§ 27.1182 - Reimbursement under the Cost-Sharing Plan.

§ 27.1182 Reimbursement under the Cost-Sharing Plan.

(a) Registration of reimbursement rights.

(1) To obtain reimbursement, an AWS relocator must submit documentation of the relocation agreement to the clearinghouse within 30 calendar days of the date a relocation agreement is signed with an incumbent. In the case of involuntary relocation, an AWS relocator must submit documentation of the relocated system within 30 calendar days after the end of the one-year trial period.

(2) Registration of any BRS system shall include:

(i) A description of the system's frequency use;

(ii) If the system exclusively provides one-way transmissions to subscribers, the Geographic Service Area of the system; and

(iii) If the system does not exclusively provide one-way transmission to subscribers, the system hub antenna's geographic location and the above ground level height of the system's receiving antenna centerline.

(3) The AWS relocator must also include with its system registration an independent third party appraisal of the compensable relocation costs. The appraisal should be based on the actual cost of replacing the incumbent's system with comparable facilities and should exclude the cost of any equipment upgrades that are not necessary to the provision of comparable facilities. An AWS relocator may submit registration without a third party appraisal if it consents to binding resolution by the clearinghouse of any good faith cost disputes regarding the reimbursement claim, under the following standard: The relocator shall bear the burden of proof, and be required to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that its request does not exceed the actual cost of relocating the relevant BRS system or systems to comparable facilities. Failure to satisfy this burden of proof will result in loss of rights to subsequent reimbursement of the disputed costs from any AWS licensee.

(b) Documentation of expenses. Once relocation occurs, the AWS relocator must submit documentation itemizing the amount spent for items specifically listed in § 27.1180(b), as well as any reimbursable items not specifically listed in § 27.1180(b) that are directly attributable to actual relocation costs. Specifically, the AWS relocator must submit, in the first instance, only the uniform cost data requested by the clearinghouse along with copies, without redaction, of the relocation agreement, if any, and the third party appraisal described in (a)(3), of this section, if prepared. The AWS relocator must identify the particular system associated with appropriate expenses (i.e., costs may not be averaged over numerous systems). If an AWS relocator pays a BRS incumbent a monetary sum to relocate its own facilities in whole or in part, the AWS relocator must itemize the actual costs to the extent determinable, and otherwise must estimate the actual costs associated with relocating the incumbent and itemize these costs. If the sum paid to the incumbent cannot be accounted for, the remaining amount is not eligible for reimbursement. All AWS relocators seeking reimbursement through the clearinghouse have an ongoing duty to maintain all relevant records of BRS relocation-related expenses until the sunset of cost-sharing obligations, and to provide, upon request, such documentation, including a copy of the independent appraisal if one was conducted, to the clearinghouse, the Commission, or AWS entrants that trigger a cost-sharing obligation.

(c) Full reimbursement. An AWS relocator who relocates a BRS system that is either:

(1) Wholly outside its frequency band; or

(2) Not within line of sight of the relocator's transmitting base station may seek full reimbursement through the clearinghouse of compensable costs. Such reimbursement will not be subject to depreciation under the cost-sharing formula.

(d) Good Faith Requirement. New entrants and incumbent licensees are expected to act in good faith in satisfying the cost-sharing obligations under §§ 27.1176 through 27.1190. The requirement to act in good faith extends to, but is not limited to, the preparation and submission of the documentation required in paragraph (b) of this section.