Canada, U.S. Agree To Deploy Public Safety Tv Channels At Border
An arrangementto deploy public safety systems in THE 764-776 MHz (TV channels 63 and 64)frequency bands (TV channels 63 and 64) and 794-806 MHz (TV channels 68 and 69) bands near the U.S.-Canada border will provide public safety licensees with additional spectrum, interference-free operations and interoperability, and the opportunity to develop robust and highly reliable public safety systems.
The U.S. and Canada agreed to amend the 1962 United States-Canada Agreement concerning coordination and use of radio frequencies above 30 megacycles per second. The new arrangement that will be administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Industry Canada.
The border area is divided into three sharing zones. In these zones, the arrangement specifies which narrowband and wideband frequencies are primary for United States and which are primary for Canada. Operation on primary channels is subject to limitations on the Effective Radiated Power (ERP).
In addition, the arrangement contains restrictions to protect the other country’s TV stations. Use of the other country’s primary frequencies in the sharing zones is restricted to a maximum power flux density (pfd) at or beyond the border.
The arrangement also specifies certain frequencies for shared use along the border. These are the Interoperability Channels and the Low Power Channels. The Interoperability Channels provide the necessary common operating frequencies for Public Safety stations on both sides of the border to communicate directly with each other for instant interchange of vital public safety information. Low Power channels are available for mobile operations only and are on an unprotected basis.