Institute for Telecommunication Sciences / Research / Table Mountain / Radio Quiet Zone Management
Radio Quiet Zone Management
The Boulder Labs Radio Frequency Management Committee (RFMC) is a committee that protects the Department of Commerce (DoC) Boulder Laboratories campus and the Table Mountain Radio Quiet Zone from harmful radio frequency interference. The RFMC evaluates new transmitters before they begin operating. Propagation analyses may be required to resolve potential electromagnetic interference problems.
The RFMC has jurisdiction over all Government and private industry users (i.e., field site users) seeking permission for frequency usage at the Table Mountain Radio Quiet Zone, and over stations in the area (i.e., nearby transmitters) that meet the following conditions of effective radiated power (ERP) and radial distance:
- All stations within 2.4 km
- Stations with 50 W or more ERP within 4.8 km
- Stations with 1 kW or more ERP within 16 km
- Stations with 25 kW or more ERP within 80 km
The RFMC chair is an ITS employee who also serves as the Boulder Labs frequency manager. The frequency manager’s main responsibility is to coordinate all federal use of radio frequencies on the Boulder Labs campus and at the Table Mountain Radio Quiet Zone. This includes requests for special temporary authority (STA) and for permanent radio frequency authorizations (RFA). The frequency manager coordinates RFAs with the NOAA Commerce Representative at the Office of Radio Frequency Management in Silver Spring, Maryland, and with the DoC representatives on the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC). The frequency manager resolves any on-site interference issues via the RFMC. The frequency manager is responsible for coordinating with private industry users to ensure their operations do not exceed the Table Mountain field strength limits, per 47 C.F.R. § 73.1030(b).
To contact the frequency manager, email frequencymanager@ntia.gov or call 303-497-4220.