wireless
   microphone users must register with and check a white space database to
   determine available channels prior to beginning operation at a given
   location. A user must re-check the database for available channels if
   it moves to another location.

   (g) Fixed white space device registration. (1) Prior to operating for
   the first time or after changing location, a fixed white space device
   must register with the white space database by providing the
   information listed in paragraph (g)(3) of this section.

   (2) The party responsible for a fixed white space device must ensure
   that the white space device registration database has the most current,
   up-to-date information for that device.

   (3) The white space device registration database shall contain the
   following information for fixed white space devices:

   (i) FCC identifier (FCC ID) of the device;

   (ii) Manufacturer's serial number of the device;

   (iii) Device's geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude (NAD
   83));

   (iv) Device's antenna height above ground level (meters);

   (v) Name of the individual or business that owns the device;

   (vi) Name of a contact person responsible for the device's operation;

   (vii) Address for the contact person;

   (viii) Email address for the contact person;

   (ix) Phone number for the contact person.

   (h) Mode II personal/portable device information to database. A
   personal/portable device operating in Mode II shall provide the
   database its FCC Identifier (as required by § 2.926 of this chapter),
   serial number as assigned by the manufacturer, and the device's
   geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude (NAD 83)).

   (i) Unlicensed wireless microphone registration. Unlicensed wireless
   microphone users in the 600 MHz band shall register with the database
   prior to operation and include the following information:

   (1) Name of the individual or business that owns the unlicensed
   wireless microphone

   (2) Address for the contact person

   (3) Email address for the contact person

   (4) Phone number for the contact person; and

   (5) Coordinates where the device will be used (latitude and longitude
   in NAD 83).

   (j) White space database information. The white space database shall
   contain the listed information for each of the following:

   (1) Digital television stations, digital and analog Class A, low power,
   translator and booster stations, including stations in Canada and
   Mexico that are within the border coordination areas as specified in
   § 73.1650 of this chapter (a white space database is to include only TV
   station information from station license or license application
   records. In cases where a station has records for both a license
   application and a license, a white space database should include the
   information from the license application rather than the license. In
   cases where there are multiple license application records or license
   records for the same station, the database is to include the most
   recent records, and again with license applications taking precedence
   over licenses.):

   (i) Transmitter coordinates (latitude and longitude in NAD 83);

   (ii) radiated power (ERP);

   (iii) Height above average terrain of the transmitting antenna (HAAT);

   (iv) Horizontal transmit antenna pattern (if the antenna is
   directional);

   (v) Amount of electrical and mechanical beam tilt (degrees depression
   below horizontal) and orientation of mechanical beam tilt (degrees
   azimuth clockwise from true north);

   (vi) Channel number; and

   (vii) Station call sign.

   (2) Broadcast Auxiliary Service.

   (i) Transmitter coordinates (latitude and longitude in NAD 83).

   (ii) Receiver coordinates (latitude and longitude in NAD 83).

   (iii) Channel number.

   (iv) Call sign.

   (3) Metropolitan areas listed in § 90.303(a) of this chapter.

   (i) Region name.

   (ii) Channel(s) reserved for use in the region.

   (iii) Geographic center of the region (latitude and longitude in NAD
   83).

   (iv) Call sign.

   (4) PLMRS/CMRS base station operations located more than 80 km from the
   geographic centers of the 13 metropolitan areas defined in § 90.303(a)
   of this chapter (e.g., in accordance with a waiver).

   (i) Transmitter location (latitude and longitude in NAD 83) or
   geographic area of operations.

   (ii) TV channel of operation.

   (iii) Call sign.

   (5) Offshore Radiotelephone Service: For each of the four regions where
   the Offshore Radiotelephone Service operates.

   (i) Geographic boundaries of the region (latitude and longitude in NAD
   83 for each point defining the boundary of the region.

   (ii) Channel(s) used by the service in that region.

   (6) MVPD receive sites: Registration for receive sites is limited to
   channels that are received over-the-air and are used as part of the
   MVPD service.

   (i) Name and address of MVPD company;

   (ii) Location of the MVPD receive site (latitude and longitude in NAD
   83, accurate to ±50 m);

   (iii) Channel number of each television channel received, subject to
   the following condition: channels for which the MVPD receive site is
   located within the protected contour of that channel's transmitting
   station are not eligible for registration in the database;

   (iv) Call sign of each television channel received and eligible for
   registration;

   (v) Location (latitude and longitude) of the transmitter of each
   television channel received;

   (7) Television translator, low power TV and Class A TV station receive
   sites: Registration for television translator, low power TV and Class A
   receive sites is limited to channels that are received over-the-air and
   are used as part of the station's service.

   (i) Call sign of the TV translator station;

   (ii) Location of the TV translator receive site (latitude and longitude
   in NAD 83, accurate to ±/− 50 m);

   (iii) Channel number of the re-transmitted television station, subject
   to the following condition: a channel for which the television
   translator receive site is located within the protected contour of that
   channel's transmitting station is not eligible for registration in the
   database;

   (iv) Call sign of the retransmitted television station; and

   (v) Location (latitude and longitude) of the transmitter of the
   retransmitted television station.

   (8) Licensed low power auxiliary stations, including wireless
   microphones and wireless assist video devices: Use of licensed low
   power auxiliary stations at well-defined times and locations may be
   registered in the database. Multiple registrations that specify more
   than one point in the facility may be entered for very large sites.
   Registrations will be valid for no more than one year, after which they
   may be renewed. Registrations must include the following information:

   (i) Name of the individual or business responsible for the low power
   auxiliary device(s);

   (ii) An address for the contact person;

   (iii) An email address for the contact person (optional);

   (iv) A phone number for the contact person;

   (v) Coordinates where the device(s) are used (latitude and longitude in
   NAD 83, accurate to ±50 m);

   (vi) Channels used by the low power auxiliary devices operated at the
   site;

   (vii) Specific months, weeks, days of the week and times when the
   device(s) are used (on dates when microphones are not used the site
   will not be protected); and

   (viii) The stations call sign.

   (9) [Reserved]

   (10) 600 MHz service in areas where the part 27 600 MHz band licensee
   has commenced operations, as defined in § 27.4 of this chapter:

   (i) Name of 600 MHz band licensee;

   (ii) Name and address of the contact person;

   (iii) An email address for the contact person (optional);

   (iv) A phone number for the contact person;

   (v) Area within a part 27 600 MHz band licensee's Partial Economic
   Areas (PEA), as defined in § 27.6 of this chapter, where it has
   commenced operation. This area must be delineated by at minimum of
   eight and a maximum of 120 geographic coordinates (latitude and
   longitude in NAD 83, accurate to ±50 m);

   (vi) Date of commencement of operations;

   (vii) Identification of the frequencies on which the part 27 600 MHz
   band licensee has commenced operations;

   (viii) Call sign.

   (11) Location of health care facilities operating WMTS networks on
   channel 37 (608-614 MHz):

   (i) Name and address of the health care facility;

   (ii) Name and address of a contact person;

   (iii) Phone number of a contact person;

   (iv) Email address of a contact person;

   (v) Latitude and longitude coordinates referenced to North American
   Datum 1983 (NAD 83) that define the perimeter of each facility. If
   several health care facilities using 608-614 MHz wireless medical
   telemetry equipment are located in close proximity, it is permissible
   to register a perimeter to protect all facilities in that cluster.

   (k) Commission requests for data. (1) A white space database
   administrator must provide to the Commission, upon request, any
   information contained in the database.

   (2) A white space database administrator must remove information from
   the database, upon direction, in writing, by the Commission.

   (l) Security. The white space database shall employ protocols and
   procedures to ensure that all communications and interactions between
   the white space database and white space devices are accurate and
   secure and that unauthorized parties cannot access or alter the
   database or the list of available channels sent to a white space
   device.

   (1) Communications between white space devices and white space
   databases, and between different white space databases, shall be secure
   to prevent corruption or unauthorized interception of data. A white
   space database shall be protected from unauthorized data input or
   alteration of stored data.

   (2) A white space database shall verify that the FCC identification
   number supplied by a fixed or personal/portable white space device is
   for a certified device and may not provide service to an uncertified
   device.

   (3) A white space database must not provide lists of available channels
   to uncertified white space devices for purposes of operation (it is
   acceptable for a white space database to distribute lists of available
   channels by means other than contact with white space devices to
   provide list of channels for operation). To implement this provision, a
   white space database administrator shall obtain a list of certified
   white space devices from the FCC Equipment Authorization System.

   [ 80 FR 73070 , Nov. 23, 2015, as amended at  81 FR 4974 , Jan. 29, 2016;
    82 FR 41559 , Sept. 1, 2017]

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Goto Section: 15.712 | 15.714

Goto Year: 2017 | 2019
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