Manufacturers of consumer-grade signal boosters will have a little more time to meet the federal government’s specifications as the Federal Communications Commission announced that the deadline for compliance has been been delayed. As earlier reported by RCR Wireless News, the deadline was initially set at March 1 of this year. However, officials from the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau stated that it will now be pushed back to April 30 in light of logistical concerns. The goal of the initiative is to extend the reach of wireless service in the United States to meet the networking needs of under-served communities. Signal boosters – when in compliance with the government’s technical specifications – are designed to offer a method for consumers to enhance the performance of a cellular network.
WTB Acting Bureau Chief Roger Sherman announced the extension, explaining that the commission’s initial timeline for compliance failed to consider several obstacles that might prevent manufacturers from meeting the deadline. Most notably, Sherman conceded that there had been no formal test procedures set in place when the FCC established the March 1 deadline. At the time, officials underestimated how long it would take to develop those procedures, despite the collaboration of various entities, including the FCC Lab, the Telecommunication Certification Body Council and manufacturers.
“Given the complexity of the rules, in-depth discussions revealed significant technical and policy issues, which created challenges in developing test procedures that would ensure compliance,” Sherman wrote. “While all of the parties acted diligently and in good faith, the test procedures were not finalized and published until Jan. 2014. The bureau believes that the open, consensus-driven process, while more time-consuming than anticipated, resulted in more robust, comprehensive test procedures that will facilitate compliance with the Commission’s rules.”
Government shutdown prevents development of test procedures
Other factors contributed to the FCC’s decision to delay the compliance deadline, such as the recent government shutdown. According to Sherman and the FCC, this operational disruption prevented authorities from establishing the proper procedures to test the effectiveness of consumer signal boosters. Without those processes in place, manufacturers had no way of submitting their equipment for assessment, leading to concerns that organizations would be unfairly penalized for missing the compliance deadline. By extending the deadline, the FCC is confident that many of the affected businesses will be able to successfully present their products for inspection.
The decision to delay the compliance deadline was, in part, prompted by a waiver request made by ClearRF in December. According to the FCC, the manufacturer sought permission to continue selling its signal booster hardware beyond the March 1 deadline up until at least Aug. 31, 2014. Cellphone-Mate submitted a similar request, asking that the extension be delayed six to 10 months for the entire industry. While authorities agreed that circumstances created by the government shutdown and an inability to develop comprehensive test procedures necessitated an extension, they did not believe that a delay of that length was required.
The FCC stated that several manufacturers have already expressed their readiness to begin selling products that are fully compliant with government specifications within the 60-day deadline, reinforcing the agency’s belief that a longer extension would be unnecessary. Sherman also noted that by adhering to a shorter extension, the FCC could limit the number of non-compliant legacy boosters put into place.
