[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 1, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37551-37552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14806]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 15

[ET Docket No. 13-49; FCC 15-61]


Permit Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) 
Devices in the 5 GHz Band

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; request for waiver.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission has waived requirements of 
certain rules that the National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) 
devices must comply with. This action is in response to a request by a 
group of interested parties to extend this compliance deadline as part 
of a larger review of the transition provision adopted for the U-NII-3 
band. In order to facilitate the new technical requirements, without 
unduly impairing the availability or cost of U-NII devices or imposing 
undue burdens on manufacturers or the public the Commission adopted 
transition provisions which are outlined in the Commission's rules. 
Doing so will give the Commission adequate time to consider the entire 
record, including the Joint Petitioners, as part of the reconsideration 
proceeding.

DATES: Effective date: This rule is effective July 1, 2015. 
Applicability date: Applicable June 1, 2015, the requirements in Sec.  
15.37(h) are waived until December 2, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aole Wilkins, Office of Engineering 
and Technology, (202) 418-2406, email: [email protected], TTY (202) 
418-2989.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order, 
ET Docket No. 13-49; FCC 15-61, adopted June 1, 2015, and released June 
1, 2015. The full text of this document is available for inspection and 
copying during normal business hours in the FCC Reference Center (Room 
CY-A257), 445 12th Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. The full text may 
also be downloaded at: www.fcc.gov.

Summary of Order

    1. By this Order, the Commission waives until December 2, 2015 the 
requirement in Sec.  15.37(h) of the Commission's rules that certain 
National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices must comply with 
its Sec.  15.407 rules to be certified on and after June 2, 2015. This 
action is taken in response to a request by a group of interested 
parties (Joint Petitioners) to extend this compliance deadline as part 
of a larger review of the transition provisions the Commission recently 
adopted for the U-NII-3 band.This action is being taken without 
prejudice relative to the merits of the Joint Petitioners' filings in 
the docket.
    2. On April 1, 2014, the Commission released a First Report and 
Order in the above-captioned proceeding. This First R&O increased the 
utility of the 5 GHz band where U-NII devices operate, and modified 
certain U-NII rules and testing procedures to ensure that U-NII devices 
do not cause harmful interference to authorized users of the band. The 
First R&O, inter alia, extended the upper edge of the 5.725-5.825 GHz 
U-NII-3 band to 5.85 GHz and consolidated the provisions applicable to 
digitally modulated devices from Sec.  15.247 of the rules with the U-
NII-3 rules in Sec.  15.407 so that all the digitally modulated devices 
operating in the U-NII-3 band will operate under the same set of rules 
and be subject to the new device security requirement. Notably, the 
consolidated rules adopted require the more stringent out-of-band 
emissions limit formerly applicable only to U-NII-3 devices in order to 
protect Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) facilities from 
inference.
    3. To facilitate the transition to the new technical requirements, 
without unduly impairing the availability or cost of U-NII devices or 
imposing undue burdens on manufacturers, or the public, the Commission 
adopted transition provisions which are outlined in Sec.  15.37(h). 
These transition provisions require that the marketing, sale and 
importation into the United States of digitally modulated and hybrid 
devices designed to operate in the U-NII-3 band and certified under the 
old Sec.  15.247 rules must cease by June 2, 2016. As an intermediate 
measure, they

[[Page 37552]]

provide that after June 2, 2015, digital modulation devices and the 
digital modulation portion of hybrid devices designed to operate in the 
U-NII-3 band must meet the new Sec.  15.407 U-NII-3 rules to be FCC 
certified. This waiver order exclusively addresses the June 2, 2015 
certification requirement.
    4. Petitions for reconsideration of the First R&O are still 
pending. While the petitioners have generally alleged that the current 
state of the technology inhibits the design of affordable products that 
could comply with the more stringent out-of-band emission limits for 
the U-NII-3 band, the alternatives they suggested have been wide-
ranging and many of the parties could not agree on a single solution 
that would meet the needs of the varying industry segments. Significant 
information was, and continues to be, submitted into the record. In 
particular, on March 23, 2015, the Joint Petitioners filed a self-
styled ``Consensus Proposal.'' This detailed filing included technical 
rules that would significantly modify the out-of- band emission limits 
adopted for the U-NII-3 Band in the First R&O. Shortly thereafter, the 
Joint Petitioners requested that the Commission waive Sec.  15.37(h) of 
the rules.
    5. In light of the recent activity in the docket, The Commission 
conclude that there is good cause to grant a waiver of the June 2, 2015 
U-NII device certification date. Doing so will give the Commission 
adequate time to consider the entire record--including the Joint 
Petitioners' ``Consensus Proposal''--as part of the reconsideration 
proceeding, and it will continue to certify U-NII-3 band devices 
meeting the requirements of the old Sec.  15.427 until December 2, 
2015. A brief extension of the intermediate transition deadline will 
not frustrate the ultimate U-NII-3 transition adopted in the First R&O, 
including the Commission's determinations regarding the marketing, 
importation, and sale of digitally modulated and hybrid devices. Grant 
of the waiver, however, will permit manufacturers to better plan their 
research and design activities to comply with the outcome of any 
further action we may take on reconsideration.
    6. Pursuant to the authority in Sec.  1.3 of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 1.3, and sections 302, 303(e), and 303(r) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 302, 303(e) and 
303(r), IT is ordered that the Sec.  15.37(h) of the Commission's 
rules, 47 CFR 15.37(h) is waived to the extent discussed above until 
December 2, 2015.
    7. The effective date of the Order is June 1, 2015, the date upon 
which this Order was released by the Commission.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-14806 Filed 6-30-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P