NEWSReport No. 97-5    ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY ACTION         April 3, 1997 

     
COMMISSION AMENDS RULES REGARDING 
                        SPREAD SPECTRUM TRANSMITTERS
                            (ET DOCKET NO. 96-8)

     The FCC has eliminated the limit on directional gain antennas for spread spectrum
transmitters operating in the 2450 MHz and the 5800 MHz bands.  The Commission said the
new rules will expand the ability of equipment manufacturers to develop radio links without
the delays and costs associated with formal frequency coordination and licensing. 
Additionally, the new rules will facilitate the growth of the spread spectrum industry by
enabling  and encouraging practical applications for these products.  Such uses for spread
spectrum transmission system  products may include intelligent transportation system
communications links; high speed Internet connections for schools, hospitals, and government
offices; energy utility applications; PCS and cellular backbone connections; and, T-1 common
carrier links in rural areas.

     In addition, the Commission reduced, from 50 to 25, the minimum number of channels
required for frequency hopping spread spectrum systems operating in the 915 MHz bands. 
The new rules will permit frequency hopping spread spectrum systems and wideband,
multilateration Location Monitoring Service systems to operate within the same frequency
band with less potential for mutual interference problems.

     The Commission also adopted a number of amendments to the spread spectrum
regulations to clarify existing regulations, codify existing policies into the rules, and update
current definitions.

     Spread spectrum communications systems use special modulation techniques that
spread the energy of the signal being transmitted over a very wide bandwidth.  The
information to be conveyed is modulated onto a carrier frequency by a conventional technique
such as AM, FM or digital, and the bandwidth of the signal is deliberately widened by means
of a spreading function.  


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Such spreading reduces the power density of the signal at any 
frequency within the transmitted bandwidth, thereby reducing the probability of causing
interference to other signals occupying the same spectrum.

     In sum, the rule changes:

     +     eliminated the limit on directional antenna gain for fixed, point-to-point spread
spectrum transmissions in the 2450 MHz and 5800 MHz bands, provided there is a minimal
reduction in transmitter output power for the 2450  MHz band;

     +     reduced, from 50 to 25, the minimum number of hopping channels for
frequency hopping spread spectrum systems in the 915 MHz band, provided there is a
corresponding reduction in output power;

     +     amended the standard for spectral power density to correct an error in the
regulations that occurred in 1990;

     +     provided an alternative method for measuring the processing gain of a direct
sequence spread spectrum;

     +     updated the definitions of direct sequence and frequency hopping systems to
reflect current spread spectrum applications;

     +     allowed for the operation of frequency hopping systems that incorporate
intelligence thereby permitting the system to recognize other users within the spectrum band
so that it individually and independently chooses and adapts its hopping sequence to avoid
hopping on occupied channels;
 
     +     clarified the restriction on the marketing and use of external radio frequency
power amplifiers and the use of after-market antennas to increase transmission ranges.

     Action by the Commission April 3, 1997, by Report and Order (FCC 97-114). 
Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Ness, and Chong.

                                     -FCC-

     News Media contact: Patricia A. Chew at (202) 418-0500.
     Office of Engineering and Technology contacts: John A. Reed at (202) 418-2455, 
Anthony Serafini (202) 418-2456.