PUBLIC LAW 105-33—AUG. 5, 1997 111 STAT. 267 "SEC. 337. ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PUBLIC SAFETY 47 USC 337. SERVICES LICENSES AND COMMERCIAL LICENSES. "(a) IN GENERAL.— Not later than January 1, 1998, the Commission shall allocate the electromagnetic spectrum between 746 megahertz and 806 megahertz, inclusive, as follows: "(1) 24 megahertz of that spectrum for public safety services according to the terms and conditions established by the Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Attorney General; and "(2) 36 megahertz of that spectrum for commercial use to be assigned by competitive bidding pursuant to section 309(j). "(b) ASSIGNMENT. —The Commission shall— "(1) commence assignment of the licenses for public safety services created pursuant to subsection (a) no later than September 30, 1998; and "(2) commence competitive bidding for the commercial licenses created pursuant to subsection (a) after January 1, 2001. "(c) LICENSING OF UNUSED FREQUENCIES FOR PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES.— "(1) USE OF UNUSED CHANNELS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY SERV- ICES.— Upon application by an entity seeking to provide public safety services, the Commission shall waive any requirement of this Act or its regulations implementing this Act (other than its regulations regarding harmful interference) to the extent necessary to permit the use of unassigned frequencies for the provision of public safety services by such entity. An application shall be granted under this subsection if the Commission finds that— "(A) no other spectrum allocated to public safety services is immediately available to satisfy the requested public safety service use; "(B) the requested use is technically feasible without causing harmful interference to other spectrum users entitled to protection from such interference under the Commission's regulations; "(C) the use of the unassigned frequency for the provision of public safety services is consistent with other allocations for the provision of such services in the geographic area for which the application is made; "(D) the unassigned frequency was allocated for its present use not less than 2 years prior to the date on which the application is granted; and "(E) granting such application is consistent with the public interest. " (2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall apply to any application to provide public safety services that is pending or filed on or after the date of enactment of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. "(d) CONDITIONS ON LICENSES. —In estabhshing service rules with respect to licenses granted pursuant to this section, the Commission— "(1) shall establish interference limits at the boundaries of the spectrum block and service area; "(2) shall establish any additional technical restrictions necessary to protect full-service sinalog television service and
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