This should give you some flavor of the FCC open meeting yesterday on UWB.
Not the worst outcome, but not necessarily the best either. We will have to
be vigilant for a second round of rulemaking on this subject.
73, Chris W3KD
<< 'Conservativism' Approach
COMMISSION APPROVES UWB ORDER, AGREES TO REVISIT LIMITS
With officials acknowledging negotiations on ultra-wideband (UWB) had been
contentious at times, FCC
Thurs. approved order to allow technology to move forward - for now - at
very conservative power limits. At
agenda meeting, Commission approved order that would let UWB communications
devices to operate at 3.1-10.6
GHz, with out-of-band emissions limits set for below 3.1 GHz. Cut-off point
for what is considered in-band UWB
emissions is lower than 6.1 GHz threshold that Dept. of Transportation had
sought and 4.1 GHz level that Defense
Dept. had been backing. DoT declined to comment on FCC action, although
spokesman confirmed that Transportation
Secy. Norman Mineta had sent letter to National Security Adviser Condoleeza
Rice on issue Mon. Pentagon
said "strict technical limits below 3.1 GHz" would continue to protect
military systems, including GPS.
Meanwhile, NTIA Deputy Asst. Secy. Michael Gallagher told us that final
decision represented policy victory, although
transparency concerns raised during proceeding would be among issues
examined in upcoming NTIA
spectrum summit.
FCC repeatedly stressed it had erred on "side of conservatism" in setting
emissions limits. It plans in
next 6-12 months to review UWB standards and issue further notice of
proposed rulemaking to examine
more flexible standards and address operation of additional types of UWB
technology. FCC said it based
standards "in large measure" on what NTIA believed was needed to protect
against interference to govt. operations.
Order creates different technical standards and operating restrictions for
ground-penetrating radars,
which include through-the-wall and medical imaging systems, vehicle radar
systems, communications and
measurement systems. Imaging systems are allowed to operate under Part 15
rules and FCC, at request of
NTIA, will notify NTIA before operation of all imaging systems. Vehicle
radar systems that operate at 24
GHz are expected to begin deployment in 2005, with item approved by
Commission containing limitations to
protect earth exploration satellite services. For communications systems,
order allows high-speed home and
business networking devices under Part 15 rules that would operate in
3.1-10.6 GHz band. FCC required that
equipment be designed to operate only indoors or to consist of hand-held
devices that could be used for
peer-to-peer operation.
"This decision had extreme collaboration with other branches of government,"
Office of Engineering & Technology
Chief Edmond Thomas said at news briefing after meeting, calling standards
in item "extremely conservative...
We are very, very confident that there are no problems with any public
safety, aviation or commercial band
by these rules." In next 6-12 months, Commission will continue to collect
data and do lab work on UWB, Thomas
said. Depending on results, agency could make rules more lax, more stringent
or keep them as they are, Thomas
said. "A lot of the problems associated with this rule are very, very simple
- it's based on assumptions, not pure
data," he said. "The first question is how good are the assumptions," he
said, stressing that standards were conservative.
For GPS band, spurious emissions will be limited to 34 dB below Part 15
limits, Thomas said.
Steven Price, deputy asst. defense secy. for spectrum and communications,
command & control, said DoD
backed "reasoned and balanced approach of FCC order... DoD concluded FCC's
technical restrictions on UWB
devices would be sufficient to protect military systems. Such restrictions
were the minimum required to avoid interference with those systems." Still,
NTIA and FCC negotiations on UWB appear to have gone forward without
complete consensus among govt. agencies. While DoT spokesman declined to
comment on order, sources said
letter to President Bush's National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice from
Mineta had outlined his continued concerns
about how GPS would be protected.
"Part of the frustration about this process is that this docket is 3-1/2
years old and it was stuck in the mud
when I got here in November of last year," NTIA's Gallagher said. Leadership
of FCC and Commerce Dept.
meant that "the right result was found out of something that was literally
stuck." Gallagher acknowledged that
DoT had "very deep-seated views. As flying Americans, we appreciate their
concern. NTIA evaluated those concerns
and gathered the data." Govt. agencies will continue to gather data and test
UWB technologies, he told us.
"We will continue to be very sensitive to FAA concerns." Order contains
"enhanced enforcement mechanism" designed
to provide additional assurance about potential interference concerns,
Gallagher said: "This will not be
business as usual." To further enhance accuracy of data that are being
collected, Gallagher said it would be helpful
to have UWB model developed for testing. That would allow "more robust
model" to be developed to evaluate
data, he said.
Noting that FCC Comr. Abernathy had acknowledged concerns about
transparency, Gallagher said: "I share
that concern." He said that he planned to address it with FCC and others.
Issue will be among topics to be dis-
cussed at NTIA spectrum summit set for April 4 and 5. "That should be one of
the items that we take up because
it has been difficult."
UWB developers said they still were evaluating fine points of what
Commission did but that vote would
allow them to finally move forward on plans to bring devices to market.
Asked whether upcoming FCC
plans to review stringency of standards would create overhang for rollout
plans, XtremeSpectrum CEO Martin
Rofheart said company planned to move forward with technology that could
deliver 100 Mbps speeds. If
adjustments are made to standards in future to make them more flexible,
company could adjust accordingly,
he said. XtremeSpectrum plans to participate with FCC and NTIA in effort to
continue to collect and analyze
data, he said. After meeting, Time Domain founder Ralph Petroff praised FCC
vote, saying it created
certainty for companies to begin bringing products to market. Asked what
kinds of services conservative
standards might prevent, Petroff said certain public safety tracking
applications might be hard to carry out,
but company needed to see final order's language before fully evaluating
that. Time Domain Vp Jeff Ross
said technology could offer data rates that we are higher than 802.11
technologies, meaning UWB-systems
could handle applications like full-motion video transmissions.
"It's not been a pretty process," said Abernathy of proceedings leading up
to final item, but "tortuous
journey" will lead to exciting technology. "We are not going to stop until
we are sure we got it exactly
right," she said, referring to period that FCC has left open to continue to
analyze data and assess whether
standards should be kept. "I am pleased we have come as far as we have, I
wish we could go further," she
said. In cases like this where highly technical issues are at stake,
transparent process and continued dialog
among stakeholders are important, she said. Comr. Copps said he supported
decision, "albeit somewhat reluctantly,"
citing extent to which effects of widespread use of UWB weren't yet fully
known. "The limits we
place on ultra-wideband are designed to reduce the interference risks
associated with the technology at limits
that are far, far below those placed on other technologies that place energy
into narrower portions of the
spectrum," he said. Very conservative limits in place here shouldn't be
construed as "precedent" for other
Part 15 devices, he said. There could be price in terms of impact on U.S.
international competitiveness in
this technology area if FCC found its rules were too restrictive and failed
to correct them promptly, he said.
Commission was guided by 2 principles, Powell said: (1) "Unwavering
commitment" to ensure that innovative
technologies could make way to market. (2) Extreme care to ensure that govt.
systems for safety-of-life
operations are protected. "To extent that interference concerns have been
overstated, we could provide more
flexibility," he said. "If we're wrong and interference is worse than
expected, we can be equally swift" rectifying
situation, he said. - Mary Greczyn
Washington Post 2/15/02
FCC Allows Ultra-Wideband Use
Thursday, February 14, 2002
By Yuki Noguchi,
Washington Post Staff Writer
Federal regulators gave a tentative go-ahead yesterday for a new wireless
technology that would make it possible for home machines to "talk" to one
another, for federal agents to locate hidden or lost people behind walls,
and for cars to stop automatically before hitting a pedestrian.
Start-up companies, the Department of Commerce and analysts hailed the
Federal Communications Commission's decision as a victory for consumers and
the industry.
"It is the biggest technology decision of [Michael] Powell's [FCC]
chairmanship, and probably of the Bush administration," said Scott Cleland,
an analyst with market-research firm Precursor Group. "This is 'Star Trek'
stuff."
The FCC approved the use of the new, radar-like technology at very low power
levels. Ultra-wideband, as the technology is known, can transmit signals
through buildings even at low power, trumping cellular phones in its ability
to communicate across long-distances and through thick walls. The FCC is
permitting its use in stages; the radio-frequency noise from ultra-wideband
devices must be 2,000 times lower than that emitted by a personal computer.
If that produces no interference with other systems, higher levels of power
may be approved.
Although it is still an unproven technology, industry watchers say its
commercial applications could be vast.
Now that the FCC has approved the use of ultra-wideband, Bruce Watkins's
two-year-old firm, Pulse Link Inc., can start manufacturing chips to install
in televisions and personal computers that will make it possible to, for
example, have cable television without using any cables.
"Until now we've been just at the research and development level, but now we
can manufacture it," and start selling the product within a year, said
Watkins, whose firm is based in San Diego.
The technology can also be used in hostage situations to identify
individuals or objects concealed in caves, rooms, underground or in the
wilderness, experts say.
Arriving at a decision yesterday was a long and controversial process for
the FCC. Because ultra-wideband employs a range of frequencies already used
by wireless phone carriers and various federal agencies, it took the
National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) 3½ years to
negotiate a compromise that would ensure ultra-wideband transmission would
not interfere with existing cellular and security systems, including the
global positioning system.
The new ultra-wideband won't interfere with other devices, nor will it
interfere with existing systems, said Michael Gallagher, deputy director of
the NTIA.
Verizon Wireless, the U.S.'s largest cellular carrier, initially expressed
concern that ultra-wideband would interfere with its emergency 911 calling
systems, but is tentatively supporting the commission's decision, spokesman
Jeffrey Nelson said.
The new technology will transmit signals in the 3.1 gigahertz to 10.6
gigahertz range, as well as the 24 gigahertz spectrum, said Julius Knapp,
deputy chief of the office of engineering and technology at the FCC.
At the levels the FCC has approved, there is almost no chance that devices
using ultra-wideband technology will interfere with any systems, he said.
© Copyright 2002 The Washington Post Company
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