WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission Thursday took the first step to altering the way spectrum interference is measured by seeking comment on the controversial “interference temperature” concept proposed by the FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force.
The FCC will use the 6 and 12 GHz bands as test beds for the interference temperature. Edmond Thomas, chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology, said the commission’s first rule is “to do no harm.”
The interference temperature would set a cap on the amount of interference a user of a specific band could expect. The concept has been controversial from the beginning, especially by those who opposed the FCC’s approval of ultra-wideband technologies, which employed a type of interference temperature by limiting the amount of interference to those created by other unlicensed devices.
All of the FCC commissioners expressed concern that they must proceed with caution in developing this new concept. This view was echoed by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
“Spectrum is a limited resource, and the wireless industry understands the need for exploration of new and creative ways to use this scarce commodity. But the FCC must take care to ensure that a new and untried spectrum management technique not be allowed to disrupt the millions of consumers already utilizing the airwaves,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. “An interference-temperature approach should only be considered if it can be shown, based on real-world tests, that current consumers would not experience interference as a result of the new uses.”
The FCC’s action came one day after a blue-ribbon panel suggested that the White House moderate spectrum usage disputes and that a public-private research and development consortium be created to help stave off other countries’ advancements in wireless technologies.
The report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies was heralded at its Capitol Hill unveiling as a good first look at how spectrum should be managed in the 21st Century.
Back at the FCC, the agency patted itself on completing the first phase of implementing the recommendations resulting from the World Radiocommunication Conference held in Geneva last summer.
One of the recommendations was allocating spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unlicensed operations. The FCC finished those rules at its meeting.
