FCC Puts Wireless Mics in Three New Bands

Wireless mics will be able to use new bands and share spectrum in the TV band, said a Wednesday FCC order issued with the support of four members and a partial dissent by Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. The order, which was deleted from Thursday's meeting agenda, allows all licensed users in the TV band to use the reserved 4 MHz in the duplex gap and allows wireless mics to operate in TV bands even within the contours of TV stations as long as the TV signals are at a low enough threshold, an FCC release said. The order also allows wireless mics to operate in portions of the 900 MHz band, the 6875-7125 MHz band and the 1435-1525 MHz band at specified times and places, coordinated with aeronautical mobile telemetry, the release said.

The order is “not very helpful,” said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Peter Tannenwald, who represents several companies in the wireless mic industry. The new spectrum bands are unlikely to be useful homes for wireless mic use, he said. The requirement to coordinate with aeronautical telemetry in the 1435-1525 MHz band makes it impractical because such coordination efforts generally require too much time, he said. Some of the new spectrum is also prone to being interfered with by human bodies, he said, making it particularly problematic for use by wireless mics worn on clothing. Relaxing the rules on sharing space with TV stations is more effective, but doesn't address the new interference problems likely to face wireless mic users, Tannenwald said. Many wireless mic users already illegally operate their mics on TV bands inside buildings or large arenas where interference to outside signals is unlikely -- the commission order relaxes the rules against something that is already being done, Tannenwald said.

Getting manufacturers to build mics to take advantage of the new bands will also be a challenge, Tannenwald said. A wireless mic that can use multiple bands is likely to be more expensive than a mic that only uses one, Tannenwald said. The rules also leave a lot of uncertainties for the wireless mic industry, he said. Since it's not yet clear how many TV stations will go off air in the incentive auction and where they will be repacked, it's impossible to know where wireless mics will be able to operate, he said.

There may have originally been a different compromise in the works for wireless mics. In a news conference after Thursday's meeting, Commissioner Ajit Pai said broadcasters told him they had been promised a 4 MHz chunk of spectrum would be reserved for wireless mics in the 600 MHz band. “That promise wasn't born out in the item they adopted,” Pai said of the FCC Democrats.

The spectrum the order gives to wireless mics is already being eyed by the wireless industry, O'Rielly said in his dissent. “The demand for licensed spectrum is high and it is going to have to come from somewhere.” He also objected to the order directing staff to inform consumers that future wireless mic use must be confined to the guard bands and duplex gap. “Industry should be allowed to create disclosures that they feel will best inform their consumers,” O'Rielly said. Requiring companies to post this consumer information on their websites, and encouraging them to offer discounted buyback programs for wireless mic equipment rendered useless by the rule change is an FCC overstep, O'Rielly said. “I will not be supportive of any actions by the Enforcement Bureau to penalize manufacturers who were unable to make contact with past customers.”

Rules for unlicensed services operating in the TV band adopted by the commission Thursday also applied to wireless mics, according to an FCC news release. The rules allow white space devices and unlicensed mics to share spectrum in the 600 MHz band and adopt transition periods for new devices complying with the rules to be built, certified and marketed, the release said.