(Mclean, VA) The Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) has asked that the FCC clarify certain aspects of FAC-certification criteria because certification of an entity without an independent governance structure “would undermine the credibility of the entire frequency coordination process upon which the Part 90 spectrum is made available”. In their reply comments to a request from the Engineers Frequency Advisory Committee, LLC (EFAC) to be certified as a FAC, the LMCC points out that one of the “fundamental requirements” to be a FAC is that the organization be representative of applicants and licensees it serves, which has been “interpreted consistently” to mean that they are overseen by and responsible to the entities for whom they provide frequency coordination services. The LMCC observes that EFAC is a “newly formed company whose members are business colleagues that collectively provide a variety of technical and engineering services”. Therefore, the LMCC states, “Whether its FAC activities are performed entirely by FAC employees or contracted to others, the FAC governing body must be accountable for ensuring that the Commission’s standards for representativeness, non-discrimination, technical expertise, and nationwide coordination capabilities are fully satisfied.” FACs must have a “representative governance structure that directly and independently oversees the development and implementation of all FAC-related policies and procedures”. While EFAC, LMCC points out, has stated that they will form “advisory committees”, it appears that the members of those committees will be “chosen by the very same business partners whose activities they are supposedly overseeing”.

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