The FCC has revamped its rules for the Connect America Fund and its E-rate program.
The FCC has adopted a Report and Order changing its Part 15 rules to permit unlicensed fixed and personal/portable white space devices and unlicensed wireless microphones to use channels in the 600 MHz and TV broadcast bands. The new rules permit unlicensed devices to operate on unused TV channels, the so-called "white space" spectrum.
The Report and Order is designed to expand unlicensed use and to promote spectral efficiency in the 600 MHz band without interfering with licensed services in the band.
The new rules are intended to:
Provide technical parameters for fixed and personal/portable white space devices to operate in the 600 MHz band, including the duplex gap and guard bands, and channel 37 on a shared non-interference basis with medical telemetry and radio astronomy
Permit sharing of spectrum between white space devices and unlicensed microphones in the 600 MHz band
Expand the location and frequency information in the white space databases and update database procedures
Adopt transition periods for the certification, manufacturing and marketing of white space devices and wireless microphones that comply with the new rules
