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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  May  13,  2004  Bruce  Romano 
 (202)  418-  2470 
 FCC  PROPOSES  RULES  TO  FACILITATE  WIRELESS  BROADBAND  SERVICES  USING  VACANT  TV  CHANNELS 


 Washington,  D.  C.  –  In  an  initiative  to  increase  the  use  of  radio  spectrum  to  provide  greater  service  to  the  American  public,  the  Commission  today  proposed  to  allow  unlicensed 
 devices  to  operate  in  the  broadcast  television  spectrum  at  locations  where  the  spectrum  is  not  in  use  by  television  stations.  In  order  to  ensure  that  no  interference  is  caused  to  TV  stations  and 
 their  viewers,  the  Commission  proposed  to  require  unlicensed  devices  to  incorporate  “smart  radio”  features  to  identify  unused  TV  channels. 


 These  proposals  advanced  by  the  Commission  are  intended  to  allow  the  development  of  new  and  innovative  types  of  unlicensed  broadband  devices  and  services  for  businesses  and 
 consumers  by  utilizing  vacant  spectrum  that  is  particularly  well  suited  for  these  purposes.  Due  to  the  physics  of  signal  propagation,  transmissions  in  the  TV  band  can  travel  farther  and  can  better 
 penetrate  into  buildings  than  transmissions  in  the  spectrum  where  existing  unlicensed  wireless  broadband  operations  are  permitted.  As  a  result,  allowing  unlicensed  operations  in  the  TV  bands 
 could  benefit  wireless  internet  service  customers  by  extending  the  service  range  of  current  providers’  (WISPs)  existing  operations,  particularly  in  rural  and  underserved  areas.  The 
 Commission  believes  that  by  carefully  tailoring  this  initiative  to  protect  incumbent  television  service,  it  provides  a  balanced  proposal  for  the  American  public,  for  WISPs  and  for  television 
 station  operators.  These  proposals  also  have  the  potential  to  provide  benefits  to  broadcasters  as  well,  as  they  may  facilitate  the  provision  of  interactive  TV  services. 


 Part  15  of  the  Commission’s  rules  permits  the  operation  of  unlicensed  radio  transmitters  on  a  non-  harmful  interference  basis  to  authorized  services.  Accordingly,  any  such  uses  would 
 have  to  be  on  a  strict  non-  harmful  interference  basis,  and  the  Commission  proposed  specific  technical  requirements  to  ensure  that  TV  reception  is  not  impaired.  The  Commission’s  Part  15 
 rules  have  enabled  the  development  of  a  large  number  and  variety  of  devices  including  wireless  computer  networking  cards,  wireless  connections  to  printers  and  keyboards,  and  wireless 
 headsets  and  computer  connections  for  cellular  and  PCS  phones.  Many  of  these  devices  currently  operate  in  the  2.4  GHz  and  5  GHz  bands. 


 In  the  Notice,  the  Commission  proposed  to  classify  the  unlicensed  broadband  devices  that  could  be  used  in  the  TV  bands  into  two  general  functional  categories.  The  first  category  would 
 consist  of  lower  power  “personal/  portable”  unlicensed  devices,  such  as  Wi-  Fi  like  cards  in  laptop 
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 computers  or  wireless  in-  home  local  area  networks.  The  second  category  would  consist  of  higher  power  “fixed/  access”  unlicensed  devices  that  are  generally  operated  from  a  fixed  location 
 and  may  be  used  to  provide  a  commercial  service  such  as  wireless  broadband  internet  access.  The  Commission  proposed  to  allow  both  of  these  types  of  operations  in  the  TV  spectrum, 
 provided  appropriate  measures  are  taken  to  ensure  that  operations  are  limited  to  unused  TV  channels.  Different  interference  avoidance  requirements  are  proposed  for  these  two  different 
 types  of  unlicensed  broadband  applications.  These  proposals  should  provide  flexibility  to  permit  a  wide  range  of  unlicensed  broadband  uses  and  applications  and  ensure  that  the  most  appropriate 
 and  effective  mechanisms  are  in  place  to  limit  such  unlicensed  use  to  only  unused  TV  channels. 
 Action  by  the  Commission  May  13,  2004,  by  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  (FCC  04-  113).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  Copps,  and  Adelstein,  with  Commissioner 
 Martin  Concurring.  Separate  statements  issued  by  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Copps,  Martin,  and  Adelstein. 


 Office  of  Engineering  and  Technology  contact:  Mr.  Hugh  L.  Van  Tuyl,  (202)  418-  7506,  e-  mail  Hugh.  VanTuyl@  fcc.  gov. 
 ET  Docket  Nos.  04-  186  and  02-  380. 
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