United States-Mexico Protocol for the Allotment and Use of the 138-144 MHz Band for Certain Radiocommunication Services

July 20, 2006


   

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 138-144 MHz BAND FOR TERRESTRIAL NON-BROADCASTING RADIOCOMMUNICATION SERVICES ALONG THE COMMON BORDER

This Protocol is being concluded on an interim basis 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

1. The purposes of this Protocol are:

 a. To establish and adopt a plan for the equitable allotment on an interim basis of the frequency sub-bands in the 138-144 MHz band within the Sharing Zone defined in this Protocol; and

 b. To allow for new assignments in frequency sub-bands allotted as primary for each Administration in the 138-144 MHz band within the Sharing Zone defined in this Protocol on an interim basis until a more complete protocol governing both new assignments and existing stations can be negotiated and concluded.

2. This Protocol does not apply to existing stations for radiocommunication services in the 138-144 MHz band within the Sharing Zone defined in this Protocol.

ARTICLE II. Designation of Administrations and Definitions

1. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce of the United States of America and the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes of the United Mexican States are hereby designated the Administrations responsible for the implementation of this Protocol for the United States of America (hereinafter "United States") and the United Mexican States (hereinafter "Mexico"), respectively, as provided for in Article IV of the Agreement.

2. The Sharing Zone is defined to include the area within the United States and Mexico and their respective territorial waters as set forth in Appendix I.

ARTICLE III. Supersession

Upon entry into force, this Protocol supersedes the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between the Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America and the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes of the United Mexican States for the Use of Radio-Frequencies, Coordination and Cooperation for Emergency Purposes, signed at Washington and Mexico City December 9, 1998 to the extent that the MOU's provisions would apply to new assignments made on or after the date that this Protocol enters into force with respect to the two frequencies 139.150 MHz and 142.725 MHz.

 In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the MOU and this Protocol with respect to either of the frequencies 139.150 MHz or 142.725 MHz, the provisions of this Protocol shall prevail. 3

ARTICLE IV. Conditions of Use

1. Within the Sharing Zone, the frequency sub-bands in the 138-144 MHz band shall be allotted for the primary use of each Administration in accordance with Appendix II. Each Administration shall ensure that new assignments made on or after the date that this Protocol enters into force are operated in such a way that the transmission bandwidth shall not exceed the primary frequency allotments in Appendix II.

2. Each Administration shall ensure that fixed and mobile stations assigned to primary frequency allotments within the Sharing Zone shall be operated on an interim basis in accordance with the effective radiated power (ERP) and antenna height limitations specified in the following table (Table I). Likewise, each Administration shall take measures to eliminate any harmful interference caused by transmissions from its stations that propagate beyond the Sharing Zone. 4

Table I

__________________________________________________________________

Average of the Antenna Height Maximum ERP in Any
Above Average Terrain on Direction Toward
Standard Radials in the the Common
Border Direction of the Common Border¹

Meters Watts dBm __________________________________________________________________

Up to 150 500 +56.98
Above 150 to 225 350 +55.44
Above 225 to 300 250 +53.98
Above 300 to 450 200 +53.01
Above 450 to 600 150 +51.76
Above 600 to 750 100 +50.00
Above 750 to 900 75 +48.75
Above 900 to 1,050 50 +46.98
Above 1,050 30 +44.77 ___________________________________________________________________

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

ARTICLE V. Appendices

Appendices I and II are integral parts of this Protocol. 5

ARTICLE VI. Entry into Force and Termination

This Protocol shall enter into force on the date of signature, and shall remain in force until it is replaced by a Protocol governing both new assignments and existing stations, or until it is terminated in accordance with Article VII of the Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the respective representatives have signed the present Protocol.

Done at Washington, D.C. this seventeenth day of July, 2006, in duplicate, in the English and Spanish languages, both texts being equally authentic.

FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: /s/ David A. Gross Ambassador David A. Gross

FOR THE SECRETARIAT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND  TRANSPORTATION OF THE UNITED MEXICAN STATES: /s/ Jorge Alvarez Hoth ________________________________ _____________________________ Under Secretary Jorge Alvarez Hoth /

s/ Hector Osuna Jaime _____________________________ Chairman Hector Osuna Jaime 6

APPENDIX I Areas Within Which the Frequencies Are to Be Protected

U.S.-MEXICO SHARING ZONE

The Sharing Zone is defined on an interim basis as the areas covered by a distance of 145 kilometers (90.1 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 to the right and are further defined in Table II.
U.S.-MEXICO SHARING ZONE

Table II

The following geographic coordinates define the U.S.-Mexico Sharing Zone on an interim basis 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 is the starting point in defining 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. Each distance path between consecutive points is traversed by great circle arc.

No. Degrees/Minutes/Seconds Decimal Degrees
1 320 14'16"N 118037'09"W 32.2378N 118.6192W
2 33044'18"N 119058'13"W 33.7384N 119.9704W
3 34000'16"N 114028'01"W 34.0044N 114.4670W
4 32037'24"N 110051'01"W 32.6234N 110.8505W
5 32038'60"N 109018'02"W 32.6500N 109.3006W
6 33005'47"N 108015'42"W 33.0965N 108.2617W
7 33001'27"N 106006'30"W 33.0242N 106.1083W
8 32046'33"N 105030'38"W 32.7757N 105.5105W
9 31021'30"N 103055'51"W 31.3584N 103.9309W
10 30039'31"N 103034'01"W 30.6587N 103.5670W
11 31011'40"N 102026'12"W 31.1945N 102.4368W
12 31002'47"N 101004'18"W 31.0465N 101.0717W
13 30051'19"N 100036'43"W 30.8553N 100.6120W
14 29054'03"N 099028'55"W 29.9007N 099.4820W
15 27021'20"N 097048'03"W 27.3556N 097.8009W
16 27021'05"N 095042'14"W 27.3516N 095.7038W
17 25058'50"N 095042'22"W 25.9805N 095.7061W
18 24033'14"N 095042'46"W 24.5539N 095.7128W
19 24032'41"N 097048'44"W 24.5448N 097.8122W
20 25015'14"N 099040'56"W 25.2539N 099.6823W
21 25040'42"N 100010'59"W 25.6782N 100.1833W
22 27052'01"N 101035'16"W 27.8669N 101.5877W
23 28029'18"N 101057'45"W 28.4884N 101.9625W
24 27058'15"N 102011'48"W 27.9709N 102.1967W
25 27038'22"N 103016'32"W 27.6394N 103.2755W
26 27054'33"N 103059'11"W 27.9093N 103.9863W
27 28030'31"N 105015'57"W 28.5085N 105.2659W
28 29013'30"N 105045'37"W 29.2249N 105.7604W
29 30019'17"N 106057'15"W 30.3215N 106.9544W
30 30001'37"N 107056'47"W 30.0271N 107.9464W
31 30001'18"N 111015'28"W 30.0216N 111.2579W
32 31014'10"N 115005'28"W 31.2361N 115.0911W
33 31021'26"N 115020'31"W 31.3572N 115.3419W
34 31014'34"N 116021'25"W 31.2427N 116.3570W
35 31008'09"N 117053'38"W 31.1359N 117.8939W 8

APPENDIX II

Allotment of Frequency Sub-bands in the 138-144 MHz Band

Mexico Primary² U.S. Primary²
138.0 - 139.0 139.0 - 140.0
140.0 - 141.0 141.0 - 142.0
142.0 - 143.0 143.0 - 144.0
______________________
² All frequencies in MHz 9