Interpretation of the Interim Sharing Agreement Concerning the Use of the Band 220 to 222 MHz along the United States - Canada Border.
>In December, 1999 officials of Canada and the United States signed an agreement for an interim sharing arrangement concerning the use of the band 220 to 222 MHz along the US-Canada border. In the United States this band is not available for Amateur Radio use, but is allocated to the Fixed and Mobile Services. In Canada, the band is allocated Exclusively to Amateur Radio.
The full text of this agreement is located on Strategis, the Industry Canada web site and can be downloaded from http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/sf02068e.html?he=y as a .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) file.
This interpretation is intended as a guide for Canadian radio amateurs in general as potential users of this spectrum. Current and anticipated users of 220 to 222 MHz should examine the published US-Canada agreement and confirm that their operations will conform to the provisions of the agreement in terms of frequencies and power and antenna height limitations. For regulatory purposes this interpretation of the agreement does not replace the US-Canada agreement document summary published by Industry Canada. All decisions on the implementation of the agreement rest directly with Industry Canada.
This agreement affects Canadian amateur radio operations for stations within 120 km of the US-Canada border.
For transmitter sites beyond 120 km from the United States - Canada border, this agreement imposes no restrictions on the use of the 220 to 222 MHz band - in this geographic area each country shall have full use of this spectrum.
Within 120 km of the US-Canada border the frequencies allocated on a Primary basis to each country are specified, and the power levels that may be used are expressed in terms of Effective Radiated Power (ERP) and Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT).
The border region is divided into Sectors.
In specifying each country's use of the 220 to 222 MHz band, the US-Canada border region is divided into Sectors.
Sector 1 - Sector 1 is defined as the area within 120km of the border bounded on the west by 85 degrees West longitude and in Canada on the east by 81 degrees West longitude and in the United States by 80 degrees 30 minutes West longitude.
Sector 2 - Sector 2 is defined as the area within 120 km of the border bounded on the west in Canada by 81 degrees West longitude and in the United States by 80 degrees 30 minutes West longitude and on the east by 71 degrees West longitude.
Sector 3 - The balance of the areas along the border, within 120 km of the border, can be considered as Sector 3, for the purposes of this review. The agreement does not refer to these areas as Sector 3. The agreement refers to these areas as 'the areas not encompassed by the Sectors described in Section C' (that is, Sectors 1 and 2.) For our purposes, this Sector 3 is 'the rest of Canada' along the US-Canada border within 120 km of the border - the areas along the border that are east of 71 degrees West longitude and west of 85 degrees West longitude, including the area bordering on Alaska.
The agreement designates the frequencies in terms of 5 KHz channels, identified by a channel number and by each channel's center frequency.
It is not indicated in the agreement that Canadian amateurs must operate on 5 KHz channels in the band 220 to 222 MHz. However, as there are power limitations and other considerations such as joint usage that are expressed in terms of these 5 KHz channels, you must keep these in mind. For Canadian amateurs, specified power levels must not be exceeded in any 5 KHz. This is explained more fully below.
This interpretation illustrates for each separate Sector along the border the frequency segments available on a Primary basis to Canadian amateurs in the range of 220 to 222 MHz.
N. B. There is provision in the agreement for users in one country to use the frequencies allocated to the other country on a Secondary, non-interfering basis. Canadian radio amateurs have secondary status on frequencies allocated to the United States. Stations having secondary status shall not exceed the power flux density (pfd) of -108dBW/m2 at any point at or beyond the border, shall not be granted protection against harmful interference from stations that have primary use of their authorized frequency, nor shall they cause harmful interference to stations having primary use of their authorized frequency, regardless of whether they meet the pfd value specified.
The US-Canada agreement pairs frequencies and the frequency segments in the range 220 to 221 MHz with frequencies in 221 to 222 MHz range. However, specific rules for antenna heights and power levels apply to each range (220 to 221and to 221 to 222 MHz). These are outlined below.
Frequency Allocations:
Frequencies available to Canadian amateurs on a Primary basis, by Sector:
There are some frequency segments that are commonly allocated to Canadian amateurs on a Primary basis in all Sectors across Canada within 120 km of the border. These are detailed following the tables of frequencies allocated for each individual Sector (See table 4).
In addition, there are certain frequency segments that are shared with the United States in which Canadian radio amateurs may operate, some of which are designated for specific purposes, (See Table 5).
Sector 1: This is the area within 120 km of the border from 85 West longitude to 81 degrees West longitude in Canada. This sector includes the major Canadian centers of Sault Ste. Marie, London and Windsor.
In Sector 1 Canadian radio amateurs have Primary status on the following frequency segments:
Table 1 - Sector 1
Channel Numbers
Segment, Lower frequencies
Segment, Upper Frequencies
Segment Widths - KHz
121 to 140
220.600 to 220.700
221.600 to 221.700
100 + 100
179, 180
220.890 to 220.900
221.890 to 221.900
10 + 10
193 to 195
220.960 to 220.975
221.960 to 221.975
15 + 15
Sector 2: This is the area within 120 km of the border from 81 West longitude to 71 degrees West longitude in Canada. This sector includes the major Canadian centers of Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and others.
In Sector 2 Canadian radio amateurs have Primary status on the following frequency segments:
Table 2 - Sector 2
Channel Numbers
Segment, Lower frequencies
Segment, Upper Frequencies
Segment Widths - KHz
1 to 20
220.000 to 220.100
221.000 to 221.100
100 + 100
24 to 27
220.115 to 220.135
221.115 to 221.135
20 + 20
31 to 50
220.150 to 220.250
221.150 to 221.250
100 + 100
54 to 87
220.265 to 220.435
221.265 to 221.435
170 + 170
121 to 147
220.600 to 220.735
221.600 to 221.735
135 + 135
154 to 157
220.765 to 220.785
221.765 to 221.785
20 + 20
173 to 180
220.860 to 220.900
221.860 to 221.900
40 + 40
189 to 195
220.940 to 220.975
221.940 to 221.975
35 + 35
Sector 3: These are the areas encompassing the rest of Canada along the border within 120 km of the border - that is, all of the areas which are NOT included in Sectors 1 and 2. In these areas Canadian radio amateurs have Primary status on the following frequency segments:
Table 3 - Sector 3
Channel Numbers
Segment, Lower frequencies
Segment, Upper Frequencies
Segment Widths - KHz
1 to 20
220.000 to 220.100
221.000 to 221.100
100 + 100
25, 26
220.120 to 220.130
221.120 to 221.130
10 + 10
56 to 85
220.275 to 220.425
221.275 to 221.425
150 + 150
121 to 145
220.600 to 220.725
221.600 to 221.725
125 + 125
155, 156
220.770 to 220.780
221.770 to 221.780
10 + 10
175 to 180
220.870 to 220.900
221.870 to 221.900
30 + 30
190 to 195
220.945 to 220.975
221.945 to 221.975
30 + 30
Common Segments:
The following Frequency Segments are common to all Sectors, available for radio amateur use on a Primary basis across Canada:
Table 4 - Common Segments - Canadian Amateur Primary
Channel Numbers
Segment, Lower frequencies
Segment, Upper Frequencies
Segment Widths - KHz
121 to 140
220.600 to 220.700
221.600 to 221.700
100 + 100
179,180
220.890 to 220.900
221.890 to 221.900
10 + 10
193 to 195
220.960 to 220.975
221.960 to 221.975
15 + 15
Shared common segments:
Frequency Segments shared with the United States that are common to all Sectors (note that two of these segments are designated for Public Service and Mutual Aid Operations):
Table 5 - Segments shared with the United States
Channel Numbers
Segment, Lower frequencies
Segment, Upper Frequencies
Segment Widths - KHz
161 to 170 * Shared with US
220.800 to 220.850
221.800 to 221.850
50 + 50
181 to 185 * Shared with US
220.900 to 220.925
221.900 to 221.925
25 + 25
196 to 200 ** Shared with US
220.975 to 221.000 Low Power
221.975 to 222.000
25 + 25
* Available for public safety and mutual aid operations.
** Low power channels. Operation on the lower frequencies is on an unprotected basis and is limited to a maximum of 2 watts ERP and a maximum antenna height of 6.1 Meters above average terrain (HAAT).
United States Channels 111, 113, 115, 117, and 119 are available to Canada if used for Intelligent Transportation Systems/Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (ITS/IVHS). These are 5 KHz channels centered at 220.5525/221.5525, 220.5625/221.5625, 220.5725/221.5725, 220.5825/221.5825 and 220.5925/221.5925.
POWER AND HEIGHT LIMITATIONS:
In the 220 to 221 MHz Band, for radio amateur use in Canada the maximum ERP shall be as follows, except as noted below :
Table 6 - Power and Height Limitations 220 to 221 MHz
Antenna Height Above Average Terrain (Meters)(HAAT)
Maximum ERP (Watts)
Up to 150
500
Above 150 to 225
250
Above 225 to 300
125
Above 300 to 450
60
Above 450 to 600
30
Above 600 to 750
20
Above 750 to 900
15
Above 900 to 1050
10
Above 1050
5
Notes:
Low Power Channels: Stations transmitting on the lower frequencies of channels 196 through 200 (that is, within the frequency range 220.975 to 221.000 MHz) are limited to a maximum ERP of 2 watts and a maximum antenna height of 6.1 meters above average terrain (HAAT).
Station Location Limitations: The maximum ERP for stations located 6 km or less from the border transmitting on the lower frequencies of channels 161 through 195 (that is, within the frequency range of 220.800 to 220.975 MHz; this range includes some channels assigned to Canada, some assigned to the United States, and some shared channels) must be in accordance with the following table (Table 7), unless otherwise provided for by special agreement.
It is important to note that the maximum ERP for these stations can not be greater than the maximum ERP determined by their antenna height above average terrain (HAAT).
Table 7 - Station Location Limitations (220.800 to 220.975 MHz)
Distance from Border (km)
ERP (watts)
Less than 0.3
Operations not permitted
0.3 - 0.5
5
0.5 - 0.6
10
0.6 - 0.8
20
0.8 - 2.0
25
2.0 - 4.0
50
4.0 - 5.0
100
5.0 - 6.0
200
beyond 6.0
500
Aggregation of Channels (220 to 221 MHz band):
In Canada, for radio amateur use, (5 KHz) channels may be aggregated. The maximum ERP allowable per 5 KHz, in any one 5 KHz (this is ANY 5 KHz, not any one channel), shall be the applicable maximum ERP depending on antenna height above average terrain (HAAT), as described above in Table 6.
In the 221 to 222 MHz band, for radio amateur use in Canada:
Power Limitation: Channels may be aggregated. The maximum ERP allowable shall be 50 watts per 5 KHz in any one 5 KHz. For example, over a 20 KHz bandwidth up to 200 watts ERP would be allowed as long as the spectral power flux density does not exceed 50 watts per 5 KHz in any 5 KHz.
Height Limitation: Such transmissions from antennas that are higher than 7 meters above average terrain will be permitted if the effective radiated power (ERP) is reduced below 50 watts per 5 KHz by {20log10(h/7)} dB. (Note: 'h' is the height of the antenna above average terrain (HAAT) in meters).
