The FCC clarified that the rules adopted in the report and order permit TETRA technology on all channels in the 809 – 824/854 – 869 MHz band, and permit any technology that meets the technical criteria adopted in the order whether or not it is TETRA technology.

In November, Motorola requested clarification of two issues. First it questioned whether the FCC intended to include under the scope of the new rules 800 MHz public-safety pool channels that are not in the National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) portion of the band.

“We hereby clarify that the commission did not intend to limit use of this technology in the 800 MHz band to business/industry land transportation (B/ILT) pool licensees, and …TETRA technology is permitted on all channels in the 809 – 824/854 – 869 MHz band, not just the B/ILT channels,” the TETRA order on reconsideration said.

Motorola also asked whether the rules permit the certification and use of only TETRA equipment or of any equipment that satisfies the new technical parameters.

“We clarify that the rules permit any equipment that meets the applicable adjacent channel power limits of Section 90.221,” the July 2 order said. “The application of the rule is not limited to TETRA equipment, and it was not the commission's intention to restrict the rule in this manner.”

In a May interview, Motorola Solutions Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Paul Steinberg said the company was open to deploying the technology in North America. “If we have customers that want TETRA, we would offer it,” he said in an interview at the Critical Communications World (CCW) event in Paris.

The FCC’s order came the same day two Georgia utilities announced their intention to launch TETRA networks.