At our Deadline
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology at our deadline released a report on AWS-3 interference tests conducted at the Boeing Lab in Seattle, witnessed in part by OET engineers. Industry officials said the release of the report likely…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
means FCC Chairman Kevin Martin plans to ask commissioners to vote on AWS-3 rules as early as the Nov. 4 meeting. Industry officials were still evaluating the conclusions drawn. OET said in two key conclusions that for a desired signal level of -95 dBm or greater, an AWS-3 UMTS handset, under static conditions, “can safely operate with maximum [equivalent isotropic radiated power] of about 23 dBm/MHz without causing disruption of service to nearby AWS-1 handsets.” A WiMAX AWS-3 handset “can safely operate with an EIRP of about 33 dBm/MHz without causing disruption.” But OET noted that test conditions were not ideal since no AWS-3 handsets are yet available. Still, OET noted, interference generators of the type used in tests generally result in higher out-of-band energy levels “than would typically be produced using an actual handset.” In a Friday letter to the FCC, the National Emergency Number Association voiced public safety concerns over the risk of interference to AWS-1 incumbents posed by a free broadband service in the AWS-3 band. The letter was sent before release of OET test results. T-Mobile and others predict that AWS-3 operations will cause significant interference to AWS-1 handsets, NENA noted. “If these claims are accurate, this interference could prevent some 911 calls from being set up and delivered, as well as increasing the incidence of dropped and degraded calls,” NENA CEO Brian Fontes said. “Wireless consumers cannot be in a position in which the most important calls they make, 9-1-1 calls, are disrupted or blocked. Therefore, we encourage the Commission to take into consideration the potential impact on 911 service for consumers and public safety operations as you consider your technical rules in the AWS-3 proceeding.” “We will read the report in detail to determine if they have correctly evaluated the extensive record from multiple parties that have expressed concern about interference,” T-Mobile said in a statement. “Given the importance and complexity of these technical issues, the FCC needs to provide for sufficient time for comment on their report before any FCC action on these rules.”