By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission agreed last Thursday to study voluntary standards and potential FCC rules to make wireless receivers less prone to interference in hopes of opening up jam-packed spectrum.

Forging ahead on an issue mainly led by FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington following years of internal agency studies, the body voted unanimously to cast a wide net for public input on radio frequency (RF) receiver performance.

The inquiry focuses on so-called interference immunity, or the ability of devices to prevent radio signals from intruding on each other. Past commission activity has largely focused on RF transmitters, not on receivers. The FCC’s inquiry will include dissecting its legal authority to regulate receiver quality, FCC staff said last Thursday.

Still in its early stages, the formal inquiry will zero in on the possible use of voluntary industry approaches, which could involve the use of incentives to improve receiver quality. But the FCC said it may evolve into FCC guidance or rules if deemed necessary.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the US has always led the way in creative use of scarce spectrum resources, but needs to continue that tradition by focusing on an “abundance agenda” for wireless communications.

That includes freeing spectrum space in the increasingly packed airwaves, and one way to do that is to tamp down on receiver interference, she said.

“Most discussions of spectrum efficiency are a one-way effort. They focus almost exclusively on transmitters. To avoid harmful interference, we typically have rules about how and when transmitters can operate,” she said. “But wireless communications systems involve transmitters and receivers. It’s a two-way proposition. Both are vital. Both matter. So we need to rethink our approach to spectrum policy and move beyond just transmitters and consider receivers, too. “

Receivers that don’t meet high-quality interference standards “can make it more difficult to introduce additional services in the same or adjacent airwaves,” Rosenworcel added. “They can diminish the spectral environment and shut out new uses before they even begin.”

Though the details of possible standards are far from worked out, the initiative has bipartisan support on the commission. Simington said he worked closely with Rosenworcel on preparing the draft inquiry.

Simington said that when the Communications Act took effect, the airwaves were relatively wide open, “but the era of abundant spectrum is coming to a close. Like real estate, they are just not making any more of it.”

“We should think of our spectrum as fully occupied … and our regulatory philosophy must accommodate this new reality,” he said in explaining why he worked on developing the inquiry.

The commissioner said he wanted to explore numerous questions about how to avoid a “spectral famine,” such as how to resolve spectral disputes and how to handle the receiver end of RF transmissions. “This [notice] is the first step in exploring a policy that takes these questions into account,” he said. “To proceed with the status quo risks stymieing innovative technologies that require intensive use of spectrum adjacent to incumbent allocations, and potentially worse, it risks the regular occurrence of spectral disputes.”

The agency has a strong background of material to go on already with regard to receiver quality, with technical panels having studied the issue for years. According to the FCC’s notice, however, it wants to develop a fresh record from industry and other stakeholders. As part of the inquiry, the FCC says it will study research papers in recent years, including from the commission’s Technological Advisory Council.

According to the draft, “a variety of approaches may be appropriate, whether through industry-led voluntary measures, commission policy and guidance, or rule requirements where other approaches would be insufficient.”

An FCC statement last Thursday noted that the notice also seeks comment on the agency’s legal authority for various approaches it could consider. “The commission’s goal in this proceeding is to lay the foundation for future actions that could help create a more transparent and predictable radio frequency environment for all spectrum users.”

–Editing by Peter Rozovsky.