FCC announced Tues. rule changes in low-power operations in the p...
FCC announced Tues. rule changes in low-power operations in the private land mobile radio band of 450-470 MHz. The rules are designed to allow different types of operations on the low-power channels in response to a petition for rulemaking…
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filed in 2000 by the Land Mobile Communications Council. The FCC created 5 groups of channels for licensed operations to meet the different needs of low-power users and raised power limits for some operators beyond 2 w transmitter output power. The Commission: (1) Designated 49 12.5 kHz industrial/business channel pairs and one unpaired frequency for low-power coordinated use. The unpaired frequency and 39 of the channel pairs will be available for full power at least 50 miles outside of the top 100 urban areas. (2) Designated ten 12.5 kHz channel pairs for low-power nonvoice coordinated use nationwide, allowing voice operations on a secondary basis. (3) Set aside 21 12.5 kHz channel pairs and 4 unpaired frequencies for low-power noncoordinated use nationwide. Most of those channels are available now but some will become usable only after a deadline for medical telemetry operations migrating elsewhere. (4) Designated five 12.5 kHz channel pairs for low-power coordinated use, set aside for central station alarm operations, as under existing rules. (5) Designated fourteen 12.5 kHz channel pairs for lower power use in the public safety pool. The order said each group of frequencies was intended for a different market. The first will be used by low-power operators that need a certain protection level, such as campuses. The 2nd group covers operators that use nonvoice communications for remote control of devices such as cranes and robots, the order said. The 3rd group covers small businesses such as electricians, who need on-site communications on a periodic basis. The last is composed of certain centralized alarm operations. In other policy areas, the FCC raises the power limits for base/fixed operations in the first group of operators to 20 w. The FCC said that level was meant to strike a balance between the benefits of frequency reuse and those of meeting the diverse needs of low power operators among private wireless licensees. It also converted the power limits for mobile operations in the first 3 groups of frequencies to 6 w effective radiated power. It grandfathered high-power operations that now are licensed on the low-power channels.