§  1.950   Geographic partitioning and spectrum disaggregation.

   (a) Definitions. The terms “county and county equivalent,” “geographic
   partitioning,” and “spectrum disaggregation” as used in this section
   are defined as follows:

   (1) County and county equivalent. The terms county and county
   equivalent as used in this part are defined by Federal Information
   Processing Standards (FIPS) 6-4, which provides the names and codes
   that represent the counties and other entities treated as equivalent
   legal and/or statistical subdivisions of the 50 States, the District of
   Columbia, and the possessions and freely associated areas of the United
   States. Counties are the “first-order subdivisions” of each State and
   statistically equivalent entity, regardless of their local designations
   (county, parish, borough, etc.). Thus, the following entities are
   equivalent to counties for legal and/or statistical purposes: The
   parishes of Louisiana; the boroughs and census areas of Alaska; the
   District of Columbia; the independent cities of Maryland, Missouri,
   Nevada, and Virginia; that part of Yellowstone National Park in
   Montana; and various entities in the possessions and associated areas.
   The FIPS codes and FIPS code documentation are available online at
   http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/index.htm.

   (2) Geographic partitioning. Geographic partitioning is the assignment
   of a geographic portion of a geographic area licensee's license area.

   (3) Spectrum disaggregation. Spectrum disaggregation is the assignment
   of portions of blocks of a geographic area licensee's spectrum.

   (b) Eligibility. Covered Geographic Licenses are eligible for
   geographic partitioning and spectrum disaggregation.

   (1) Geographic partitioning. An eligible licensee may partition any
   geographic portion of its license area, at any time following grant of
   its license, subject to the following exceptions:

   (i) 220 MHz Service licensees must comply with § 90.1019 of this
   chapter.

   (ii) Cellular Radiotelephone Service licensees must comply with § 22.948
   of this chapter.

   (iii) Multichannel Video & Distribution and Data Service licensees are
   only permitted to partition licensed geographic areas along county
   borders (Parishes in Louisiana or Territories in Alaska).

   (2) Spectrum disaggregation. An eligible licensee may disaggregate
   spectrum in any amount, at any time following grant of its license to
   eligible entities, subject to the following exceptions:

   (i) 220 MHz Service licensees must comply with § 90.1019 of this
   chapter.

   (ii) Cellular Radiotelephone Service licensees must comply with § 22.948
   of this chapter.

   (iii) VHF Public Coast (156-162 MHz) spectrum may only be disaggregated
   in frequency pairs, except that the ship and coast transmit frequencies
   comprising Channel 87 (see § 80.371(c) of this chapter) may be
   disaggregated separately.

   (iv) Disaggregation is not permitted in the Multichannel Video &
   Distribution and Data Service 12.2-12.7 GHz band.

   (c) Filing requirements. Parties seeking approval for geographic
   partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both must
   apply for a partial assignment of authorization by filing FCC Form 603
   pursuant to § 1.948. Each request for geographic partitioning must
   include an attachment defining the perimeter of the partitioned area by
   geographic coordinates to the nearest second of latitude and longitude,
   based upon the 1983 North American Datum (NAD83). Alternatively,
   applicants may specify an FCC-recognized service area (e.g., Basic
   Trading Area, Economic Area, Major Trading Area, Metropolitan Service
   Area, or Rural Service Area), county, or county equivalent, in which
   case, applicants need only list the specific FCC-recognized service
   area, county, or county equivalent names comprising the partitioned
   area.

   (d) Relocation of incumbent licensees. Applicants for geographic
   partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both must,
   if applicable, include a certification with their partial assignment of
   authorization application stating which party will meet any incumbent
   relocation requirements, except as otherwise stated in service-specific
   rules.

   (e) License term. The license term for a partitioned license area or
   disaggregated spectrum license is the remainder of the original
   licensee's license term.

   (f) Frequency coordination. Any existing frequency coordination
   agreements convey with the partial assignment of authorization for
   geographic partitioning, spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of
   both, and shall remain in effect for the term of the agreement unless
   new agreements are reached.

   (g) Performance requirements. Parties to geographic partitioning,
   spectrum disaggregation, or a combination of both, have two options to
   satisfy service-specific performance requirements (i.e., construction
   and operation requirements). Under the first option, each party may
   certify that it will individually satisfy any service-specific
   requirements and, upon failure, must individually face any
   service-specific performance penalties. Under the second option, both
   parties may agree to share responsibility for any service-specific
   requirements. Upon failure to meet their shared service-specific
   performance requirements, both parties will be subject to any
   service-specific penalties.

   (h) Unjust enrichment. Licensees making installment payments or that
   received a bidding credit, that partition their licenses or
   disaggregate their spectrum to entities that do not meet the
   eligibility standards for installment payments or bidding credits, are
   subject to the unjust enrichment requirements of § 1.2111.

   [ 82 FR 41546 , Sept. 1, 2017]