NTIA told the FCC Fri. it supported adoption of the Commission’s ...

devices were met. “We support the FCC’s clarification of the UWB rules so that this new industry sector can take hold and grow while we protect critical federal systems from harmful interference,” Acting NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher said. The FCC’s UWB rules “successfully strike that balance and provide a stable platform for development of new devices that will save lives, boost U.S. productivity and enrich the experience of U.S. consumers,” he said. NTIA analyzed pulsed frequency hopping vehicular radar systems at 22-29 GHz. The agency found no greater interference to govt. passive sensing satellites than is now allowed for impulse UWB vehicular radar systems. But it stressed its conclusions didn’t apply to UWB frequency hopping (FH) systems in other bands. NTIA also proposed a compliance measurement procedure for pulsed FH systems in other bands. It disagreed with an FCC proposal in a further notice that would eliminate the minimum bandwidth requirement from the definition of a UWB transmitter, which NTIA said could allow unlicensed non-UWB operations in restricted bands. In general, it said it agreed with the FCC that “significant changes to the rules should not be considered until more experience has been gained with UWB technology.” It said that if the FCC adopted the handheld UWB device emission limits for expanded outdoor device applications, restrictions on the pulsed repetition frequency wouldn’t be needed. NTIA said it agreed with the FCC that that proposal should be limited to UWB systems that used impulse modulation or high-speed chipping rates with a fractional bandwidth equal to or greater than 0.20 or a minimum bandwidth of 500 MHz as now defined in the Commission’s rules. “NTIA also believes that if the handheld emission limits are adopted, there is no technical reason to further limit UWB device applications as long as the Commission retains the current restrictions forbidding the use of a fixed outdoor infrastructure and the operation of UWB devices in toys,” it said. The agency said it also backed the FCC goal of clarifying its Part 15 guidance for measuring emission limits to ensure compatible operation of Part 15 transmission systems. But it said changes were needed to clarify existing FCC requirements to standardize the compliance measurements and to ensure “predictability and certainty for applicants seeking to certify Part 15 devices.” NTIA conducted analyses that showed the distance separation required for compatible operation between federal systems and narrowband Part 15 devices meeting the proposed peak power definition were greater than those for narrowband Part 15 devices meeting the current definition, which was based on the total peak power of the signal.