Section 24.203 - Construction requirements(a) Licensees of 30 MHz blocks must serve with a signal level sufficient to provide adequate service to at least one-third of the population in their licensed area within five years of being licensed and two-thirds of the population in their licensed area within ten years of being licensed. Licensees may, in the alternative, provide substantial service to their licensed area within the appropriate five- and ten-year benchmarks. Licensees may choose to define population using the 1990 census or the 2000 census. Failure by any licensee to meet these requirements will result in forfeiture or non-renewal of the license and the licensee will be ineligible to regain it.(b) Licensees of 10 MHz blocks except for the 1910-1915 MHz and 1990-1995 MHz, including 10 MHz C block licenses reconfigured pursuant to Amendment of the Commission's Rules Regarding Installment Payment Financing for Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licensees, WT Docket No. 97-82, Sixth Report and Order, FCC 00-313, and 15 MHz blocks resulting from the disaggregation option as provided in the Commission's Rules Regarding Installment Payment Financing for Personal Communications Services (PCS) Licensees, Second Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, WT Docket 97-82, 12 FCC Rcd 16436 (1997), as modified by Order on Reconsideration of the Second Report and Order, WT Docket 97-82, 13 FCC Rcd 8345 (1998), must serve with a signal level sufficient to provide adequate service to at least one-quarter of the population in their licensed area within five years of being licensed, or make a showing of substantial service in their licensed area within five years of being licensed. Population is defined as the 1990 population census. Licensees may elect to use the 2000 population census to determine the five-year construction requirement. Failure by any licensee to meet these requirements will result in forfeiture of the license and the licensee will be ineligible to regain it.(c) Licensees must file maps and other supporting documents showing compliance with the respective construction requirements within the appropriate five- and ten-year benchmarks of the date of their initial licenses.(d) Licensees in the paired 1910-1915 MHz and 1990-1995 MHz bands must make a showing of "substantial service" in their license area within ten years of the date of initial license issuance or renewal. "Substantial service" is defined as service which is sound, favorable, and substantially above a level of mediocre service which just might minimally warrant renewal. Failure by any licensee to meet this requirement will result in forfeiture of the license and the licensee will be ineligible to regain it.58 FR 59183, Nov. 8, 1993, as amended at 64 FR 26890, May 18, 1999; 65 FR 53636, Sept. 5, 2000; 69 FR 67835, Nov. 22, 2004; 69 FR 75171, Dec. 15, 2004