FCC Seeks Comment on Wireless Mics, Unlicensed Use of TV Spectrum

In the unlicensed rulemaking, the FCC broaches a controversial set of questions -- how can the FCC allow unlicensed operations in the 600 MHz duplex gap, guard bands and in TV Channel 37 while protecting carriers and broadcasters from interference (http://bit.ly/1rDeFzQ).

Commissioner Ajit Pai said in a sense the FCC was doing things backward -- having effectively approved wide unlicensed use of the TV spectrum, the agency is now asking a series of engineering questions, he said. In the May incentive auction order (http://bit.ly/1qYWgfs) the commission agreed to permit white space devices to operate in the 600 MHz guard bands “at particular power levels and bandwidths, even though we had yet to tee up the critical engineering questions that we seek comment on today,” Pai said. “My preference would have been to seek comment in a neutral manner on whether we can permit those types of operations without causing harmful interference to licensed services before we decided to allow them."

Pai asked how the FCC will be able to guarantee that licenses sold in the auction are truly “fungible” if some will be encumbered because of their proximity to unlicensed operations and some won’t.

Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said he does not agree with “every outcome or proposal,” but the NPRMs “have been drafted in way to allow parties to provide comments, including contradictory evidence and technology studies, to frame our work going forward.”

O'Rielly questioned why unlicensed devices shouldn’t be allowed in Channel 37, which is already dedicated in part to medical sensors and the wireless medical telemetry service (WTMS). “To argue that it can’t be done in a way that provides protection to incumbent users reminds me of the early debates over even allowing television white space devices,” he said.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC tees up lots of important questions in the NPRMs. “The answers we provide will have historic consequences for broadcasting, broadband, wireless microphones, medical telemetry and unlicensed spectrum,” she said.

Both rulemakings “reinforce the importance of unlicensed spectrum in the wireless ecosystem,” said Chairman Tom Wheeler. They also underscore the importance of spectrum sharing in the new wireless world. “They are a glimpse into the future,” he said. The FCC will have to deal with sharing “on an increasingly expansive basis,” he said.

A second rulemaking asks about the future use of unlicensed and licensed wireless mics in the 600 MHz spectrum (http://bit.ly/1vuavM3). “Wireless microphones play an important role in enabling broadcasters and other video programming networks to serve consumers, including their coverage of breaking news and broadcast live sports events,” the FCC said.

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the rulemakings address complaints from broadcasters and others about protecting wireless mics, as well as general concerns of WTMS and unlicensed advocates. The FCC agrees in the rulemakings that “these technologies provide important services” but also finds everyone will have to work together “in a spectrum constrained environment,” Clyburn said. “Now is the time to kick the lawyers out of the room and let the engineers rule.”

CEA, the Competitive Carriers Association and CTIA separately released statements applauding the FCC for making progress toward the incentive auction. “By considering proposals that allow for more robust use of unlicensed spectrum without increasing the risk of harmful interference to other users, the FCC is helping to pave the way for future mobile innovation,” said Julie Kearney, CEA vice president-regulatory affairs. “Giving clarity to broadcasters who may want to participate in the auction as well as wireless providers who desperately need spectrum, especially low-band spectrum, is a necessary step in the process,” said CCA President Steve Berry.