FCC Permits Use of 900 MHz Band For Broadband Deployment By Utilities and Other Entities
May 18, 2020
On May 14, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission undertook a series of actions designed to make six megahertz of low-band spectrum available for use by newer wireless broadband technologies and services. The 900 MHz band in question is currently used by various industries for narrowband land mobile radio communications, and a block of for megahertz will remain available for these preexisting narrowband operations.
In the primary Report and Order released by the FCC, the Commission asserted that “Broadband is an effective tool for addressing many 900 MHz licensees’ current and future needs, and it can offer next generation services not typically associated with narrowband systems—such as surveillance, advanced metering, many mission-critical applications, one-to-many push-to-talk, 4×2 multiple-input multiple-output, and evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services.” In a accompany press release provided by the FCC, the Commission explained that it believes that its actions will “enable next generation, mission-critical applications not available via current narrowband systems and help meet the evolving technological needs of industries that provide crucial services to the American public.”
If you would like additional information regarding the above-described orders or the use of available 900MHz spectrum, please contact Charles Zdebski at 202.659.6605 (czdebski@eckertseamans.com) or Rob Gastner at 202.659.6674 (rgastner@eckertseamans.com).