Sec.  1.946   Construction and coverage requirements.

   (a) Construction and commencement of service requirements. For each of the
   Wireless Radio Services, requirements for construction and commencement of
   service or commencement of operations are set forth in the rule part
   governing the specific service. For purposes of this section, the period
   between the date of grant of an authorization and the date of required
   commencement of service or operations is referred to as the construction
   period.

   (b) Coverage and substantial service requirements. In certain Wireless Radio
   Services, licensees must comply with geographic coverage requirements or
   substantial service requirements within a specified time period. These
   requirements are set forth in the rule part governing each specific service.
   For purposes of this section, the period between the date of grant of an
   authorization and the date that a particular degree of coverage or
   substantial service is required is referred to as the coverage period.

   (c) Termination of authorizations. If a licensee fails to commence service
   or operations by the expiration of its construction period or to meet its
   coverage or substantial service obligations by the expiration of its
   coverage period, its authorization terminates automatically, without
   specific Commission action, on the date the construction or coverage period
   expires.

   (d) Licensee notification of compliance. A licensee who commences service or
   operations within the construction period or meets its coverage or
   substantial service obligations within the coverage period must notify the
   Commission by filing FCC Form 601. The notification must be filed with the
   Commission within 15 days of the expiration of the applicable construction
   or coverage period. Where the authorization is site-specific, if service or
   operations have begun using some, but not all, of the authorized
   transmitters, the notification must show to which specific transmitters it
   applies. This notification requirement is not applicable to authorizations
   subject to post-license registration requirements under the Dedicated
   Short-Range Communication Service (DSRCS), subpart M of part 90 of this
   chapter.

   (e) Requests for extension of time. Licensees may request to extend a
   construction period or coverage period by filing FCC Form 601. The request
   must be filed before the expiration of the construction or coverage period.

   (1) An extension request may be granted if the licensee shows that failure
   to meet the construction or coverage deadline is due to involuntary loss of
   site or other causes beyond its control.

   (2) Extension requests will not be granted for failure to meet a
   construction or coverage deadline due to delays caused by a failure to
   obtain financing, to obtain an antenna site, or to order equipment in a
   timely manner. If the licensee orders equipment within 90 days of its
   initial license grant, a presumption of diligence is established.

   (3) Extension requests will not be granted for failure to meet a
   construction or coverage deadline because the licensee undergoes a transfer
   of control or because the licensee intends to assign the authorization. The
   Commission will not grant extension requests solely to allow a transferee or
   assignee to complete facilities that the transferor or assignor failed to
   construct.

   (4) The filing of an extension request does not automatically extend the
   construction or coverage period unless the request is based on involuntary
   loss of site or other circumstances beyond the licensee's control, in which
   case the construction period is automatically extended pending disposition
   of the extension request.

   (5) A request for extension of time to construct a particular transmitter or
   other facility does not extend the construction period for other
   transmitters and facilities under the same authorization.

   [ 63 FR 68933 , Dec. 14, 1998, as amended at  69 FR 46397 , Aug. 3, 2004]