00-20457. Amendment of the Geographic Channel Block Layout for Commercial Aviation Air-Ground Systems in the Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

This document amends the geographical channel block layout for commercial aviation air-ground systems licensed in the Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service. These systems provide telephone service over a wireless air-ground link to the telephones that are installed in commercial airliners for use by passengers during flights. The purpose of this action is to update the geographic channel block layout set forth in the Commission's rules such that it correctly lists the reference locations and channel block allotments for currently operating ground stations in this service.

DATES:

Effective September 11, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

B.C. “Jay” Jackson, Jr., Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The action amends the geographical channel block layout for commercial aviation air-ground systems licensed in the Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service (47 CFR Part 22, Subpart G). These systems provide telephone service to the seat-back and bulkhead telephones installed in commercial airliners for use by passengers during flights. The wireless link between public telephone networks on the ground and an airborne aircraft so equipped is established by these systems. Each system comprises 50 or more full-power ground stations. Rule 47 CFR 22.859 requires, among other things, that each full-power ground station must (1) be located within 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) of one of the locations (defined by the geographic coordinates—latitude and longitude) listed in the geographic channel block layout set forth in that rule section, and (2) operate only on the channel block allotted in the geographic channel block layout for that location. As an exception, 47 CFR 22.859(b) provides that a full-power ground station may be established at a location that is more than 550 miles from all other full-power ground station locations on the same channel block. In 1993 and 1994, the commercial aviation air-ground system licensees filed petitions for rule making requesting various minor changes and corrections to a few of the locations and channel block allotments listed in 47 CFR 22.859. On various occasions since then, the licensees have requested and been granted special temporary authorizations waiving 47 CFR 22.859, allowing them to establish ground stations at locations that exceed, by a small margin, the 1.6 kilometer proximity requirement, and/or to operate on channel block assignments other than those listed in the geographic channel block layout. However, in each case, the intent of the rule (that all operating stations be located in close proximity in order to minimize interference due to Doppler frequency shift) continued to be served, and furthermore, all of the licensees concurred in the changes. Taking into account the accumulated location and channel block changes, this action amends 47 CFR 22.859 to conform and update it, so that the geographic channel block layout therein will correctly list the currently authorized locations and channel block allotments. This action was taken by the Deputy Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC, pursuant to delegated authority (47 CFR 0.331), in a letter addressed to the commercial aviation air-ground radiotelephone system licensees. This letter, dated July 25, 2000 and released to the public on July 26, 2000, is available for inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 445 Twelfth Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. A copy of the letter may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, International Transcription Service, Inc., 1231 20th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 [phone].

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 22

• Communications common carriers
• Communications equipment
• Radio

Federal Communications Commission.

Magalie Roman Salas,

Secretary.

Rule Changes

For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 22 as follows:

PART 22—PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES

1. The authority citation for part 22 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 222, 303, 309, and 332.

2. Section 22.859 is amended by revising the introductory text including the table to read as follows:

§ 22.859

Geographical channel block layout.

Except as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, each ground station location must be within 1.6 kilometers (one mile) of one of the locations listed in this paragraph. The channel block allotted for each location must be used to provide service to airborne mobile stations in flight and may be used to provide service to airborne mobile stations on the ground.

Note:

All geographic coordinates are referenced to North American Datum 1983 (NAD83).

Location	N. latitude	W. longitude	Channel block
ALASKA:
Anchorage	61°11′04″	149°54′50″	8
Cordova	60°29′38″	145°28′17″	5
Ketchikan	55°21′10″	131°42′20″	5
Juneau	58°21′17″	134°34′36″	4
Sitka	57°03′03″	135°20′23″	7
Yakutat	59°32′22″	139°44′10″	2
ALABAMA:
Birmingham	33°23′24″	86°39′59″	2
ARIZONA:
Phoenix	33°35′39″	112°05′15″	4
Winslow	35°01′17″	110°43′04″	6
ARKANSAS:
Pine Bluff	34°10′56″	91°56′18″	8
CALIFORNIA:
Burbank	34°11′44″	118°21′31″	4
Blythe	33°36′39″	114°42′27″	10
Los Angeles	33°56′45″	118°23′06″	3
Oakland	37°51′54″	122°13′15″	1
Red Bluff	40°04′34″	122°10′38″	8
San Francisco	37°41′15″	122°26′05″	6
San Jose	37°20′56″	121°54′01″	5
Visalia	36°19′36″	119°23′25″	7
COLORADO:
Colorado Springs	38°44′39″	104°51′48″	8
Bennet	39°51′24″	104°35′53″	1
Hayden	40°29′04″	107°13′10″	6
FLORIDA:
Miami	25°48′28″	80°16′29″	4
Orlando	28°26′54″	81°21′59″	2
Tallahassee	30°24′03″	84°21′18″	7
GEORGIA:
Atlanta	33°39′05″	84°25′54″	5
St Simons Island	31°09′23″	81°23′13″	6
HAWAII:
Mauna Kapu	21°24′13″	158°05′52″	5
IDAHO:
Blackfoot	43°11′34″	112°21′00″	8
Caldwell	43°38′45″	116°38′47″	10
ILLINOIS:
Chicago	41°46′49″	87°45′20″	3
Kewanee	41°12′05″	89°57′33″	5
Schiller Park	41°57′18″	87°52′57″	2
INDIANA:
Fort Wayne	40°59′16″	85°11′31″	7
IOWA:
Des Moines	41°31′58″	93°38′55″	1
KANSAS:
Garden City	37°59′35″	100°54′06″	3
Wichita	37°37′24″	97°27′16″	7
KENTUCKY:
Fairdale	38°04′48″	85°47′33″	6
LOUISIANA:
Kenner	30°00′28″	90°13′49″	3
Shreveport	32°27′10″	93°49′39″	5
MASSACHUSETTS:
Boston	42°23′15″	71°01′01″	7
MICHIGAN:
Bellville	42°12′17″	83°29′09″	8
Flint	42°58′21″	83°44′22″	9
Sault Saint Marie	46°28′45″	84°21′31″	6
MINNESOTA:
Bloomington	44°51′30″	93°13′20″	9
MISSISSIPPI:
Meridian	32°19′11″	88°41′33″	9
MISSOURI:
Kansas City	39°18′13″	94°41′05″	6
St. Louis	38°42′45″	90°19′19″	4
Springfield	37°14′28″	93°22′55″	9
MONTANA:
Lewistown	47°02′56″	109°27′30″	5
Miles City	46°25′30″	105°52′32″	8
Missoula	47°01′05″	114°00′44″	3
NEBRASKA:
Grand Island	40°58′00″	98°19′12″	2
Ogallala	41°07′11″	101°45′39″	4
NEVADA:
Las Vegas	36°05′35″	115°10′28″	1
Reno	39°35′13″	119°55′56″	4
Tonopah	38°03′43″	117°13′27″	9
Winnemucca	41°00′39″	117°46′01″	3
NEW MEXICO:
Alamogordo	32°54′46″	105°56′43″	8
Albuquerque	35°03′05″	106°37′15″	10
Aztec	36°48′42″	107°53′50″	9
Clayton	36°27′29″	103°11′18″	5
NEW JERSEY:
Woodbury	39°50′01″	75°09′20″	3
NEW YORK:
E. Elmhurst	40°46′21″	73°52′40″	1
Schuyler	43°09′09″	75°07′49″	2
Staten Island	40°36′05″	74°06′34″	9
NORTH CAROLINA:
Greensboro	36°05′54″	79°56′41″	9
Wilmington	34°16′11″	77°54′23″	3
NORTH DAKOTA:
Dickinson	46°51′05″	102°47′37″	7
OHIO:
Pataskala	40°04′05″	82°42′00″	1
OKLAHOMA:
Warner	35°29′31″	95°18′26″	4
Woodward	36°24′42″	99°28′51″	9
OREGON:
Albany	44°38′23″	123°03′40″	5
Klamath Falls	42°06′30″	121°38′04″	2
Pendleton	45°35′44″	118°31′06″	7
PENNSYLVANIA:
Coraopolis	40°30′33″	80°13′26″	4
New Cumberland	40°11′30″	76°52′01″	8
SOUTH CAROLINA:
Charleston	32°54′11″	80°01′19″	4
SOUTH DAKOTA:
Aberdeen	45°27′21″	98°25′27″	6
Rapid City	44°02′36″	103°03′38″	5
TENNESSEE:
Elizabethton	36°26′04″	82°08′05″	7
Memphis	35°01′44″	89°56′15″	10
Nashville	36°08′07″	86°41′39″	3
TEXAS:
Bedford	32°′45″	97°07′20″	1
Houston	29°54′38″	95°24′40″	2
Lubbock	33°37′06″	101°52′16″	7
Monahans	31°34′58″	102°54′20″	6
UTAH:
Abajo Peak	37°50′21″	109°27′44″	7
Delta	39°23″15′	112°30′47″	2
Escalante	37°45′19″	111°52′30″	5
Green River	38°57′54″	110°13′43″	3
Salt Lake City	40°39′11″	112°12′09″	1
VIRGINIA:
Arlington	38°52′55″	77°06′17″	6
WASHINGTON:
Seattle	47°26′07″	122°17′39″	4
Cheney	47°33′14″	117°43′39″	1
WEST VIRGINIA:
Charleston	38°19′47″	81°39′35″	2
WISCONSIN:
Stevens Point	44°33′06″	89°25′27″	8
WYOMING:
Riverton	43°03′37″	108°27′25″	9

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