My gut says RC IV because communication could be considered essential during emergencies, natural disasters, etc

I agree with MOTORCITY ..

When you look risk category descriptions in IBC Table 1604.5 ;

RC IV = Buildings and other structures designated as essential facilities, including but not limited to:
...

. Designated emergency preparedness, communication, and operation centers and other facilities required for emergency
response..

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure..It is: Try to please everybody.

Thanks guys I can get on board with that. I did not read the IBC until you mentioned it. Surprisingly the IBC is not just a watered down regurgitation of ASCE, does not generally reference ASCE, and even smacks it down hardcore at one point: "Where a referenced standard specifies that the assignment of a risk category be in accordance with ASCE 7, Table 1.5-1, Table 1604.5 shall be used in lieu of ASCE 7, Table 1.5-1." So I no longer care what ASCE says

Quote (Mike Mike
.... "Where a referenced standard specifies that the assignment of a risk category be in accordance with ASCE 7, Table 1.5-1, Table 1604.5 shall be used in lieu of ASCE 7, Table 1.5-1." So I no longer care what ASCE says tongue)

My respond to your interpretation will be copy and paste of relevant commentary ;

''C1.5.1 Risk Categorization
......The Risk Category numbering is unchanged from that in the previous editions of the standard (ASCE 7-98, -02, and -05), but the criteria for selecting a category have been generalized with regard to structure and occupancy descriptions. The reason for
this generalization is that the acceptable risk for a building or structure is an issue of public policy, rather than purely a
technical one. Model building codes such as the International Building Code (ICC 2009) and NFPA-5000 (NFPA 2006)
contain prescriptive lists of building types by Occupancy Category.''

If Table 1.5-1 is insufficient for classifying risk category , You may look for more detailed descriptions of
risk category in IBC Table 1604.5.

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure..It is: Try to please everybody.

or more realistically, if IBC is insufficient, you may gain insight by giving ASCE a little bit of minor consideration perhaps. Local codes don't typically reference ASCE, so you are not supposed to follow it.

There is no IBC calculator as useful as https://asce7hazardtool.online/. It is much simpler to retrieve data from the tool than from the IBC (https://codes.iccsafe.org) included maps, which are taken directly from the printed ASCE 7.
But to use the hazard tool the risk category must be determined first.