Proper marking and lighting of telecommunications infrastructure is critical to support navigable air space. While it is the responsibility of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop standards for the marking and lighting of Antenna Structures, it is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) who is entrusted with promulgating and enforcing the rules for air navigation markings and lighting. In addition to these marking and lighting standards, the FCC also requires that owners of Antenna Structures put in place monitoring procedures to ensure the proper functioning of obstruction lighting used for air navigation safety.

Understanding and implementing the many rules and procedures concerning air navigation safety as it relates to Antenna Structures is a multifarious endeavor. To support regulatory compliance efforts in the telecommunications industry, the Telecommunications Industry Foundation (TIF) is pleased to announce the publication of a new TIF White Paper, ‘US Regulatory Compliance and Air Navigation Safety’. The aim of this TIF White Paper is to review and summarize:

  1. the industry stakeholders as it relates to air navigation safety;
  2. US federal regulatory oversight;
  3. the FAA determination process for constructing or altering certain Antenna Structures; and
  4. OEM requirements;

In addition to the above, the last chapter of this White Paper is dedicated to examining best practices to comply with air navigation regulations. This chapter is complete with multiple pictures that depict several common violations such as nesting and crazing of the flash head atop the Antenna Structure.

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