[Editor's Note: Bob Primosch is a Partner with the Washington, D.C.-based, communications law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP] The FCC is considering rule changes that would make it easier for educational institutions, medical facilities, equipment manufacturers and others to research and test new wireless devices and services on existing spectrum. By reducing paperwork burdens, shortening overall application processing time and giving applicants greater testing flexibility, the FCC hopes to accelerate the wireless product development process and thus shorten time to market. Comments on the FCC’s proposals are due March 10; reply comments are due April 11. The following is a broad overview of the FCC’s proposals; more specific information is available in the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Under the FCC’s current process for issuing “experimental” licenses, any entity seeking access to spectrum for research and testing normally must file a separate application for each project, specifying the exact frequencies and location it intends to use. The FCC is now proposing a new process that would eliminate the problem of multiple applications by permitting applicants to use a range of frequencies in a given geographic area under a single license, provided that they protect non-experimental license holders from interference. At [...]
↧