The FCC on Thursday proposed allowing unlicensed wireless devices to share the airwaves used by television stations.
The action could foster growth of wireless broadband services in rural and underserved areas, the regulator said. Last month President Bush reaffirmed a goal to bring high-speed Internet access to every part of the country by 2007.
Transmissions in the TV band can travel farther and penetrate buildings more effectively than the current spectrum used by unlicensed wireless devices. This could lower the cost of deploying wireless broadband networks.
To prevent television interference, the FCC proposed requiring unlicensed devices to use ‘smart radio’ features to spot unused television channels. Still, the broadcasting industry voiced concern with the proposal.
"We have serious concerns that the introduction of unlicensed devices into the television band could result in unforeseen interference in broadcast service to millions of television viewers,” Edward O. Fritts, president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, said in a statement released Thursday. “Free, over-the-air television provides invaluable news, information and entertainment to local communities all over America and serves as a lifeline to citizens in times of crisis. We will work with the FCC to ensure that this proposal can be accommodated while preserving interference-free over-the-air television."
In a notice of proposed rulemaking, the FCC proposed classifying the wireless devices eligible for use in the TV bands into two categories: One category would consist of lower power unlicensed devices, such as Wi-Fi cards in laptop computers or wireless local area networks in homes; a separate category would include ‘fixed/access’ unlicensed devices typically operated from a fixed area. The devices may be used to provide a commercial service such as wireless high-speed Internet access.
FCC commissioners said they are pleased the agency is seeking to make more spectrum available to expand broadband service, but they expressed concern about the impact on TV reception.
“Unlicensed operations should not be permitted in the television bands if they appear to be likely to cause harmful interference to TV reception, and I fully support our request for comment on how best to ensure that such interference is not caused by the operation of unlicensed devices,” FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said. “The American people care a lot about the quality of their television reception. Television broadcasts are viewed by people as perhaps the most sacred use of public spectrum. Their TV is not to be trifled with. We will hear an earful from consumers if this is not done right.”
