House GOP Members Remain Wary of FCC Receiver Standards
Republicans on the House Communications Subcommittee questioned whether new receiver performance requirements would encourage more efficient use of the nation’s spectrum assets, during a hearing Thursday. A handful of GOP subcommittee members acknowledged the harm caused by interference issues but said they remain concerned that any FCC rules for receiver standards could retard innovation and increase costs to manufacturers and consumers. Federal and industry witnesses said they're waiting on the forthcoming FCC Technological Advisory Council (TAC) recommendations on receiver performance, as well as the forthcoming Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on receiver performance and spectrum efficiency.
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Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he thinks the spectrum crunch is still years away and could be averted through technological advancements. “I think this is a down-the-road spectrum crisis and hopefully technology fixes that,” he said. Nevertheless, the demand for spectrum is far outpacing supply, “and we need to figure out how to use the room we have as effectively as possible,” he said.
The issue can’t be addressed solely through software fixes, said Brian Markwalter, CEA senior vice president-research and standards. “I think most of what we are talking about is a hardware question,” he said. “It’s the radio part of the equipment -- we are talking about filtering.” In the future receivers need to become more agile and contain less fixed components that are specifically designed, he said. “But we aren’t there yet.”
Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said GPS advocates in the defense community remain “the largest nut to crack” and asked witnesses if they would be open to more specific spectrum interference criteria for receivers. Pierre de Vries of the Silicon Flatirons Center said one of the benefits of “clearer fences” between adjacent frequency bands is that it makes spectrum sharing proposals more feasible. That should be attractive to defense users because it would be “less necessary for relocation” of federal spectrum, he said.
Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., said lawmakers should remain “wary” of government mandates related to receiver design but said “more must be done” to maximize the use of spectrum. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., said it’s “unclear” whether the FCC even has the authority to impose new receiver standards.
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., asked Ron Repasi, deputy chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, if the commission is planning to implement receiver standards. Repasi said the FCC is awaiting the TAC recommendations and has not made a decision on the matter. “We want all the facts … we are in a little bit of a wait mode … but we want to ensure that we don’t curb innovation,” he told the lawmakers. He said the TAC study will be finalized and submitted at the commission’s Dec. 10 meeting. Witnesses said they're also awaiting the GAO study on receiver performance and spectrum efficiency, which was required by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. That study is not expected to be finalized until February, they said.