FCC Terminates Docket on Preserving Vacant Channel for TVWS Devices

The FCC terminated a 2015 proceeding on preserving a vacant channel for use by TV white space devices and wireless mics, said an order Tuesday in docket 15-146. “In light of other actions we have taken during the years since the rules were proposed, coupled with the increased burden that the 2015 proposal would place on the use by broadcasters of spectrum” post-600 MHz incentive auction, the proposal “would not serve the public interest,” said the unanimously voted order. Wireless mic companies sought to keep the docket open after the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announced its impending closure, while NAB pushed for its termination, the order said. “We continue to support unlicensed white space devices and wireless microphone user operations and continue to believe they serve important interests,” the order said.