FCC & customer towers

[nickwhite]

Just curious if someone could provide some information about FCC regulations for setting up a broadcast tower, or using a customer's already existent tower for re-broadcasting. We have a customer with a 40' tower soon to be in place. We will be providing this customer wireless service from this tower, and then hopefully rebroadcasting off of this tower - 3 sectored APs; 1 WAR4/Metro. Just curious if this is legal.

I faintly remember reading on one of the WISP lists about FCC regulations for putting up a tower for commercial/broadcast use. I can't find the thread now, but I recall that there was possibly a loophole that if the tower/facility was used for receiving (non-broadcast; like a TV antenna, or rootenna on a roof) that it was classified then as a customer's receiver, even if you later re-used it to broadcast. Does anyone have any experience with this, or any details? Would this be like putting up an AP at a customer's house for a small WiPOP or are there other regulations?

I tried digging through some of the FCC regulations online and a few WISP mailing lists, but couldn't find what I was looking for. Any insight or reading material is appreciated. I know there are wiser and more experienced than I on this forum.

Thanks

-Nick

[gunther_01]

the best I know (and isn't much) towers don't even get an FCC I'D unless it's over 200 ft.. and wisp gear is unlicensed freqs. so how does or is there a regulation on use of a non licensed tower or freqs.. of course there are eirp rules but other then that I think most wisps would be in trouble if you couldn't use a tower unless it falls in some kind of "already in use" clause... my opinion though. can very well be wrong

[soulmata]

to qualify for WISP status you still need an FCC ID in the U.S., even if you are not using any licensed frequencies

You can find pretty much everything you need to know at the FCC's site

http://wireless.fcc.gov

http://wireless.fcc.gov/siting/preconstruction.html

[nickwhite]

Thanks for the info guys. A few questions:

To qualify for WISP status, what forms need to be filled out or information declared? I know form 477, but are there others? That's all I saw other than 445 (CALEA) on their forms page related to broadband.

So, generally, as long as we're using someone else's tower, and unlicensed spectrum (within EIRP limits), we should be okay? I just want to make sure we're "legal" before we start the next few phases of expansion.

Thanks again... off to read and Google some more...

-Nick