Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC warming to interference-temperature concept, will proceed cautiously

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2003 12:10:27 -0500

FCC Considers Changing The Way We Measure Interference
 Contributed by derek on Thurs, Nov 13 2003

 Do Ultra Wideband radios interfere with conventional radio equipment, or just
co-exist undetected by their older
 cousins. A lot of anti-regulation hobbyists say the former, and that current
spectrum regulation is irrelevant for
 new technologies like UWB. These proponents of new radios say "let us use our
UWB radios and show you
 that there is no interference", but the existing spectrum holders (TV, Radio,
Cellular, etc) say "no, your tests
 will hurt our service". So how does the FCC allow the newcomers to test their
radios and see if their claims are
 true? By allowing them to broadcast at very low power only, and by adopting a
new way of measuring
 interference: Interference Temperature. By using this new metric, test of
wideband radios can take place, and
 we can see whether they do or don't interfere with existing radios. If they
don't, we can evaluate the next steps
 with better information. Looks to me like the FCC is moving towards the future,
yet taking a cautious approach.
 That's good and good.

www.techdirt.com
=====================================================================================

FCC warming to interference-temperature concept, will proceed cautiously
By Heather Forsgren Weaver
November 13 13:35:00, 2003

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission Thursday took the first step to
altering the way spectrum
interference is measured by seeking comment on the controversial “interference
temperature” concept proposed by the
FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force.

The FCC will use the 6 and 12 GHz bands as test beds for the interference
temperature. Edmond Thomas, chief of the
FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, said the commission’s first rule is
“to do no harm.”

The interference temperature would set a cap on the amount of interference a
user of a specific band could expect. The
concept has been controversial from the beginning, especially by those who
opposed the FCC’s approval of
ultra-wideband technologies, which employed a type of interference temperature
by limiting the amount of interference
to those created by other unlicensed devices.

All of the FCC commissioners expressed concern that they must proceed with
caution in developing this new concept.
This view was echoed by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.

“Spectrum is a limited resource, and the wireless industry understands the need
for exploration of new and creative
ways to use this scarce commodity. But the FCC must take care to ensure that a
new and untried spectrum management
technique not be allowed to disrupt the millions of consumers already utilizing
the airwaves,” said CTIA President Steve
Largent. “An interference-temperature approach should only be considered if it
can be shown, based on real-world
tests, that current consumers would not experience interference as a result of
the new uses.”

The FCC’s action came one day after a blue-ribbon panel suggested that the White
House moderate spectrum usage
disputes and that a public-private research and development consortium be
created to help stave off other countries’
advancements in wireless technologies.

The report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies was heralded at
its Capitol Hill unveiling as a good first
look at how spectrum should be managed in the 21st Century.

Back at the FCC, the agency patted itself on completing the first phase of
implementing the recommendations resulting
from the World Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva last summer.

One of the recommendations was allocating spectrum in the 5 GHz band for
unlicensed operations. The FCC finished
those rules at its meeting.

http://www.rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=15923

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