The Commission has at long last directly addressed the use of Wireless Microphones in the United States. The full document (101 pages long) is available here: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-16A1.pdf
In a nutshell, here's what they did:
1) The FCC has granted a waiver to their rules to allow users who have 700 MHz gear to operate until June 12, 2010. That means that you can continue to use your 700 MHz wireless mics for the near future. You WILL need to stop using them by that date, and it's a (very) hard deadline. In my opinion, you should have replaced those mics by now or have a plan in place to do so.
2) The FCC has grated a waiver to their rules to allow users who operate in the VHF and UHF TV bands to operate, effective immediately and until June 12th or when new rules take effect, under Part 15 of the rules with a total power output of 50 mW. This means that your wireless systems are no longer in legal limbo.
3) The FCC has invited comment on where to go from here, and how and whether to license wireless microphone users. In addition, they invite comment on whether TV band devices (white space devices) should be on equal footing with wireless microphones, or whether microphones should be protected from interference. Finally, the commission has asked whether microphones should move to digital.
I will update my FAQ in a bit to reflect these changes. In the mean time, I encourage you to read over the FCC's Report and Order (posted above) and understand the nuances of this ruling. This is a bombshell, folks, and it's a good one for us.
Mike
In a nutshell, here's what they did:
1) The FCC has granted a waiver to their rules to allow users who have 700 MHz gear to operate until June 12, 2010. That means that you can continue to use your 700 MHz wireless mics for the near future. You WILL need to stop using them by that date, and it's a (very) hard deadline. In my opinion, you should have replaced those mics by now or have a plan in place to do so.
2) The FCC has grated a waiver to their rules to allow users who operate in the VHF and UHF TV bands to operate, effective immediately and until June 12th or when new rules take effect, under Part 15 of the rules with a total power output of 50 mW. This means that your wireless systems are no longer in legal limbo.
3) The FCC has invited comment on where to go from here, and how and whether to license wireless microphone users. In addition, they invite comment on whether TV band devices (white space devices) should be on equal footing with wireless microphones, or whether microphones should be protected from interference. Finally, the commission has asked whether microphones should move to digital.
I will update my FAQ in a bit to reflect these changes. In the mean time, I encourage you to read over the FCC's Report and Order (posted above) and understand the nuances of this ruling. This is a bombshell, folks, and it's a good one for us.
Mike
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