Operator_to_Operator_Agreement.docx

OPERATOR TO OPERATOR COORDINATION AGREEMENT

BETWEEN THE

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

AND THE

AWS-3 AUCTION LICENSEE [Company Name] FOR THE SHARED USE OF THE BAND 1695 - 1710 MHz

Version 2016.11.1

MONTH DAY, 2016

DRAFT

1. INTRODUCTION

Representatives of ___________________, "the Licensee," and the Department of Commerce, Office of Radio Frequency Management, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (hereafter to referred to as "DOC" or "NOAA") have carried out technical discussions pursuant to applicable regulations and the spectrum sharing framework recommended by the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, Working Group 1 (CSMAC-WG1), which was foundational to the regulations for sharing spectrum within a specified Federal Protection Zone. This agreed to Operator-to-Operator Coordination Agreement (hereafter “Agreement” or “Coordination Agreement”) represents “a good faith effort from both the AWS-3 licensees and the Federal incumbents to share information about their systems, agree to appropriate interference analysis and mitigation methodologies, and communicate results so as to facilitate commercial use of the band.[footnoteRef:2]” It has been developed in accordance with the aforementioned framework, the procedures specified in the 18 July, 2014 FCC Notice (DA 14-1023) released jointly by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and applicable Federal regulations and the principles contained therein for coordinating the shared use of the 1695-1710 MHz band. [2: AWS-3 R&O, 29 FCC Rcd at 4693¶ 222]

2. Background NOAA manages and operates the Nation's operational environmental satellites through its National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) office. NESDIS provides timely access to global environmental data from satellites to promote, protect and enhance the Nation's economy, security, environment and quality of life. NESDIS operates a variety of satellite constellations in the L-Band, S-Band, and X-Band frequencies from multiple Federal earth stations across the United States. These frequencies are used to command satellites as well as to receive state of health and mission data from the satellites.

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Section 6401 (a), (3)[footnoteRef:3] directed the Secretary of Commerce to identify 15 MHz of Federal spectrum suitable for sharing with commercial wireless carriers. The Secretary of Commerce identified 1695-1710 MHz as the band proposed to be reallocated for shared use with mobile wireless communications services. [3: Public Law 112-96, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Section 6401 (Deadlines for the Auction of Certain Spectrum); https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ96/pdf/PLAW-112publ96.pdf]

As a result, in January 2015, the FCC held Advanced Wireless Service 3 (AWS-3), or Auction 97, to license the spectrum to wireless communications services, for shared use in the 1695-1710 MHz frequency band. These AWS-3 frequencies are currently used by both Federal and non-Federal users globally to provide earth observations data from meteorological satellites. In the United States, these frequencies are now allocated for shared use by Federal and non-Federal users on a co-equal primary basis. Coordination by AWS-3 licensed users of the band with Federal entities is required for the Licensees to operate wireless communications services within specified Protection Zones as defined in Public Notice 14-1023[footnoteRef:4] in order to ensure protected operations of Federal earth stations. [4: The Federal Communication Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Coordination Procedures in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz Bands, Public Notice, DA-14-1023; 18 July, 2014; https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-14-1023A1.pdf]

Title 47 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (47 CFR) was updated to reflect the 1695-1710 MHz band allocation to both meteorological satellite services and fixed mobile communications and wireless communication service. The CFR codifies the coordination procedures for the 1695-1710 MHz band, published jointly by the FCC and the NTIA via public notices.

The AWS-3 Licensees are authorized to use the 1695-1710 MHz band only for uplink communications from the User Equipment (UE) to its network base station, as a co-equal primary user of the band. If UE uplinks are active while a NOAA earth station is receiving a satellite downlink signal from its meteorological satellites, each UE signal has a potential to cause or contribute to harmful interference, degrading satellite downlink signals. Accordingly, use of the shared spectrum must be in accordance with coordinated operations agreed upon by NOAA and the AWS-3 Licensees such that the Federal operations are protected from harmful interference, while access to the spectrum by AWS-3 users is maximized.

3. REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE

3.1 The FCC has promulgated regulations with coordination requirements for proposed mobile wireless communications services in the Advanced Wireless System 3 (AWS-3) band. These requirements are set forth in 47 CFR Part 27 Federal Government. They are intended to protect Federal Government operations from harmful interference caused by AWS-3 operations in the 1695-1710 MHz band.

3.2 The band 1695-1710 MHz is allocated to Federal and non-federal services in accordance with the U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations, 47 CFR 2.106 - Table of Frequency Allocations.

3.3 Public Notice 14-1023[footnoteRef:5] provides guidance for how the Licensees will coordinate with Federal operators, both formally and informally, to avoid interference. [5: The Federal Communication Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Coordination Procedures in the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz Bands, Public Notice, DA-14-1023; 18 July, 2014; https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-14-1023A1.pdf]

4. SCOPE

This Agreement addresses the statutory requirement for the DOC and the Licensees to share radio spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz band, known as AWS-3, while also protecting DOC operations in the band. The details of the spectrum sharing are set forth in the Annexes to this Agreement and are intended to effectuate successful sharing in the band.

Annex A describes the specific procedures required for successful coordination of the Licensee’s proposed AWS-3 operations within the established Federal Protection Zones. This coordination is a planning activity performed via a web-based Radio-Frequency Coordination Portal (RFCP).

Annex B addresses operational interactions between NOAA and the wireless carriers to prevent harmful interference and report and mitigate interference events in real-time if they occur. This coordination activity is required regardless of whether the interference originates from AWS-3 operations inside or outside the established Federal Protection Zones.

Annex C, addresses administrative interactions between NOAA and the wireless carriers when the real-time interaction described in Annex B does not resolve the interference.

5. PRINCIPLES OF COORDINATION FOR SPECTRUM SHARING

The following basic principles have been agreed upon regarding the coordination of the NOAA operations for earth observations using meteorological satellites operating in the 1675-1710 MHz band, including international satellites, and Licensee operations to allow mobile UEs to transmit to a base station as part of a ground-based Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network operating in the 1695-1710 MHz band.

5.1 The Licensee will operate the LTE network in a responsible manner, compliant with Federal regulations, and without causing harmful interference to protected NOAA earth stations. It is recognized that the main area of concern is potential interference to data acquisition of earth observations from meteorological satellites in the 1675-1710 MHz band, covered by Radio Regulations US Footnote US88, from the AWS-3 UE uplinks in the 1695-1710 MHz band, covered by 47 CFR Part 27.

5.2 NOAA satellite data acquisition must be protected from harmful interference at all times. It is expected that NOAA data acquisition operations will not negatively impact the ability of the Licensee to operate the LTE network in an effective manner.

5.3 The Licensee will be capable of adjusting or limiting the LTE network operations if the Licensee’s operations are exceeding the interference protection criteria established in Annex A. Furthermore, it is expected the Licensee will have the capability and will take the actions necessary to mitigate interference, including possibly suspending AWS-3 operations as necessary, if harmful interference is reported to the Licensee Point of Contact, until such time that the interference is mitigated.

5.4 NOAA and the Licensees will share, either directly or through publicly available sources, information pertinent to facilitating successful sharing of the AWS-3 spectrum.

5.5 NOAA will provide the Licensee an interface to the Radio Frequency Monitoring System (RFIMS) to provide real-time status of the observed radio-frequency environment sensed by the RFIMS in accordance with the procedures defined in Annex B. This interface will indicate the state of the RF environment at each NOAA earth station, including when the interference protection criteria is exceeded.

5.6 The parties recognize that the provisions of this Agreement are based on the general operation of various meteorological satellite data acquisition earth stations, and specific operating conditions applicable to each Protection Zone for individual earth stations will be defined in Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter (see Annex C).

5.7 There is an understanding and expectation by the DOC and the Licensee that certain actions will be required from each party to effectively share AWS-3 spectrum. The parties further recognize that there are no fees charged for any actions that may be required by this Agreement,

6. COORDINATION

6.1 The band 1695-1710 MHz has been allocated to the wireless communications services on a co-equal primary basis with the provision that U.S. Government services, using meteorological satellite downlinks in the 1675-1710 MHz band, must be protected from interference resulting from the operation of the AWS-3 wireless communications services.

6.2 The Licensee operations will allow mobile UE to transmit to a base station as part of a ground-based Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network.

6.3 As stated in the FCC AWS-3 Report & Order[footnoteRef:6], “the requirement to successfully coordinate each base station proposed within a Protection Zone with each agency that has a non-USP assignment is satisfied only by obtaining the affirmative concurrence of the relevant incumbents. These requirements are not satisfied by omission: if a Federal agency does not timely respond, AWS-3 licensees should contact the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for assistance.” [6: Federal Communications Commission, Report and Order, FCC14-31, March 31, 2014.]

6.4 The Licensee agrees to operate their LTE network within the coordination zones in accordance with deployment parameters specified in the approved Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter, including any additional restrictions or conditions resulting from the DOC coordination analysis and documented therein, so as to not cause harmful interference to protected Federal Government operations.

6.5 Site specific coordination for AWS-3, LTE network operations within a DOC Federal Protection Zone by the Licensee will be accomplished as provided for in Annex A of this Agreement.

6.6 NOAA operations in the 1670-1695 and 1695-1710 MHz bands includes monitoring of the radio-frequency environment in the vicinity of the various satellite signal receiver antennas. The NOAA meteorological satellite data acquisition operations and RFIMS details are defined in Annex B of this Agreement.

6.7 As DOC operations evolve and new satellites with new characteristics operating in 1675-1710 MHz frequency band are launched, the Licensees are required to take action to ensure protection of new satellite mission operations in the 1675-1710 MHz band from harmful interference.

7. PROTECTION ZONES FOR AWS-3 OPERATIONS

7.1 There are 27 protection zones identified in the CFR, including 15 Federal Protection Zones defined for NOAA operations shown in Table 1, below. The information in Table 1 is subject to future corrections in the CFR to more accurately reflect DOC operations.

(up to 20 dBm) Radius (km) (above 20 dBm)

Table 1 – Protection Zones for NOAA Earth Stations Receiving in the Band 1675-1710 MHz:

7.2 Two protection zones are defined for each of the ground locations: one smaller zone which is based on the assumption that UEs may transmit radio frequency (RF) signals up to 20 dBm Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP), and one larger zone which is based on the assumption that UEs may transmit RF signals up to 30 dBm EIRP. AWS-3 licensees must successfully coordinate prior to operating a base station within the applicable specific protection zones.

8. DISCLOSURE

The terms and conditions of this Coordination Agreement will not be treated as confidential. However, certain information, to be exchanged under the terms of this Agreement and information that was exchanged in the course of these negotiations, and was marked as Proprietary, will remain Commercial Proprietary and protected from public disclosure to the extent authorized by applicable Federal law.

9. MODIFICATION

Future modification of this Agreement may be required if and when Federal meteorological satellite or LTE network operations change. In such cases, this Coordination Agreement may be modified by mutual agreement, in writing. In the event the parties reach an impasse on changes to this Coordination Agreement, they agree to submit the issue to the FCC and NTIA for mediation and resolution.

10. REVIEW

The parties agree to meet at least annually beginning in February 2019 to review this Coordination Agreement, including Annexes.

11. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE

In the event of inconsistency or conflict between the terms and conditions of this Coordination Agreement and a Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter, the Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter will prevail, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

12. POINTS OF CONTACT

The points of contact for this Coordination Agreement with regard to the coordination of Licensee operations within Protection Zones and operational real-time radio-frequency interference monitoring are:

13. ACCEPTED AND AGREED UPON:

It is understood that the undersigned have the actual authority necessary to bind their respective companies and organizations to this Coordination Agreement.

Zacchary G. Goldstein Chief Information Officer and Director, High Performance Computing and Communications U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

James L. Mentzer Director, Office of Radio Frequency Management U.S. Department of Commerce

ANNEX A

Formal Coordination

A.1. Introduction.

The objective of the coordination process is for the DOC to receive and evaluate Licensee requests via the Radio-Frequency Coordination Portal (RFCP) to ensure NOAA meteorological satellite data acquisition operations are not subject to harmful interference. Within the fifteen DOC AWS-3 protection zones, coordination shall be initiated by the Licensee formally requesting access to the geographic areas within the Federal Protection Zones specified by the regulations. This formal request must be made through the AWS-3 1695-1710 MHz RFCP (https://rfcp.ntia.doc.gov) and must be explicitly approved by DOC prior to AWS-3 operations within the Protection Zone by the Licensee.

A.1.1. Radio-Frequency Coordination Portal (RFCP). The Licensee must set up its Portal account and, once established, the Licensee can receive a user guide and training on the use of the Portal. The RCFP provides a communication mechanism between Licensees and incumbents to enable Licensees to submit network deployment requests for coordination of LTE network operations in the band.

A.1.2. RFCP Users. The RFCP serves three key types of users:

· Licensees – Represent entrants into the 1695-1710 MHz frequency band who must coordinate use of the band without causing interference to incumbent Federal agencies.

· Incumbents – Represent Federal agencies with frequency assignments in the AWS-3 1695- 1710 MHz band and the adjacent 1670-1695 MHz frequency band.

· Federal regulators – Represent Federal regulators from the NTIA and FCC that download data from the RFCP for reporting purposes.

A.2. Coordination Process.

The Licensees will submit their plans for deployment via the AWS-3 RFCP. Each coordination request shall include the deployment plans only for a single license.

A.2.1. Submission of a Formal Request for Coordination. To submit a formal coordination request, the AWS-3 Licensee must include information about the technical characteristics for the AWS-3 base stations and associated mobile units relevant to operation within the Protection Zone. This information will be provided in accordance with the instructions provided in the AWS-3 Portal user’s guide, including a standardized file naming convention.

A.2.2. Coordination Timeline. When a Licensee submits a formal request, the Portal will affirmatively acknowledge receipt of the request within five (5) calendar days after the date of submission. Within ten (10) calendar days after the submission date, a DOC representative will notify the Licensee, through the RFCP, whether the request is complete or incomplete. Unless the DOC finds the request incomplete or DOC and the Licensee agree to a different timeline, the Federal coordination response is due within sixty (60) calendar days after the deadline for the notice of completeness.

FIGURE A-1 – Coordination Timeline.

A.2.3. DOC Analysis. After the 10-day review period, the DOC will have 60 days to evaluate the formal coordination request, unless a different timeline has been agreed upon. During the sixty (60) day evaluation period, the DOC will complete electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) analysis, and return a response of concurrence, partial concurrence with operating conditions that specify the terms in which the licensee may begin operations, or denial of the request. The factors to be taken into account during DOC analysis are defined in Section A.3.

A.2.4. Notification. The requirement to reach a coordination arrangement is satisfied only by obtaining the affirmative concurrence or partial concurrence with the requested LTE network deployment from DOC. This requirement is not satisfied by omission. Once the designated DOC Coordinator completes his analysis pursuant to the formal coordination request, the Licensee will be automatically notified by a results letter that is posted in the Portal. The results letter may present details of the analysis. Completion of the coordination process and resulting approvals from DOC do not release the Licensee from the requirement to mitigate any unexpected interference to DOC operations within the Federal Protection Zones.

A.2.4.1. DOC Concurrence. If the coordination request is approved as submitted, the response will include a Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter, which will provide relevant details regarding the coordination review that was just completed. The Licensee must sign and return the Agreement to the DOC Coordinator for coordination to be successfully completed. If the Coordination Portal does not support this requirement, the signed Agreement shall be submitted directly to the DOC Coordinator via mail, by courier or email attachment.

A.2.4.2. DOC Partial Concurrence with Operating Conditions. If DOC finds that the proposed deployment in the coordination request will cause interference to DOC operations, but the request can be modified to mitigate the interference, DOC may choose to respond with an approval, contingent upon additional restrictions for operating conditions. These restrictions will be defined in a Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter. The DOC is not obligated to use this option to resolve problems identified in a coordination request, but may do so at its discretion.

A.2.4.3. DOC Denial. If DOC finds that the proposed deployment contained in the coordination request is likely to cause interference to DOC operations and cannot be modified to mitigate the interference, the DOC response will be a denial with justification. It is the responsibility of the Licensee to review the material and develop a solution to eliminate the interference anticipated by DOC.

A.2.4.4. Licensee Response. The Licensee may object to the partial concurrence, operating conditions, or denial and may contact the DOC coordinator to propose network design modifications to help address EMC issues raised in the results letter. Once the Licensee has revised its network design, it may resubmit a new formal coordination request, and the AWS-3 formal coordination process begins again.

A.3. Considerations in DOC Coordination Analysis.

While performing the necessary coordination analysis, the DOC will consider parameters and mitigation techniques proposed by the Licensee. The analysis will be performed using the LTE Sharing Assessment Tool (LSAT), developed specifically to perform analysis of AWS-3 Coordination Requests for the DOC. The DOC will take only the following factors into account during their analysis of each coordination request:

A.3.1. UE Power. The UE handset power levels provided by the Licensee shall be the Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) distributions. The distribution of handset power levels are then modeled in the LSAT as random variables. Basic probability theory states that discrete probability density distributions of the sum of two independent random variables can be obtained by numerically convolving the probability density distributions of the two random variables. The Central Limit Theorem (CLT) states that the distribution of the sum of a sufficiently large number of random variables approaches a Normal distribution, with a mean and variance equal to the sums of the means and variances of the component random variables, respectively. LSAT uses a hybrid technique for efficiently combining the CLT method with the numerical convolution method. This hybrid method calculates the mean and variance of the received interference power from each sector to the victim receiver together with a running sum of the means and variances. The sectors are then sorted by descending value of variance, and sectors with large variances are removed from the top of the list until the largest variance at the top of the list is less than 10% of the sum of all the variances remaining in the list. A normal distribution is generated for the remaining sectors using the CLT. The final aggregate interference distribution is calculated using numerical convolution for the sectors that were removed from the sorted list because of their large variances, which is followed by its convolution with the normal distribution. The hybrid method was tested against results obtained during CSMAC using Monte Carlo simulations. Tests showed that when using the same propagation, antenna, and FDR models, agreement between the two techniques were within tenths of a dB.

A.3.2. Propagation Model. The DOC EMC analysis model will use the propagation model defined in the International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) Recommendation P.452-16, available at http://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-P.452-16-201507-I/en.

A.3.3. Exceedance Value. An exceedance value of 0.5 (50%) will be used in the P.452 propagation model. This is defined as “Required time percentage(s) for which the calculated basic transmission loss is not exceeded.”

A.3.4. Terrain. Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) Level 1 terrain data will be used in the analysis.

A.3.5. Clutter. The DOC analysis model will incorporate consideration of uniform clutter distributions using the minimum and maximum values provided in the table below. The determination of Rural and Urban environments will be based on U.S. Census Bureau data (see https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cbf/cbf_ua.html)

A.3.6. Resource Block Blanking. The carriers may propose Resource Block Blanking as a means to avoid interfering with co-channel polar satellite data acquisition operations. The Licensees must define, on a sector by sector basis, the frequency range of the resource blocks to be disabled, and the LTE signal emission mask that applies when the resource blocks are disabled. The DOC analysis may consider Resource Block Blanking when proposed by the Licensees A.3.7. Time Sharing with Polar Satellites. The Licensee may propose time sharing as a mitigation technique. DOC analysis will be accomplished by evaluating sharing at all antenna pointing angles, over 360 degrees in azimuth, and five (5) to 90 degrees in elevation, with a higher resolution than one half the beam width of the receive antenna.

A.3.8. UE Antenna Height. A UE antenna height of 1.5 meters above ground level will be used for the coordination analysis.

A.3.9. UE Transmit Power. For Licensee deployments that will use a UE EIRP of no more than 20 dBm, the CSMAC Working Group 1 UE EIRP distribution curve shown in Figure A2 will be used. No UE EIRP distribution data exists for operation above 20 dBm. Therefore no coordination requests will be submitted or analyzed for UE operations above 20 dBm until such time that a data distribution is agreed upon by revision of this agreement.

FIGURE A-2 – CSMAC WG1 UE EIRP Distribution Curve.

TABLE A-1 – CSMAC WG1 UE Power Distribution in Tabular Form.

A.3.10. Network Loading. Network loading will be assumed to be 60% for sectors in urban areas and 40% for sectors in rural areas. Network loading will be factored into the analysis by a simple shift (reduction) of the EIRP distributions by 2.2 dB and 4.0 dB for urban and rural sectors, respectively.

A.3.11. UE Antenna Gain. A UE antenna gain of -3 dBi will be used for the analysis as it is already incorporated in the CSMAC WG 1 UE EIRP distribution shown in Figure A2 and Table A-1.

A.3.12. Indoor/Outdoor UE Operation. The UE transmit power distribution defined in paragraph 3.8 is assumed to include losses associated with both indoor and outdoor operation of the UE. The DOC analysis will not distinguish between indoor and outdoor operations and will not consider any additional losses associated with indoor operation.

A.3.13. Head, Body and Other Losses. The UE transmit power distribution defined in paragraph 3.8 is assumed to include losses associated with UE head, body, and other losses. Head, body and other losses not defined herein will not be considered in the DOC analysis.

A.3.14. Meteorological Satellite Earth Station Interference Protection Criteria. A protection criterion of an Interference-to-Noise Ratio (I/N) equal to -10 dB will be used for the DOC analysis.

A.3.15. Antenna. Electronics Overload. In addition to applying the Interference protection criteria of an I/N = -10 dB to the protection of the METSAT, the DOC analysis will consider overload effects of the antenna electronics prior to the receiver. This is particularly important where Resource Block Blanking may reduce co-channel power to prevent interference, but RF power in other portions of the 1695-1710 MHz may still impact NOAA meteorological satellite receiver operations.

A.3.16. Geostationary Satellite Operations. Adjacent band interference analysis will be conducted to verify protection to NOAA operations that receive data from geostationary satellites using the 1670-1695 MHz frequency band. Those Federal earth stations are listed below. All bandwidths are given as the -3dB bandwidth.

A.3.14.1. Table of Federal stations TBD, pending verification of accuracy.

A.3.14.2. Geostationary Satellite Receive Antenna Pointing Angles. The analysis for each location listed above will be conducted using receive antenna pointing angles associated with the geostationary satellite orbital locations of 75W, 89.5 W, 105W, and 137W.

A.3.17. Polar Satellite Operations. All bandwidths are given as the -3dB bandwidth.

A.3.17.1. Table of Federal stations TBD, pending verification of accuracy.

A.3.17.2. Polar Satellite Receive Antenna Pointing. With the exception of cases where known physical obstructions may exist in specific directions on the horizon, the analysis will consider all receive antenna azimuths for elevation angles of five (5) degrees and greater. In cases where physical obstructions exist, the minimum elevation angle is defined by the elevation angle at the top of the obstruction.

A.3.17.3. Polar Satellite Signals. The analysis to evaluate the coordination request will consider the satellites and signals provided below. These frequencies and bandwidths are defined only for purposes of formal coordination analysis.

A.3.17.4. Current Polar Operations. The NOAA 15, NOAA 18 and NOAA 19 satellites operate downlinks at center frequencies of 1698.0 MHz, 1702.5 MHz and 1707.0 MHz. The Metop 1 and Metop 2 satellites operate downlinks at center frequencies of 1701.3 MHz and 1707.0 MHz.

All antennas used for polar operations reception within the 15 protection zones receive High-Resolution Picture Transmission (HRPT) signals from the current NOAA 15, NOAA 18, and NOAA 19 satellites. The NOAA satellite HRPT signal operates at a 3.3 MHz bandwidth (3 dB) on one of the three downlink frequencies. For operational reasons, the frequency used for HRPT is not fixed, and can be changed between any of the three center frequencies.

All antennas used for polar operations reception within the 15 protection zones receive Advanced High Resolution Picture Transmission (AHRPT) signals from the current Metop 1 and Metop 2 satellites. The Metop satellite operates with a 4.5 MHz bandwidth (3dB) on one of the two downlink frequencies. For operational reasons, the frequency used for HRPT is not fixed, and can be changed between either of the center frequencies.

In addition to reception of the HRPT downlinks at all locations, the Wallops Island Command and Data Acquisition Station (CDAS) and the Fairbanks CDAS receive additional downlinks by commanding the satellites to transmit high resolution stored mission data (SMD). These SMD downlinks are operated at a bandwidth of 5.3 MHz (3dB) on the two remaining frequencies on the NOAA satellites and the single remaining frequency on the Metop satellites.

Information on current NOAA operations may be found at http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Operations/POES/status.html.

Current information on Metop Operations can be found at http://database.eohandbook.com/database/missionsummary.aspx?missionID=231.

A.3.17.5. Future Polar Operations. Licensee operations and mitigation techniques must protect future satellite missions with new operational parameters as well. Several of the NOAA JPSS-series of satellites may use the 1695-1710 MHz frequency band for two six (6) MHz bandwidth signals centered at 1698 MHz and 1707 MHz, and a 1.8 MHz bandwidth signal centered at 1697.5 MHz. The Metop 3 satellite will use downlinks matching the Metop 1 and Metop 2 satellites, and future Metop satellites may continue to use spectrum in 1695-1710 MHz. The Department of Commerce will provide information on future missions as it becomes available, enabling the Licensee to adjust their operations.

A.3.18. Meteorological Satellite Antennas. Coordination analysis will consider all antennas and receivers within a protection zone and coordination will be granted based on the most susceptible antennas.

A.3.19. Meteorological Satellite Federal Earth Station Antenna Pattern. The antenna pattern of the meteorological earth station antenna will be modeled using the Joint Spectrum Center Statgain algorithm. Statgain calculates an antenna gain pattern for rotationally symmetric antennas based on the input parameters of main beam gain, maximum gain, and off-axis angle.

FIGURE A-3 – Meteorological Satellite Statgain Modelled Antenna Gain Pattern.

A.3.20. Active UEs per Sector. Three (3) active UEs per sector per 5 MHz of bandwidth (i.e., A1 Block will assume 3 UEs per sector; B1 Block will assume 6 UE’s per sector) will be used in the analysis unless the Licensee submits data that indicates a different value should be used. The Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter will limit Licensee operations to the equivalent aggregate power produced by the number of active UEs per sector that is used in the coordination analysis.

A.3.21. Active Coordinated Multi-Base Station Interference Control. TBD Comment by Ivan Navarro: Section deleted, pending information from Licensees.

A.3.22. Multiple Licensees Operating in a Protection Zone. There are a number of DOC protection zones that are divided geographically between two or more licensees, and/or where the A1 Block and the B1 Block are held by different licensees. In the absence of an apportionment approach agreed by all involved licensees, DOC will apportion the interference budget as described herein. DOC will accept a different apportionment approach provided that, 1) it does not result in a total aggregate interference budget higher than an I/N = -10 dB, and 2) the proposed approach is agreed upon in writing by all licensees within the protection zone.

A.3.22.1. Interference Budget Apportionment Between License Blocks. In cases where the A1 Block and the B1 Block are assigned to different licensees, the interference budget (I/N = -10 dB) will be apportioned such that one-third is assigned to the 5 MHz wide A1 Block and two-thirds is assigned to the 10 MHz wide B1 block.

A.3.22.2. Interference Budget Apportionment between Multiple Licensees within a Block. In cases where the geographic area within a protection zone is divided between two or more licensees, the interference budget will be apportioned based on the percentage of the population applicable to a license block held by each licensee relative to the total population in the protection zone.

A.3.23. LSAT Confidence Level. For the proposed LTE deployment being modeled, the LSAT tool provides an I/N distribution for each receiver antenna orientation. A point on the curve corresponding to a specified percentile is used to calculate the Interference Conflict Margin (ICM = I/N (@percentile) – Threshold). The percentile used for DOC analysis is the 95% point on the LSAT output.

A.4. Changes in Licensee Operations.

The Licensee must submit a new coordination request if they modify network operational parameters that would:

· Potentially increase the aggregate RF power transmitted within the protection zone;

· Increase network loading above the values provided in the original coordination request;

· Modify base station parameters to support UE operations in geographic areas not originally included in the original coordination request;

· Increase the adjacent band unwanted emissions in 1670-1695 MHz;

· Increase unwanted emissions in a bandwidth where Resource Block Blanking is employed as a mitigation technique; or

· Any other change that could potentially change predicted interference levels at protected DOC Federal earth stations.

A.5. Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter.

Upon completion of successful coordination analysis, DOC will provide the Licensee a Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter that defines any specific details that arise from the coordination request. This agreement must be signed by both DOC and the Licensee before action on a coordination request is complete. The generic framework for the Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter is provided in Annex C.

A-12

Annex B

METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE AND MONITORING SYSTEM OPERATIONS

B.1.0 Monitoring System Introduction Per the AWS-3 Transition Plan, DOC will deploy a radio frequency interference monitoring system (also known as the RFIMS or Monitoring System) to 17 earth station sites within the 15 protection zones.

The purpose of the Monitoring System is to enable successful spectrum sharing between DOC and AWS-3 wireless carrier licensees (aka Licensees). The RFIMS will collect RF information and make it available to DOC operational personnel and the Licensees, when appropriate. So that interference can be avoided; and when it cannot be avoided, the interference is immediately mitigated.

B.1.1 Monitoring System Scope The scope of the Monitoring System is to enable sharing of the frequency spectrum between the DOC and Licensees as a result of the auction of the 1695 – 1710 megahertz (MHz) band, ensuring satellite downlink integrity is not compromised while allowing the Licensees to commercial access to the frequency band.

For the purposes of this coordination agreement, an interference event is defined as: Any AWS-3 signal or combination of signals (i.e. aggregate) detected above -10 dB INR more than 10% of monitoring samples in the 1 second (TBD) time frame.

The Monitoring System will perform four functions related to interference events. It will detect RF interference events in real-time, classify the nature of radio frequency (RF) interference, identify the source(s) of interference, and notify both the monitoring system operators, and the wireless carriers, of imminent or actual interference. Where the definition of each function is:

· Detect: The Monitoring System will detect, in real-time, “interference events” in which the interference level lies at or above a prescribed protection threshold power level, during Federal earth station downlink reception.

· Classify: The Monitoring System will classify, in real-time, the nature of RF interference events. Where “classify” is the discrimination between 1695 – 1710 MHz User Equipment (UE) uplink signals and all other radio frequency interference (RFI) such as background impulsive noise and out-of-band emissions from other RF sources.

· Identify: If the Monitoring System classifies the RF interference events to be 1695 – 1710 MHz LTE UE uplink signal interference, then the system will identify the source(s) of interference. Where “source” is defined as the wireless carrier responsible for the tower or sector managing the UE(s) transmissions causing the interference.

· Notify: The Monitoring System will notify the Federal monitoring system operators, and the wireless carriersLicensee, that wireless carriers are creating imminent or actual interferenceof interference detection, classification and identification to the Federal earth stations as the monitoring system completes each function..

The Monitoring System will consolidate the data from all the satellite receivers from the 17 Federal earth station locations to a single operations center so that a DOC operator at a centralized location can access, analyze, and archive this data and generate periodic interference assessment reports. It is this single location that will perform the interactions both electronic and engineer-to-engineer with the Licensees to resolve interference events.

B.1.2 Concept of Operations The Licensees are expected to take immediate mitigating actions when the interference is imminent or occurring, as defined as follows:

When the Licensees AWS-3 operations exceed an -10 dB Interference-to-Noise Ratio (I/N) (or resulting in a noise floor increase of no more than 0.4 dB) in a protected receiver, as measured at the Federal earth station receiver input, when the tracking antenna is greater than five (5) degrees elevation.

B.2.0 Monitoring System Operations The Monitoring System deployed by DOC will collect information regarding any signal interfering with the DOC satellite downlinks. The Monitoring System will operate continuously to monitor receiver performance at each of the Federal earth stations. The Licensees will continuously monitor the Monitoring System output while operating within the Federal Protection Zone.

B.2.1 Data Reporting As a normal part of the Monitoring System operations, the applicable satellite ground stations’ receiver performance data will be made available to the Licensee in order for them to immediately mitigate any imminent or actual interference to DOC operations.

The data will be made available to the Licensees by electronic means. DOC will manage a RFIMS website on the internet to provide this data in real-time.

Note: An Interface Control Document (ICD) will be developed and provided to the NOAA describing the interface in detail 30 days (TBD) after the signing of this agreement by the parties. The ICD will define in technical detail all the possible inputs to and all potential outputs from their network control system, as well as other technical aspects of the interface to facilitate its design and implementation.

The content of the data provided by the RFIMS system to the Licensees via the web interface will be:

· Real-time RF spectrum data for each of the receivers’ bandwidth in the form of graphical displays for each of the 17 DOC satellite earth stations as detected from the satellite receiver antenna(s).

· Real-time satellite receiver’s statistical data in engineering units for each of the 17 DOC satellite earth stations.

· The engineering data are items such as the receiver noise floor. The content of the engineering data are identified in the ICD.

· Real-time event textual display for each of the 17 DOC satellite earth stations for routine logging and interference event alarms:

Routine logging will include items such as:

· RFIMS Equipment status

· Interference event alarm information will contain items, such as Alarm level (e.g. green, yellow, red), where YELLOW events are interference events classified as AWS-3 LTE interference; RED alarms are interference events that are classified as AWS-3 events and the identity of the interferer has been determined; GREEN events are when the RF environment has returned to a non-interfering state. Other items are identified in the ICD.

· Earth station identifier

· The antenna aperture the interference was received

· The frequency range in which the interference was received

· Start and stop time of interference

· Interference RF energy level

· Confirmation of interference type classification (i.e. AWS-3 LTE or non-AWS-3 LTE)

· Confirmation of the identity of interference source, if available, where source will be the interfering location with detailed tower(s) and/or sector(s) data associated with the interfering UE(s) (TBD) B.2.2 Actions to Mitigate Interference In the event that the data provided via the interface defined in the ICD in this section is not available, the Licensees shall assume the last known set of data is valid until interface connectivity is restored.

In the event of actual or imminent interference detected by the Monitoring System, the AWS-3 Licensee will be informed electronically of the interference event using the contact information provided in Annex D. The Licensee will acknowledge and mitigate the interference. Comment by Ivan Navarro: Discuss mechanics of notification process with Carriers.

For actual interference events, the actions to mitigate will occur within the following timelines:

· Upon detection an interference event, the monitoring system will generate and transmit an alarm

· The Licensee will acknowledge the receipt of the alarm within 5 seconds of alarm receipt

· The Licensee will mitigate the source of interference within 10 seconds of the receipt of the alarm For imminent interference events, the monitoring system sends an alarm to the wireless carriers notifying them of the observed increase in AWS-3-LTE activity over time, which if it continued at the observed rate, it would exceed the interference threshold. The monitoring system detection of imminent interference will be indicated by:

· 0.4 dB or greater in the receiver's noise floor

· Loss of link margin due to AWS-3 LTE activity

· Increase in lost bits and frames due to AWS-3 LTE activity, etc.

This alarm will indicate an imminent threat of interference caused by AWS-3-LTE activities. The actions to mitigate will occur within the following timelines:

· Upon detection an imminent interference event, the monitoring system will generate and transmit an alarm

· The Licensee will acknowledge the receipt of the alarm within 5 seconds of alarm receipt

· The Licensee will start the mitigation process of the interference source within 10 seconds of the receipt of the alarm The monitoring system will also notify the wireless carriers when a long-term trend of an increase in the receiver noise floor is detected; where the increase would eventually lead to a violation of the -10 dB I/N threshold.

· RFIMS will generate a new alarm every 24 hours until the threat is resolved by the Licensee

· The Licensee will acknowledge the receipt of the trend alarm within 5 seconds of alarm receipt

· The Licensee will start the mitigation process of the interference source within 24 hours (TBD) of the receipt of the alarm B.2.3 Monitoring System Data Use Restriction Use of the Monitoring System data does not grant the Licensee the authority to operate outside of the parameters and restrictions agreed. A change in parameters and restrictions requires that the Licensee submit a new coordination request to the Portal for consideration.

B.2.4 Real-time Interference Management Using RFIMS The licensees will use the real-time information provided by RFIMS to manage their network and potentially mitigate any source of interference cause by their uplink transmission. [Details of which will be provided by the licensee in this section]

B-1

Annex C

UNMITIGATED INTERFERENCE EVENTS

C.1 Significant Interference Events In the situation when interference occurs and actions taken under Annex B do not result in timely restoration of DOC operations, the actions defined herein and additional compliance and enforcement actions may be necessary.

C.2 Contact List Annex E contains a contact list for resolving interference to DOC operations. This list must be reviewed by the Licensee on at least a quarterly basis to ensure it is accurate, and changes submitted to the DOC Coordinator, as necessary.

C.3 Interference Source Verification DOC may review data from the Monitoring System and data from other tests to verify indications that the origin of the interference appears to be from the Licensee.

C.4 Interference Reporting Extended interference cases that are not resolved in response to RFIMS alerts will be handled by placing telephone calls to the Licensee’s contacts as soon as sufficient data is obtained to identify the source of the interference. A notification may also be provided to NTIA, including time of the interference events, their duration, their classification, and identification. If available, it may also include the location or direction of the interference events and the transmission tower associated with the interfering uplink signals. Moreover, this data may include available evidence of the severity of the effects caused by the interference events on NOAA’s operations.

C.5 Interference Resolution The Licensee will respond in a timely manner and take all necessary actions to mitigate or eliminate the source of interference within 10 seconds after being notified of the situation by DOC.

C.6 Delayed Interference Resolution In the event that the interference cannot be resolved within the required time defined in C.5, the Licensee will immediately cease all operations in the affected Protection Zone and provide DOC a time estimate and plan to prevent future interference and reestablish coordinated operations within the Protection Zone. Upon notification of delayed interference resolution, DOC may elevate the issue to the NTIA.

C.7 Mitigation Confirmation After the Licensee has mitigated the interference, DOC will confirm the issue has been resolved. If delayed interference resolution was also invoked, DOC will notify the NTIA of the resolution.

C.8 Post-Event Analysis DOC will prepare a report defining the operational impact of the interference event. The Licensee will prepare a corresponding report of the cause of the interference, steps taken to mitigate, and the results of that mitigation. If the Licensee failed to mitigate the interference, they are required to provide a plan for mitigation in the future.

C.9 Updates to Site-Specific Coordination Results Letters The information gained as a result of the post-event analysis described in C.8, above, will be used to update the Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter applicable for the affected Protection Zone, as appropriate. The updated Site-Specific Coordination Results Letter will supersede the previous versions of that letter.

C.10 Licensee Operations Data For purposes of performing interference and coordination analysis, DOC may require detailed data describing the Licensee’s operations on a routine and ad hoc basis.