ARRL CALLS ON FCC TO DENY PART 15 RULE WAIVER REQUEST FOR 902-928 MHZ

[Andre Kesteloot]

LEAGUE CALLS ON FCC TO DENY PART 15 RULE WAIVER REQUEST FOR 902-928 MHZ

Expressing concerns about interference potential and increased noise levels,
the ARRL this week asked the FCC to deny an industry request to waive three
sections of its Part 15 rules. Octatron Inc and Chang Industry Inc sought
the waivers last November to accommodate unlicensed analog video and audio
surveillance products they're developing that would operate in the 902-928
MHz band--an Amateur Radio allocation. The FCC opened the proceeding, ET
Docket 05-356, for comments in late December.

"The manufacturer here has made a choice as to how to engineer its product,"
the League said in comments filed January 30. "It now seeks to avoid a
series of rules specifically intended to limit interference potential of
analog devices in a band allocated to various licensed radio services simply
because it deliberately engineered the device in a particular manner."

The decision by Octatron and Chang Industry to employ analog, rather than
digital, emissions at 1 W is at the heart of the waiver request. Section
15.247(b)(3) permits a 1 W power level for digital and spread-spectrum
devices, but not for analog. The companies say they need 1 W to ensure
reliable transmission. Digital devices still must meet the Part 15 power
spectral density limitation, the League pointed out.

"Neither can either device meet the power spectral density requirement of
Section 15.247(e), applicable to digital intentional radiators which engage
in continuous transmissions," the League contended. "Finally, the devices
cannot meet the specifications for high-power, point-to-point operation in
certain bands using highly directional antennas set forth in Section 15.249
of the Commission's rules."

The League took issue with the manufacturers' unsupported assertion that the
surveillance systems "will not create significant interference."

"Since the petitioners have apparently failed to determine, much less
explain, the interference potential of their devices, it cannot be
determined whether or not the underlying purposes of the rules limiting
power and power spectral density for analog and digital devices in the
902-928 MHz band would be frustrated by a grant of the proposed waiver in
this case," the League continued. "A waiver cannot be granted without such a
finding."

The ARRL argued that given their potential to interfere with licensed
services in the 902 to 928 MHz band, they should instead be operated in a
Public Safety allocation, such as 2450 to 2483.5 MHz, and on a licensed
basis.

"The precise purpose of the rules sought to be waived here was to preclude
interference before it arises," the League said. "The purpose of this rule
would be directly frustrated by permitting, without rulemaking, high-power
analog devices that cannot meet the power spectral density limitation of
Section 15.247(e)."

The petitioners fail to show that the devices could not have been designed
to meet FCC rules, the League said, adding that it appears the lower cost of
manufacturing analog devices is apparently the reason why they're seeking
the waivers. "This is not a valid basis for a waiver grant," the ARRL said.

Granting "repeated waivers" for Part 15 analog devices that don't meet the
fundamental interference-avoidance requirement of the power spectral density
limit, the League concluded, "adds to the aggregate noise levels in the
subject bands and contributes to the already prevalent 'tragedy of the
commons' interference problems" in bands such as 902-928 MHz.