The government’s push to increase the reach and depth of wireless services received a boost from the Federal Communications Commission, which this week adopted new rules regulating signal boosters and plans to free up new spectrum assets for unlicensed wireless broadband services.
The signal booster order, which passed with unanimous consent, states that beginning March 1, 2014, consumer signal boosters sold in the United States will have to comply with the adopted technical specifications. The order also received support from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA.
“The order addresses two classes of signal boosters – consumer and industrial – with distinct regulatory requirements for each,” the FCC noted in the order. “Specifically, consumer signal boosters must meet stringent technical specifications (network protection standard), and are authorized under provider licenses subject to provider consent, voluntarily provided in this case by most carriers. Consumers must register their signal booster with their provider prior to use. Labeling requirements ensure that consumers understand these terms of use. Consumer boosters can be used on most mainstream wireless bands: cellular, PCS, AWS-1, 700 MHz and ESMR (after re-banding). The use of consumer boosters may not cause interference to wireless networks even if a device meets the network protection standard.”
View the FCC open agenda meeting here.
Wilson Electronics, which has been in the signal booster market for more than a decade, applauded the government action.
“We realize the issue of third-party signal boosters operating under cellular carriers’ licenses is complex, and we commend the FCC, its Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and all the parties that assisted in developing the approved standards and finding a solution to an issue that once seemed insurmountable,” said Joe Banos, COO at Wilson. “Wilson would also like to recognize the leadership provided by Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile [USA], Sprint [Nextel] and AT&T. These carriers undoubtedly had the best interests of their customers in mind throughout this process, and we look forward to reaching out to the remaining carriers as they adopt the industry’s position.”
The wireless industry had previously looked wearily at the signal booster space, concerned that unregulated boosting of spectrum signals could cause interference to their precisely engineered network deployments. In 2007, wireless trade association CTIA petitioned the FCC for a ruling that would prohibit wireless customers from using such devices.
In 2011, the FCC moved forward with a notice of proposed rulemaking on the issue, which was followed shortly by an agreement between Wilson and Verizon Wireless on technical specifications for boosters.
“AT&T is pleased that the FCC has adopted technical standards designed to protect our customers from interference caused by signal boosters while allowing well-designed boosters to remain in the marketplace,” noted AT&T on its policy blog. “For these standards to be most effective, however, it is important that they are coupled with appropriate enforcement and consumer outreach.”
Banos noted in a recent RCR Wireless News’ report “Small cells set for a big part of LTE” that the market has been gobbling up tens of thousands of signal boosters per month for years. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski echoed the current use and demand for signal boosters, citing use by the New York City transit authority in extending coverage in the city’s subway system and by emergency personnel in North Dakota to enhance coverage in difficult terrain.
“The promise of signal boosters is clear. Now it is critical that signal boosters not interfere with commercial, private and public safety wireless networks, as they have in the past,” Genachowski said in a statement. “I am pleased that we have worked with all stakeholders to create a common sense, consensus-based technical solution to mitigate interference risks to wireless networks.”
5 GHz spectrum boost
The FCC also announced a proposal to provide up to 195 megahertz of new spectrum for unlicensed services in the 5 GHz band. That band currently provides 555 megahertz of unlicensed spectrum for use in short-range wireless networks.
The FCC said the latest proposal “would provide access to additional contiguous spectrum with consistent technical requirements, allowing unlicensed devices to use wider bandwidth channels, leading to faster speeds.”
To enable greater device support in the 5 GHz band, the FCC also proposed to create a “more flexible
regulatory environment, and to streamline existing rules and equipment authorization procedures for
devices throughout this band.”
The 2.4 GHz band is currently the staple location for unlicensed wireless services using the Wi-Fi standard. The wireless industry is increasingly looking towards unlicensed services as a way to offload data traffic from their currently data-crunched 3G networks. Analysts have noted that such options can provide a low-cost alternative to operators.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter?
