NOTE: Subject to final minor editorial review

PROTOCOL BETWEEN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE SECRETARIAT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES CONCERNING THE ALLOTMENT AND USE OF THE 698-806 MHz BAND FOR TERRESTRIAL NON-BROADCASTING RADIOCOMMUNICATION SERVICES ALONG THE COMMON BORDER

This Protocol is being concluded pursuant to the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Mexican States Concerning the Allocation and Use of Frequency Bands by Terrestrial Non-Broadcasting Radiocommunication Services along the Common Border, signed at Williamsburg, Virginia, June 16, 1994 (herein referred to as the "Agreement").

ARTICLE I. Purposes

The purposes of this Protocol are:

1. To establish and adopt a plan for the equitable allotment and use of frequency sub-bands in the 698-806 MHz band within the Sharing Zone defined in this Protocol;

2. To establish technical criteria that will permit each Administration to regulate the use of the frequency sub-bands referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article;

3. To establish conditions of use so that each Administration may use the frequency sub-bands allotted to the other country, provided this causes no harmful interference to stations operating within the other country; and

4. To continue interference protection for broadcasting services in both countries in a manner consistent with the terms set forth in the "Agreement Relating to Assignments and Usage of Television Broadcasting Channels in the Frequency Range 470-806 MHz (Channels 14-69) along the United States-Mexico border," signed by the United States and Mexico at Mexico City June 18, 1982, as amended (hereinafter the "1982 Agreement"), and the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America and the Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes of the United Mexican States related to the use of the 54-72 MHz, 76-88 MHz, 174-216 MHz and 470-806 MHz bands for digital television broadcasting service along the common border," signed at Mexico City July 22, 1998 (hereinafter the "1998 Memorandum") until these instruments are replaced by new instruments, or are modified or terminated.

ARTICLE II. Definitions

1. For the purpose of this Protocol and as provided for in Article IV of the Agreement, the term "Administration" or "Administrations" shall refer with equal effect to the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America (hereinafter "FCC") and the Secretaroa de Comunicaciones y Transportes of the United Mexican States (hereinafter "SCT").

2. For the purpose of this Protocol, the term "Sharing Zone" is defined to include the border areas within the United States and Mexico and their respective territorial waters as set forth in Appendix I.

3. For the purpose of this Protocol, the term "television station" is defined to include an assignment or allotment in the television broadcasting service, analog or digital.

4. For the purpose of this Protocol, the term "counterpart operators" is defined to include operators of communications networks operating in certain frequency sub-bands in the 698-806 MHz band with geographic coverage areas situated contiguous to each other and authorized by the Administrations to use the same sub-bands or portions of the same sub-bands.

ARTICLE III. Conditions of Use for Radiocommunication Services

1. For the frequency sub-bands 764-776 MHz and 794-806 MHz (TV Channels 63-64 and 68-69):

a. In the Sharing Zone, the frequencies in these sub-bands shall be allotted for the primary use of each Administration in accordance with Appendix II. Each Administration shall ensure that stations in its national territory are assigned and operated in such a way that the transmission bandwidth on radio channels shall not exceed the primary frequency allotments for that country in Appendix II.
b. Each Administration shall ensure that radiocommunication stations in these sub-bands that are assigned to primary frequency allotments within the Sharing Zone shall be operated in accordance with the effective radiated power (ERP) and antenna height limitations specified in the following table (Table I):

Table I

¹ Standard radials are 000^o, 045^o, 090^o, 135^o, 180^o, 225^o, 270^o and 315^o, relative to True North.

c. Frequencies in these sub-bands that are allotted for the

primary use of one Administration may be assigned by the other Administration to

stations located within the latter Administration's territorial segment of the Sharing

Zone under the following conditions:

(i) The maximum power flux density (PFD) at any point at or beyond the common border shall not exceed -120 dBW/m² per 1 kHz;
(ii) Counterpart operators of communications networks in these frequency sub-bands (764-776 MHz and 794-806 MHz) may exceed the maximum PFD in subparagraph 1.c.i above if all potentially affected counterpart operators in the other country agree to a different PFD and approval is obtained from the appropriate Administration;
(iii) Each Administration shall take appropriate measures to eliminate any harmful interference caused by stations operating within its own territory to stations operating on frequency sub-bands allotted on a primary basis to the other country pursuant to this Protocol; and
(iv) Stations operating under this provision
(subparagraph 1.c of Article III) shall be considered as secondary and shall not be granted protection against harmful interference from stations whose Administration has primary use of the frequency allotment as long as the stations on the primary frequency allotment operate in accordance with the technical limitations in subparagraphs 1.a and 1.b of this Article.
d. Beyond the Sharing Zone, the Administrations' use of the 764-776 MHz and 794-806 MHz frequency sub-bands shall in no way be restricted under this Protocol.

2. For the frequency sub-bands 698-764 MHz and 776-794 MHz (TV Channels 52-62 and 65-67):
a. All frequencies in these sub-bands are available to both Administrations on an equal basis for the provision of radiocommunication services within their respective national territories within the Sharing Zone in accordance with the following conditions:
(i) The maximum power flux density (PFD) at any point at or beyond the common border of all emissions shall not exceed -106 dBW/m² within the authorized bandwidth;
(ii) Both Administrations shall take appropriate measures to eliminate harmful interference to stations operating in the frequency sub-bands allotted under this paragraph (Article III, paragraph 2);
(iii) Measurements of transmitter power output shall be made in accordance with Appendix III;
(iv) The Administrations shall authorize counterpart operators in these frequency sub-bands (698-764 MHz and 776-794 MHz) to take the following actions:
1. Coordinate appropriate technical and operational network parameters when necessary to provide for cross-border roaming or other collaborative operations;
2. Exceed the PFD provided in subparagraph 2.a.i of this Article based upon a mutual understanding among the counterpart operators and based upon prior notification of the terms of the mutual understanding to the two Administrations;
3. Continue operations with a PFD greater than - 106 dBW/m² within the authorized bandwidth either until the operator notifies its counterpart operator(s) that the mutual understanding referred to in the prior subparagraph (subparagraph 2.a.iv.2 of this Article) is cancelled or until the operator is notified by the appropriate Administration to return to the PFD required in subparagraph 2.a.i; and
(v) The maximum out-of-band emission in the sub-bands 764-776 MHz and 794-806 MHz shall not exceed -120 dBW/m² per 1 kHz at any point at or beyond the common border.
b. Beyond the Sharing Zone, the Administrationso use of the 698-764 MHz and 776-794 MHz frequency sub-bands shall in no way be restricted under this Protocol.

ARTICLE IV. Transition and Protection of the Television Broadcasting Service

1. The protection to which this Article refers is intended to be provided consistent with the terms set forth in the 1982 Agreement, as amended, as well as the 1998 Memorandum until these instruments are replaced by new instruments, or are modified or terminated.

2. Assignments in the radiocommunication services in the band 698-806 MHz shall protect analog and digital television stations in accordance with the following desired-to-undesired (D/U) signal ratios:

a. For analog television stations. The minimum D/U ratio is 40 decibels (dB) for the co-channel case and 0 dB for the adjacent channel case. The minimum D/U ratio must be satisfied within the 64 dBoV/m coverage contour of the analog television station; if this contour extends beyond the common border, the minimum D/U ratio will be calculated at the common border. The interference criteria to be used for this provision (subparagraph 2.a of Article IV), is based on 50% of all locations no more than 10% of the time; and
b. For digital television stations. The minimum D/U ratio is 17 dB for the co-channel case and -23 dB for the adjacent channel case. The minimum D/U ratio must be satisfied within the 41 dBoV/m contour of the digital television station; if this contour extends beyond the common border, the minimum D/U ratio will be calculated at the common border. The interference criteria to be used for this provision (subparagraph 2.b of Article IV), is based on 50% of all locations no more than 10% of the time.

3. In order to promote spectrum efficiency under the terms of this Protocol, both Administrations will make their best efforts to support transitioning digital television stations to the 54-72 MHz, 76-88 MHz, 174-216 MHz and
470-698 MHz bands (TV Channels 2-51).

ARTICLE V. Appendices

Appendices I, II, and III are integral parts of this Protocol.

ARTICLE VI. Entry into Force and Termination

This Protocol shall enter into force on the last date of signature affixed below. It shall remain in force until it is replaced by a new or amended protocol, or until it is terminated in accordance with Article VII of the Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the respective representatives sign the present Protocol.

Signed at Mexico City on this first day of November, 2006, and at Antalya, Turkey, on this eighth day of November, 2006, in duplicate in the English and Spanish languages, both texts being equally authentic.

Areas Within Which the Frequencies Are to Be Protected

U.S.-MEXICO SHARING ZONE 

The Sharing Zone is defined as the areas covered by a distance of 110 kilometers (68.35 Miles) from the U.S.-Mexico common border into the national territory of each country and includes areas of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

These areas are enclosed by the boundaries shown on the map below and are further defined in Table II.

Table II

The following geographic coordinates (corresponding to NAD83) define the U.S.-Mexico Sharing Zone in the national territory of each country. Point 1 is located in the Pacific Ocean due west from the U.S.-Mexico common border and defines the starting point of the Sharing Zone. The boundary of the Sharing Zone is then defined by plotting each geographic point in advancing numerical order in a clockwise direction.

APPENDIX II

Allotment of Frequency Sub-bands

in the 764-776 MHz and 794-806 MHz bands
(TV Channels 63-64 and 68-69)

APPENDIX III

Measurement of Transmitter Power Output

Maximum (peak) composite transmitter power output shall be measured over any interval of continuous transmission using instrumentation calibrated in terms of root mean square (RMS) equivalent voltage. The measurement results shall be adjusted appropriately for any instrument limitations such as variations in detector times, limited resolution bandwidth capability when compared to the emission bandwidth, or other related characteristics, in order to obtain a true maximum composite measurement for the emission in question over the full bandwidth of the channel.