(a) No radio transmitter shall be operated in the Experimental Radio Service except under and in accordance with a proper station authorization granted by the Federal Communications Commission.

(b) Persons desiring to install and operate radio transmitting equipment under this part should first submit an application for a radio station authorization in accordance with § 5.55.

(c) If installation and/or operation of the equipment may significantly impact the environment, see § 1.1307 of this chapter, an environmental assessment as defined in § 1.1311 of this chapter must be submitted with the application.

(a) To assure that necessary information is supplied in a consistent manner by all persons, standard forms are prescribed for use in connection with the majority of applications and reports submitted for Commission consideration. Standard numbered forms applicable to the Experimental Radio Service are discussed in § 5.55 and may be obtained from the Washington, D.C., Office of the Commission, or from any of its engineering field offices. Concerning matters where no standard form is applicable, the informal application procedure outlined in § 5.55(k) should be followed.

(b) Any application for radio station authorization and all correspondence relating thereto shall be submitted to the Commission's office at Washington, DC. (Applications requiring fees as set forth at part 1, subpart G of this chapter must be filed in accordance with § 0.401(b) of the rules.).

(c) Unless otherwise specified, an application shall be filed at least sixty days prior to the date on which it is desired that Commission action thereon be completed.

(d) Each application for station authorization shall be specific and complete with regard to station location, proposed equipment, power, antenna height, and operating frequency; and other information required by the application form and this part.

(e) Applications involving operation at temporary locations:

(1) When a land station or a fixed station is to remain at a single location for less than six months, the location is considered to be temporary and the procedure outlined in § 5.65 shall apply.

(2) When a land station or fixed station authorized to operate at temporary locations remains at a single location for more than six months, an application for modification of the station authorization to specify the permanent location shall be filed within thirty days after expiration of the six-month period.

(f) Unless otherwise specified in a particular case, only the original signed copy of the application shall be filed. Applications with facsimile signatures will not be accepted.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, applications, amendments thereto, and related statements of fact required by the Commission shall be personally signed by the applicant, if the applicant is an individual; by one of the partners, if the applicant is a partnership; by an officer or duly authorized employee, if the applicant is a corporation; or by a member who is an officer, if the applicant is an unincorporated association. Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact filed on behalf of eligible government entities, such as states and territories of the United States and political subdivisions thereof, the District of Columbia, and units of local government, including incorporated municipalities, shall be signed by such duly elected or appointed officials as may be competent to do so under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction.

(b) Applications, amendments thereto, and related statements of fact required by the Commission may be signed by the applicant's attorney in case of the applicant's physical disability or of his absence from the United States. The attorney shall in that event separately set forth the reason why the application is not signed by the applicant. In addition, if any matter is stated on the basis of the attorney's belief only (rather than his knowledge), he shall separately set forth his reasons for believing that such statements are true.

(c) Only the original of applications, amendments, or related statements of fact need be signed; copies may be conformed.

(d) Applications, amendments, and related statements of fact need not be submitted under oath. Willful false statements made therein, however, are punishable by fine and imprisonment, U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001, and by appropriate administrative sanctions, including revocation of station license pursuant to section 312(a)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

(a) Application for combined construction permit and radio station license for land stations and fixed stations. A separate application shall be submitted on FCC Form 442 for each base station and each fixed station. Whenever the proposed antenna exceeds 6 meters in height above the ground level or more than 6 meters in height above an existing building, the applicant must comply with the requirement of part 17 of this chapter.

(b) Application for combined construction permit and radio station license for mobile stations. An application for each mobile station comprising any specified number of mobile units to be operated in the same service and within the same geographical area, including handcarried or pack-carried units, may be combined into one application and shall be submitted on FCC Form 442.

(c) Application for modification of combined construction permit and station license. An application for modification of station authorization shall be submitted on FCC Form 442. A blanket application for modification of a group of authorizations of the same class where the modifications requested are the same for all stations covered by the application. The individual stations covered by such application shall be clearly indentified therein. However, application for modification to change location of a base or fixed station shall be filed as a separate application.

(d) Application for renewal of station authorization. Application for renewal of station license shall be submitted on FCC Form 405. A blanket application may be submitted for renewal of a group of station licenses in the same class in those cases where the renewal requested is in exact accordance with the terms of the existing authorizations. The individual stations covered by such applications shall be clearly identified thereon. Unless otherwise directed by the Commission, each application for renewal of license shall be filed at least 60 days prior to the expiration date of the license to be renewed.

(e) Application for consent to assignment of radio station authorization. Application on FCC Form 702 shall be submitted when the legal right to construct or to control the use and operation of a station is to be transferred as a result of a voluntary act (contract or other agreement) or an involuntary act (death or legal disability) of the grantee of a station authorization or by involuntary assignment of the physical property constituting the station under a court decree in bankruptcy proceedings, or other court order, or by operation of law in any other manner. Such application must be accompanied by the FCC Form 442 of which only the certification need be signed by the proposed assignee. No other information is required to be submitted on this form.

(f) Application for consent to transfer of control of Corporation holding radio station authorization. Application for consent to transfer of control shall be submitted on FCC Form 703 whenever it is proposed to change the control of acorporation holding a station authorization.

(g) Informal application. (1) An application not submitted on a standard form prescribed by the Commission is considered to be an informal application. Each informal application shall be submitted normally in letter form, and with the original signed in accordance with § 5.54. Each application shall be clear and complete within itself as to the facts presented and the action desired.

(2) An informal application for authority to operate transmitting equipment will be accepted only under the conditions set forth in § 5.56.

(a) The Commission may issue a special temporary authorization under this part in cases where a need is shown for operation of an authorized station for a limited time only, in a manner other than that specified in the existing authorization, but not in conflict with the Commission's rules.

(b) An application for special temporary authorization may be filed as an informal application in the manner prescribed by § 5.55(k) and shall contain the following information:

(1) Name and address.

(2) Need for special action.

(3) Type of operation to be conducted.

(4) Purpose of operation.

(5) Time and date of proposed operation.

(6) Class of station, call sign of station, and nature of service.

(7) Location of proposed operation.

(8) Equipment to be used, including name of manufacturer, model and number of units.

(9) Frequency(ies) desired.

(10) Plate power input to final radio frequency stage.

(11) Type of emission.

(12) Overall height of antenna structure above ground.

(c) No request for special temporary authorization will be considered unless full particulars as to the purpose for which the request is made are stated.

(a) Each applicant for an authorization in the Experimental Radio Service must enclose with the application a narrative statement describing in detail the program of research and experimentation proposed, the specific objectives sought to be accomplished; and how the program of experimentation has a reasonable promise of contribution to the development, extension, or expansion, or utilization of the radio art, or is along lines not already investigated. An applicant may request non-disclosure of proprietary information submitted under this part. These requests should follow the procedures for submission set forth in § 0.459 of this chapter.

(b) Applications involving government contracts. In addition to the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section, if the authorization is to be used for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of a contract with an agency of the United States Government, the applicant shall submit the name of the contracting agency and the contract number.

(c) Applications involving development of equipment for export purposes. In addition to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, if the authorization is to be used for the purpose of developing equipment for exportation to be employed by stations under the jurisdiction of a foreign government, the applicant shall submit the contract number and the name of the foreign government concerned.

(d) Applications involving communications essential to a research -project. The provisions of paragraph (a) of this section shall not be applicable to applications for an authorization in the Experimental Radio Service to be used for communications essential to a research project. Applicants in this service shall include as a part of the application for an authorization the following:

(1) A description of the nature of the research project being conducted.

(2) A showing that communication facilities are necessary for the research project involved.

(3) A showing that existing communication facilities are inadequate.

(a) Applications which are defective with respect to completeness of answers to required questions, execution or other matters of a purely formal character will not be received for filing by the Commission, and will be returned to the applicant with a brief statement as to the omissions.

(b) If an applicant is requested by the Commission to file any documents or information not included in the prescribed application form, a failure to comply with such request will constitute a defect in the application.

(c) Applications which are not in accordance with the Commission's rules, regulations or other requirements will be considered defective unless accompanied either (1) by a petition to amend any rule or regulation with which the application is in conflict, or (2) by a request of the applicant for waiver of, or an exception to, any rule, regulation or requirement with which the application is in conflict. Such request shall show the nature of the waiver or exception desired and set forth the reasons in support thereof.

(a) Any application may be amended or dismissed without prejudice upon request of the applicant prior to the time the application is granted or designated for hearing. Each amendment to, or request for dismissal of an application shall be signed, authenticated, and submitted in the same manner and with the same number of copies as required for the original application. All subsequent correspondence or other material which the applicant desires to have incorporated as a part of an application already filed shall be submitted in the form of an amendment to the application.

(b) Failure to prosecute an application, or failure to respond to official correspondence or request for additional information, will be cause for dismissal. Such dismissal will be without prejudice where an application has not yet been designated for hearing; such dismissal may be made with prejudice after an application has been designated for hearing.

A separate station license will be required for each class of station in the Experimental Radio Service. Application for a class of station embracing widely divergent and unrelated experimentations normally will require a separate license for each phase of the experimental program: Provided, however, That the Commission may, when circumstances warrant, issue a single license embracing the entire project.

(a) The basic license period for stations in the Experimental Radio Services is 2 years.

(b) A license will not be granted for a period longer than that which is required for completion of the experimental project. If such period is estimated to be less than 2 years, a statement to that effect by the applicant may facilitate a grant of the application. See also § 5.58.

(c) The expiration dates for licenses in the Experimental Radio Service will be distributed over the 12 calendar months, in accordance with the alphabetical distribution of the names of licensees. Hence, an initial license may be granted for a basic period of 11/2 to 21/2 years, depending on the date of grant and the alphabetical position of the name of the licensee.

(a) A change may be made in a licensed transmitter without specific authorization from the Commission provided: (1) The change does not result in operation inconsistent with any term of the outstanding authorization for the station involved; and (2) a description of the change is incorporated in the next application for renewal or modification of license.

(b) Prior authorization from the Commission is required before the following antenna changes may be made at a station at a fixed location:

(1) Any change which will either increase the height of a structure supporting the radiating portion of the antenna or decrease the height of a lighted antenna structure.

(2) Any change in the location of an antenna when such relocation involves a change in the geographic coordinates of latitude or longitude by as much as one second, or when such relocation involves a change in street address.

(a) An application for authority to operate at temporary locations shall specify the general geographical area within which the operation will be confined.

(b) When a station is authorized to operate at temporary locations, the following notification procedure shall be followed:

(1) When the station is placed in operation for the first time, the Engineer in Charge of the Radio District(s) involved shall be notified.

(2) When the station is moved from one location to another, the Engineer in Charge of the Radio District(s) involved shall be notified.

In case of a permanent discontinuance of operation of a fixed or land station in the Experimental Radio Service, or in case of permanent discontinuance of operation of all transmitter units listed in the license for a mobile station in the Experimental Radio Service, the licensee shall forward the station license to the Washington, D.C., office of the Commission for cancellation. A copy of the request for cancellation of the license shall be forwarded to the Commission's Engineer in Charge of the radio district in which the station is located.

(a) Each frequency or band of frequencies, available for assignment to stations in the Experimental Radio Service is available on a shared basis only, and will not be assigned for the exclusive use of any one applicant, and such use may also be restricted to one or more specified geographical areas. Normally not more than one frequency in a band of frequencies will be assigned for the use of a single applicant unless a showing is made demonstrating that need for the assignment of additional frequencies is essential to the proposed program of experimentation.

(b) Frequency assignments will be made only on the condition that harmful interference will not be caused to any station operating in accordance with the Table of Frequency Allocation of part 2 of this chapter.

(c) The frequencies available for use in the Experimental Radio Service are set forth in § 5.203.

(d) Protection for Federal Communications Commission monitoring stations:

(1) Applicants in the vicinity of an FCC monitoring station for a radio station authorization to operate new transmitting facilities or changed transmitting facilities which would increase the field strength produced over the monitoring station over that previously authorized are advised to give consideration, prior to filing applications, to the possible need to protectthe FCC stations from harmful interference. Geographical coordinates of the facilities which require protection are listed in § 0.121(c) of the Commission's Rules. Applications for stations (except mobile stations) which will produce on any frequency a direct wave fundamental field strength of greater than 10 mV/m in the authorized bandwidth of service (−65.8 dBW/m2 power flux density assuming a free space characteristic impedance of 120 ohms) at the referenced coordinates, may be examined to determine extent of possible interference. Depending on the theoretical field strength value and existing root-sum-square or other ambient radio field signal levels at the indicated coordinates, a clause protecting the monitoring station may be added to the station authorization.

(2) In the event that calculated value of expected field exceeds 10 mV/m (−65.8 dBW/m2) at the reference coordinates, or if there is any question whether field strength levels might exceed the threshold value, advance consultation with the FCC to discuss any protection necessary should be considered. Prospective applicants may communicate with: Chief, Compliance and Information Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, D.C. 20554, Telephone (202) 632-6980.

(3) Advance consultation is suggested particularly for those applicants who have no reliable data which indicates whether the field strength or power flux density figure indicated would be exceeded by their proposed radio facilities (except mobile stations). In such instances, the following is a suggested guide for determining whether an applicant should coordinate:

(i) All stations within 2.4 kilometers (1.5 statute miles);

(ii) Stations within 4.8 kilometers (3 statute miles) with 50 watts or more average effective radiated power (ERP) in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the Monitoring Stations.

(iii) Stations within 16 kilometers (10 statute miles) with 1 kW or more average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the Monitoring Station;

(iv) Stations within 80 kilometers (50 statute miles) with 25 kW or more average ERP in the primary plane of polarization in the azimuthal direction of the Monitoring Station;

(4) Advance coordination for stations operating above 1000 MHz is recommended only where the proposed station is in the vicinity of a monitoring station designated as a satellite monitoring facility in § 0.121(c) of the Commission's Rules and also meets the criteria outlined in paragraphs (d) (2) and (3) of this section.

(5) The Commission will not screen applications to determine whether advance consultation has taken place. However, applicants are advised that such consultation can avoid objections from the Federal Communications Commission or modification of any authorization which will cause harmful interference.

The applicant for a station in the Experimental Radio Services accepts the license with the express understanding: (a) That the authority to use the frequency or frequencies assigned is granted upon an experimental basis only and does not confer any right to conduct an activity of a continuing nature; and (b) that said grant is subject to change or cancellation by the Commission at any time without hearing if in its discretion the need for such action arises.

In order to minimize possible harmful interference at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory site located at Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and at the Naval Radio Research Observatory site at Sugar Grove, Pendleton County, West Virginia, any applicant for a station authorization other than mobile, temporary base, temporary fixed, Personal Radio, Civil Air Patrol, or Amateur seeking a station license for a new station, a construction permit to construct a new station or to modify an existing station license in a mannerwhich would change either the frequency, power, antenna height or directivity, or location of such a station within the area bounded by 39°15′ N on the north, 78°30′ W on the east, 37°30′ N on the south and 80°30′ W on the west shall, at the time of filing such application with the Commission, simultaneously notify the Director, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, P.O. Box #2, Green Bank, West Virginia, 24944, in writing, of the technical particulars of the proposed station. Such notification shall include the geographical coordinates of the antenna, antenna height, antenna directivity if any, proposed frequency, type of emission, and power. In addition, the applicant shall indicate in his application to the Commission the date notification was made to the Observatory. After receipt of such applications, the Commission will allow a period of twenty (20) days for comments or objections in response to the notifications indicated. If an objection to the proposed operation is received during the twenty-day period from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory for itself or on behalf of the Naval Radio Research Observatory, the Commission will consider all aspects of the problem and take whatever action is deemed appropriate.

Any applicant for a new permanent base or fixed station to be located on the islands of Puerto Rico, Desecheo, Mona, Vieques, and Culebra, or for a modification of an existing authorization which would change the frequency, power, antenna height, directivity, or location of a station on these islands and would increase the likelihood of the authorized facility causing interference, shall notify the Interference Office, Arecibo Observatory, Post Office Box 995, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00613, in writing or electronically, of the technical parameters of the proposal. Applicants may wish to consult interference guidelines, which will be provided by Cornell University. Applicants who choose to transmit information electronically should e-mail to: prcz@naic.edu

(a) The notification to the Interference Office, Arecibo Observatory shall be made prior to, or simultaneously with, the filing of the application with the Commission. The notification shall state the geographical coordinates of the antenna (NAD-83 datum), antenna height above ground, ground elevation at the antenna, antenna directivity and gain, proposed frequency and FCC Rule Part, type of emission, effective radiated power, and whether the proposed use is itinerant. Generally, submission of the information in the technical portion of the FCC license application is adequate notification. In addition, the applicant shall indicate in its application to the Commission the date notification was made to the Arecibo Observatory.

(b) After receipt of such applications, the Commission will allow the Arecibo Observatory a period of 20 days for comments or objections in response to the notification indicated. The applicant will be required to make reasonable efforts in order to resolve or mitigate any potential interference problem with the Arecibo Observatory and to file either an amendment to the application or a modification application, as appropriate. If the Commission determines that an applicant has satisfied its responsibility to make reasonable efforts to protect the Observatory from interference, its application may be granted.

(c) The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to operations that transmit on frequencies above 15 GHz.