(a) The United States Table of Frequency Allocations (United States Table) is subdivided into the Federal Table of Frequency Allocations (Federal Table, column 4 of §2.106) and the non-Federal Table of Frequency Allocations (non-Federal Table, column 5 of §2.106). The United States Table is based on the Region 2 Table because the relevant area of jurisdiction is located primarily in Region 21 (i.e., the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Caribbean insular areas,2 and some of the Pacific insular areas).3 The Federal Table is administered by NTIA4 and the non-Federal Table is administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).5
1See 2.104(b) for definitions of the ITU Regions.
2The operation of stations in the U.S. insular areas located in Region 2 is generally governed by the United States Table. The U.S. insular areas located in Region 2 are comprised of the Caribbean insular areas and two of the eleven Pacific insular areas. The Caribbean insular areas are Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and Navassa Island. The Pacific insular areas located in Region 2 are Johnston Atoll and Midway Atoll.
3The operation of stations in the Pacific insular areas located in Region 3 is generally governed by the Region 3 Table (i.e., column 3 of §2.106). The Pacific insular areas located in Region 3 are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Island, and Wake Island.
4Section 305(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. See Public Law 102-538, 106 Stat. 3533 (1992).
5The Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
(b) In the United States, radio spectrum may be allocated to either Federal or non-Federal use exclusively, or for shared use. In the case of shared use, the type of service(s) permitted need not be the same [e.g., Federal FIXED, non-Federal MOBILE]. The terms used to designate categories of services and allocations6 in columns 4 and 5 of §2.106 correspond to the terms in the ITU Radio Regulations.
6The radio services are defined in 47 CFR 2.1.
(c) Category of services.
(1) Any segment of the radio spectrum may be allocated to the Federal and/or non-Federal sectors either on an exclusive or shared basis for use by one or more radio services. In the case where an allocation has been made to more than one service, such services are listed in the following order:
(i) Services, the names of which are printed in “capitals” [example: FIXED]; these are called “primary” services;
(ii) Services, the names of which are printed in “normal characters” [example: Mobile]; these are called “secondary” services.
(2) Stations of a secondary service:
(i) Shall not cause harmful interference to stations of primary services to which frequencies are already assigned or to which frequencies may be assigned at a later date;
(ii) Cannot claim protection from harmful interference from stations of a primary service to which frequencies are already assigned or may be assigned at a later date; and
(iii) Can claim protection, however, from harmful interference from stations of the same or other secondary service(s) to which frequencies may be assigned at a later date.
(d) Format of the United States Table.
(1) The frequency band referred to in each allocation, column 4 for Federal operations and column 5 for non-Federal operations, is indicated in the left-hand top corner of the column. If there is no service or footnote indicated for a frequency band in column 4, then the Federal sector has no access to that band except as provided for by §2.103. If there is no service or footnote indicated for a frequency band in column 5, then the non-Federal sector has no access to that band except as provided for by §2.102.
(2) When the type of service(s) permitted and any applicable footnote(s) are the same for a frequency band in the Federal Table and the non-Federal Table, columns 4 and 5 are merged, indicating that the frequency band is shared between the Federal and non-Federal sectors under the same conditions.
(3) The Federal Table, given in column 4, is included for informational purposes only.
(4) In the case where there is a parenthetical addition to an allocation in the United States Table [example: FIXED-SATELLITE (space-to-earth)], that service allocation is restricted to the type of operation so indicated.
(5) The following symbols are used to designate footnotes in the United States Table:
(i) Any footnote number consisting of “5.” followed by one or more digits,7 e.g., 5.53, denotes an international footnote. Where an international footnote is applicable, without modification, to both Federal and non-Federal operations, the Commission places the footnote in both the Federal Table and the non-Federal Table (columns 4 and 5) and the international footnote is binding on both Federal users and non-Federal licensees. If, however, an international footnote pertains to a service allocated only for Federal or non-Federal use, the international footnote will be placed only in the affected Table. For example, footnote 5.142 pertains only to the amateur service, and thus, footnote 5.142 is shown only in the non-Federal Table.
7In some cases, a letter, or letters, may be appended to the digit(s) of a footnote number in order to preserve the sequential order.
(ii) Any footnote consisting of the letters “US” followed by one or more digits,7 e.g., US7, denotes a stipulation affecting both Federal and non-Federal operations. United States footnotes appear in both the Federal Table and the non-Federal Table.
(iii) Any footnote consisting of the letters “NG” followed by one or more digits,7 e.g., NG2, denotes a stipulation applicable only to non-Federal operations. Non-Federal footnotes appear solely in the non-Federal Table (column 5).
(iv) Any footnote consisting of the letters “G” followed by one or more digits,7 e.g., G2, denotes a stipulation applicable only to Federal operations. Federal footnotes appear solely in the Federal Table (column 4).
(6) The coordinates of latitude and longitude that are listed in United States, Federal, and non-Federal footnotes are referenced to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83).
(e) Rule part cross-references. If a frequency or frequency band has been allocated to a radiocommunication service in the non-Federal Table, then a cross reference may be added to the pertinent FCC Rule part (column 6 of §2.106) or, where greater specificity would be useful, to the pertinent subpart. For example, the band 849-851 MHz is allocated to the aeronautical mobile service for non-Federal use, rules for the use of the 849-851 MHz band have been added to part 22—Public Mobile Services (47 CFR part 22), and a cross reference, Public Mobile (22), has been added in column 6 of §2.106. The exact use that can be made of any given frequency or frequency band (e.g., channeling plans, allowable emissions, etc.) is given in the FCC Rule part(s) so indicated. The FCC Rule parts in this column are not allocations, may apply to only a portion of a band, and are provided for informational purposes only. This column also may contain explanatory notes for informational purposes only.
Note 1 to paragraph (e): The radio frequency devices authorized pursuant to 47 CFR part 15 are not based on allocated radio services. In the Allocation Table, the cross references to part 15 are used to note those frequency bands that are most typically associated with unlicensed use.
(f) The FCC Online Table of Frequency Allocations is updated shortly after a final rule that amends §2.106 is released. The address for the FCC Radio Spectrum Home Page, which includes the FCC Online Table and the FCC Allocation History File, is http://www.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum.
[65 FR 4640, Jan. 31, 2000, as amended at 70 FR 46587, Aug. 10, 2005; 73 FR 25421, May 6, 2008; 75 FR 62933, Oct. 13, 2010; 85 FR 38633, June 26, 2020]
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