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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Rules and Regulations Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Hugh Van Tuyl, Office of Engineering and Technology, 2024187506, Hugh.VanTuyl@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commissions document, Report and Order, FCC 20
156, ET Docket No. 2036, adopted October 27, 2020 and released October 28, 2020. The full text of this document is available for public inspection and can be downloaded at: https
www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-increasesunlicensed-wireless-operations-tv-whitespaces-0 or by using the search function for ET Docket No. 2036 on the Commissions ECFS web page at www.fcc.gov/ecfs.

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ADDRESSES:

Synopsis 1. The Commission adopts targeted changes to the part 15 unlicensed device rules for white space devices in the TV
bands to provide improved broadband coverage that will benefit American consumers in rural and underserved areas as well as to provide improved access to narrowband IoT applications that will benefit consumers and businesses while still protecting broadcast television stations from harmful interference. Specifically, the Commission permits higher EIRP
equivalent isotropically radiated power and higher antenna HAAT
height above average terrain for fixed white space devices in less congested geographic areas. In addition, the Commission permits higher power mobile operation within geo-fenced areas in less congested areas. The Commission also adopts rule changes designed to facilitate the development of new and innovative narrowband IoT services.
2. The Commission declines at this time to allow higher power operation by white space devices operating within the service contour of an adjacent channel TV station or to change the methodology it uses to protect authorized services within the TV
bands. The changes the Commission adopts apply only to white space devices operating on TV channels 235.
The Commission excludes channel 36
from these changes based on the need to protect Wireless Medical Telemetry Service and Radio Astronomy Service operations on channel 37 608614
MHz.
Fixed White Space Devices in Rural Areas in the TV Bands 3. The Commission adopts rule changes for fixed white space devices
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that operate in the TV bands to enable improved broadband service in rural areas and underserved areas.
Specifically, in less congested areas the Commission increases the maximum permissible radiated power from 10 to 16 watts EIRP, and increases the maximum permissible antenna HAAT
from 250 meters to 500 meters. Because the higher power and increased antenna limits will expand the maximum transmission range of white space devices, they will be able to provide broadband service over larger areas.
Given these revisions, the Commission is commensurately increasing the minimum required separation distances between white space devices operating at higher power/HAAT and protected services in the TV bands.
Higher Power Limits 4. Current rules permit fixed white space devices to operate on channels 2
36 with a 4 watts EIRP maximum in any area, provided the device meets minimum separation distances from cochannel and adjacent channel users in the band. In addition, a fixed white space device may operate with up to 10
watts EIRP on channels 235 in less congested areas, defined as those areas where at least half the television channels in the band of operation are not in use, provided the fixed device complies with larger separation distances from other users in the band.
Fixed white space devices are limited to one-watt maximum conducted transmitter power, requiring devices with radiated power levels above onewatt EIRP to use an antenna with directional gain, e.g., 6 dBi to produce 4 watts EIRP, and 10 dBi to produce 10
watts EIRP.
5. In the notice of proposed rulemaking 85 FR 18901, April 3, 2020, the Commission proposed to permit fixed devices to operate in the TV bands, up to channel 35, with a maximum 16 watts EIRP 42 dBm in less congested areas. The Commission proposed this change to permit fixed devices to reach users at greater distances in rural and other less congested areas, and thus enable improved broadband coverage at lower cost. The Commission proposed to maintain the one-watt transmitter conducted power limit for fixed devices and require instead that the higher power be achieved by using higher gain, more highly directional antennas to improve spectrum efficiency. The Commission proposed that in cases where an antenna with a gain higher than 12 dBi is used, the transmitter power must be reduced below one watt by the amount in dB that the antenna
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gain exceeds 12 dBi, in order to ensure that the EIRP from a fixed device does not exceed 16 watts EIRP.
6. The Commission adopts its proposal to permit fixed white space devices to operate in the TV bands on channels 235 with a maximum 16
watts EIRP 42 dBm in less congested areas. The record generally supports this action, and as the Commission noted in the NPRM, this change will permit fixed devices used in less congested areas including rural areas to reach users at greater distances, thus enabling improved broadband coverage at less cost in these hard-to-reach areas. In addition, higher power will enable signals to better penetrate foliage, buildings, and other obstacles, thus providing improved coverage at locations where there is not a direct line-of-sight to the transmitter. The Commission also adopts its related proposals to maintain the transmitter conducted power limit of one watt, and to require that when an antenna with a directional gain of greater than 12 dB is used, the transmitter power must be reduced by the amount in dB that the antenna gain exceeds 12 dBi, thus ensuring that the maximum EIRP does not exceed 16 watts 42 dBm.
7. The Commission limits higher power operation to less congested areas as proposed in the NPRM. This is consistent with the Commissions actions in other white spaces proceedings in which it initially took a cautious approach when adopting white space rules. This limitation will also minimize the likelihood of any potential harmful interference to authorized services in the TV bands since there are fewer authorized services in less congested, typically rural, areas. The Commission therefore declines requests by Broadband Connects America Coalition and Public Interest Spectrum Coalition to allow higher power in all areas, not just less congested ones.
8. Restricting higher power operations only to less congested areas will also limit the potential impact on users of unlicensed wireless microphones which share use of unused TV channels but are not entitled to any interference protection from unlicensed white space devices. Higher power operation will be permitted only at locations where multiple vacant channels are available for use by varying types of unlicensed users. The Commissions decision to limit the areas where higher power operations may occur should alleviate the concerns of wireless microphone operators about the potential impact that higher power white space devices would have on wireless microphone operations.

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