FCC Approves Mask For Use Of 4.9 GHz Band
The FCC voted 5-0 on Tues. to adopt masks, based on requests by law enforcement agencies, for their use of 4.9 GHz spectrum. As expected, the FCC overrode objections by Motorola, which asked for a more restrictive mask, citing potential interference concerns. Members of the Commission emphasized that the masks give agencies significant flexibility to buy equipment from a broad array of manufacturers.
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“The 4.9 GHz band is important because it’s additional spectrum for public safety,” Comr. Abernathy said. “Basically what we're trying to do here is respond to some of the concerns that were raised on recon to see if there’s ways that we can increase the flexibility of the band as well as we can decrease the equipment, all good things. That’s what I believe we've done.”
Comr. Adelstein said he had seen the use of 4.9 GHz during a ride-along last summer with police in San Mateo, Cal., which is the first broadscale use of 4.9 GHz for wireless data by a police dept. “It’s amazing to see the many applications out in the field,” he said: “Officers now have access to broadband right in their cars and they have that throughout the entire service area.”
Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta said the order forced the Commission to strike a balance. “The tighter the mask, the more changes it may require from some of the equipment that’s available off the shelf. That just goes to increasing deployment costs,” he said. “The tradeoff is that might be useful in reducing sort of on the spot interference. That’s a tradeoff we had to make between lower cost, faster implementation and higher cost but less prone to potential interference on the scene.”
The FCC said the change will allow public safety to adopt, for the 4.9 GHz band, technologies already used in adjacent spectrum bands, especially the 5.4 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII)unlicensed band and the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) band.
“These changes will allow public safety licensees to leverage commercial off-the-shelf technologies available for the U-NII and ITS frequency bands,” the FCC said. “The Commission envisioned that, by leveraging technology already developed for adjacent bands, public safety licensees could use a single, low-cost device to access the 4.9 GHz band, the U-NII band, and the ITS band, allowing them to enjoy savings that are typically limited to the high-volume commercial market. The Commission’s action is intended to provide emergency responders with easier access to the latest broadband technology in support of public safety and homeland security missions, such as wireless local area networks for incident scene management, emergency dispatch operations and emergency vehicular operations.”