Eight lawmakers, including House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin ...
Eight lawmakers, including House Commerce Committee Chmn. Tauzin (R-La.), urged FCC Chmn. Powell to give “due consideration” to spectrum-sharing plan negotiated by American Hospital Assn. and Itron. Agreement works out way for wireless medical and utility telemetry devices in…
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1427-1432 MHz to operate without causing harmful interference to each other. Lawmakers said licenses for utility telemetry on secondary basis in that band were renewed in 1999. “As Congress intended, these wireless applications have enhanced the nation’s efficient use of energy and help keep consumer utility bills low,” said letter sent earlier this month. Besides Tauzin, letter was signed by Commerce Committee’s ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) and Reps. Nethercutt (R-Wash.), Gutknecht (R-Minn.), Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.), Price (D- N.C.), Deal (R-Ga.), Thurman (D-Fla.). Plan appears to carry out congressional preference for spectrum sharing where possible, they wrote. Last year, FCC order set aside 14 MHz of spectrum for wireless medical telemetry on primary basis, including 1429-1432 MHz, to protect that equipment from interference, particularly from DTV. Interest in 1427-1432 MHz has been keen, including from low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems in using band for downlinks. That has fit into overall Little LEO efforts to acquire international frequency allocation for that technology. Land Mobile Communications Council also has petitioned FCC to allocate 1427-1435 MHz to private mobile radio service. Options for that spectrum also emerged last fall in notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on allocation of 27 MHz from govt. to nongovt. uses. Among bands at issue in NPRM was 1.4 GHz, for which Commission has received competing requests, including Itron petition for utility telemetry service. NPRM offers several scenarios FCC was entertaining for that band, including allocating 1427-1429 MHz on primary basis to utility telemetry and 1429-1432 MHz on co-primary basis to utility and wireless medical telemetry. Itron asked FCC earlier this year to allocate entire 1427-1432 MHz on co-primary basis to utility and wireless medical telemetry. In ex parte filing, Itron cited agreement between representatives of those 2 groups. Among other considerations, agreement calls for: (1) Utility telemetry licenses to have primary status in 1429.5- 1432 MHz, with wireless medical telemetry operating on secondary, noninterference basis. (2) Wireless medical telemetry would have primary status in 1427-1429.5 MHz, with same understanding on secondary uses.