On March 8, 2022, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (collectively “Bureaus”) released a Public Notice reminding incumbent fixed microwave operators in the 6 GHz band of the importance of maintaining accurate information in the Universal Licensing System (“ULS”). You may recall that in the 6 GHz Report and Order, the FCC permitted unlicensed standard-power operations in the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 Bands (5.925–6.425 GHz and 6.525–6.875 GHz, respectively) through the use of an automated frequency coordination (“AFC”) system to protect incumbent fixed microwave operations from harmful interference. The AFC systems utilize the information from ULS to determine which channels are available in an operating area so that unlicensed users may operate without causing harmful interference to nearby microwave links. The AFC systems will download the ULS database daily to ensure that the most current data is used to coordinate links.
A recent examination of ULS has revealed that a number of license records contain missing, clearly erroneous, or conflicting information. The Bureaus ask that licensees confirm that their ULS records are current and complete (as required by the terms of their license) and that they reflect actual operations to ensure that incumbent fixed microwave licensees are protected from harmful interference from both new unlicensed 6 GHz standard power access points and new fixed microwave links that may have access to the band. If a licensee determines that its actual operations differ from the FCC’s records, it should modify its license in accordance with the FCC’s rules to ensure that its operations are properly authorized and protected from harmful interference. Major modifications to a license will require evidence of successful frequency coordination.
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