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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  July  13,  2006  Bruce  Romano 
 (202)  418-  2124  Bruce.  romano@  fcc.  gov 


 FCC  BEGINS  RULEMAKING  TO  ESTABLISH  A  NEW  "MEDRADIO"  SERVICE  FOR  MEDICAL  RADIO  COMMUNICATION  DEVICES 
 Washington,  D.  C.  –  The  FCC  today  initiated  a  proceeding  to  establish  a  new  service  for  advanced  medical  radio  communication  ("  MedRadio")  devices  in  the  401-  406  MHz  band.  The 
 FCC  noted  that  an  ever-  increasing  number  of  medical  devices  are  coming  to  rely  upon  radio  transmissions  for  critical  aspects  of  their  functionality.  These  devices  are  improving  the  health 
 care  of  all  Americans  by  providing  relief  and  recovery  of  function  from  many  types  of  illness  and  injury. 


 In  today's  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making,  the  FCC  proposed  designating  an  additional  two-megahertz  of  spectrum  for  these  devices,  at  401-  402  MHz  and  405-  406  MHz,  adjacent  to  the 
 existing  Medical  Implant  Communications  Service  (MICS)  band  at  402-  405  MHz,  for  a  total  of  5  megahertz  specifically  designated  for  medical  device  radiocommunications.  Underscoring  the 
 flexibility  and  scope  of  potential  uses  under  this  new  service,  the  FCC  proposed  to  revise  its  nomenclature  and  designate  the  entire  401-  406  MHz  band  as  MedRadio  service. 


 To  accommodate  a  wider  variety  of  devices  than  the  current  MICS  service,  which  is  limited  to  use  of  implant  devices,  the  FCC  proposed  allowing  the  use  of  body-  worn  transmitting  devices  in 
 the  MedRadio  service.  The  FCC  also  proposed  increased  flexibility  for  the  newly  designated  401-  402  MHz  and  405-  406  MHz  bands  to  allow  the  use  of  low  power,  low  duty  cycle  MedRadio 
 devices  without  requiring  the  frequency  agility  capability  required  by  the  current  MICS  rules.  The  FCC  proposed  that  frequency  agility  would  continue  to  be  required  of  devices  in  the  core 
 402-  405  MHz  band  to  accommodate  devices  that  might  be  used  for  more  critical  purposes  and  which  might  be  less  compatible  with  non-  frequency-  agile  devices,  and  sought  comment  on  this 
 point. 
 Additionally,  in  the  Notice  of  Inquiry,  the  FCC  sought  comment  on  information  concerning  developments  that  are  anticipated  in  the  medical  devices  field  and  their  likely  spectrum 
 requirements.  Among  other  matters,  the  inquiry  sought  comment  on: 
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