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The Threat to Wireless Mics PDF Print E-mail
Written by D. Eric Franks   
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 06:06
atw701h.jpgThe FCC announced last week that it was going to officially prohibit the use of wireless microphones that operate at frequencies above 700MHz. While this news was greeted with shock and outrage by some event videographers and small repertory theaters, the announcement really isn't news, since that bandwidth was (1) already allocated for other uses back in 1997 and (2) was never officially been licensed for wireless mics anyhow. So while the official prohibition definitely effects manufacturers going forward, for most end users, it might not make any difference in the next few years, at least.

 Wireless mics (and some wireless hospital equipment) have always operated in an unlicensed bandwidth gray area, using unoccupied television over-air broadcast frequencies. There aren't any markets in the United States that are completely saturated by analog television broadcasts and you can always find a channel in your area that is not being used. For example, say that channel 54 (710-716MHz) is not being used in your area (a very likely scenario). When you go to buy your wireless mic system, you make sure you buy one that uses this unused bandwidth. Of course, now you don't know if your mic will still work when you move to a larger market like LA and there's no guarantee some upstart media mogul in your area won't license that channel and put up a gigantic antenna to start broadcasting the 24 hour a day "Ann Coulter TV," thus rendering your mic system worthless, but unofficially ignoring unlicensed usage has always been a good thing for end users and the FCC.

Turns out, this isn't new at all, so don't complain that you didn't know this was coming. The document has been on display for over a decade (published April 21, 1997) in the FCC's 6th Report And Order on MM Docket No. 87-268 (FCC 97-115), APPENDIX A - TECHNICAL DATA, Table 1, "DTV Allotments, Assignment Pairings with Analog Stations, and Service Replication and Interference Evaluation." It was on display in the "Display Department" down in the cellar (sorry, the lights were out) in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard." Public safety agencies have already been given permission (in certain markets) to use the 764-776 MHz and 794-806 MHz bands for two-way radio communication, so people with mics in that range may already have experienced interference. After February 19, wireless microphones that operate on frequencies above 698 MHz should not be used.

Analog television in the 700MHz band has never been particularly efficient and the 15% of US households that are still watching television via an antenna on their roof means that most of that prime bandwidth is going to waste today. The switch to DTV in February and the auctioning off of the liberated analog bandwidth changes that. I think it is safe to assume that Verizon and AT&T - which paid $16 billion for the rights to use those frequencies - have plans to use that block for cellular Internet, music and video services.

Unfortunately, it's pretty hard for WEVA, the community repertory theater and the wireless mic manufacturers to fight for something valued at $16,000,000,000.00, so it seems like there's nothing to be done here. Will this really change anything for current end-users of wireless mic systems in this range? Probably too early to tell, but if there isn't any enforcement mechanism (e.g., FCC agents in black helicopters patrolling the skies on Saturdays looking for rogue Wedding videographers), then this isn't any different from the current unlicensed use of those frequencies. Certainly it changes the manufacturing industry going forward (no more mics in this spectrum), but usage has always been unlicensed. The 700-MHz band is not the only frequency block that unlicensed wireless mics have been using and below 695MHz will still be permitted. And while it's pretty much certain that AT&T and Verizon have plans to develop their costly new real estate, what is unknown is how soon they will be able to rollout actual products and services. Two years seems like the earliest this could be done, but it could be faster or a lot slower or never.  

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