CTIA, others urge FCC to ban low-power devices in 700 MHz band

The CTIA and several public safety groups wrote to the FCC on Monday and urged the commission to bar the sale or operation of low-power "auxiliary" devices in the 700 MHz spectrum. The groups said these devices would be "harmful" and would interfere with spectrum owners from fully using the spectrum.

The groups, which included the National Emergency Number Association, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, said that as television broadcasters transition to digital TV and the 700 MHz spectrum becomes available, the FCC needs to make sure that the spectrum is free of low-power devices. These auxiliary devices, which include wireless microphones and other unlicensed devices, would present a problem for both public safety access in the spectrum and for commercial licensees.    

"By clarifying in an Order that low-power auxiliary devices must not interfere with authorized public safety and commercial licensees, and that those devices must accept all interference from licensed users, the Commission sends a strong signal to all users of these devices that the public safety benefits of the 700 MHz spectrum outweigh any--licensed or unauthorized--use of the band," they wrote.
Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility were among the two largest winners of 700 MHz spectrum in last year's spectrum auction. However, their plans to deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology throughout their networks using the spectrum have been delayed because the DTV transition deadline was pushed back to June 12.

For more:
- see this article [1]
- see the letter [2]

Related Articles:
It's official: DTV transition [3] delayed to June 12
Top 700 MHz auction [4] winners support short DTV transition delay
AT&T [5], Verizon split over DTV delay
DTV [6] delay could affect 700 MHz spectrum owners
Verizon [7], AT&T big winners in 700 MHz auction