Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Networking

    FCC Signal Booster Policy Said to Favor Carriers over Consumers

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    February 21, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Wireless signal boosters are the topic of a new report from the Federal Communications Commission.

      As the wireless carriers race to push out ever-faster networks to their subscribers, the FCC is working to ensure that the hardest-to-reach bits of the country have even a basic degree of coverage, and it says that signal boosters can help. However, it also doesn’t want those boosters to interfere with the efforts of the carriers, and so it has established new regulations for the devices.

      “While nearly the entire U.S. population is served by one or more wireless providers, coverage gaps that exist within and at the edge of service areas can lead to dropped calls, reduced data speeds or complete loss of service,” the FCC explained in a Feb. 20 report and order. “Robust signal boosters can bridge these gaps and extend coverage at the fringe of service areas.”

      The FCC added that the boosters can be particularly useful in commercial deployments, such as in hospitals, and that consumers have also benefited from “out-of-the-box” boosters designed to improved coverage within limited areas, such as in homes or recreational vehicles.

      However, fearing that these consumer-geared devices might interfere with the signals of wireless networks, or even that consumers might mistakenly purchase industrial, rather than consumer, boosters, the FCC laid out new regulations, which all consumer and industrial units sold in the United States must meet by March 1, 2014.

      “Consumer Signal Boosters will be authorized under provider licenses subject to certain requirements,” the report stated. “Specifically, subscribers must obtain some form of licensee consent to operate the booster; register the booster with their provider; use a booster that meets the Network Protection Standard and is FCC certified; and operate the booster on a secondary, noninterference basis and shut it down if it causes harmful interference.”

      Consumer interest group Public Knowledge agreed that the boosters can be a boon to Americans, particularly those in rural areas with poor reception. But it called the FCC’s regulations a solution that goes only “half way” toward solving the problem.

      An original FCC proposal gave consumers the right to purchase any booster that complied with technical rules, and would have done much more to promote a competitive sales market for the boosters, Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld said in Feb. 20 statement.

      “Today’s order requires subscribers to get consent from their carriers,” Feld continued. “That includes requiring the 2 million consumers who previously purchased boosters to get permission from carriers to continue to use a product they purchased legally—with no showing that the existing boosters cause interference.”

      Felt went on to say that the FCC order also gives carriers the right to restrict brands and models, which means that a family in which members subscribe to different carriers could have to buy multiple boosters where just one would work fine.

      “Carriers are free to impose needless ‘user fees,’ or otherwise make consumers pay twice for the privilege of filling in the dead spots left by the carriers themselves,” he said.

      Working in consumers’ favor, Feld added, is the FCC’s promise that in two years’ time it will review the rules it established—if the carriers are behaving badly, the FCC may change things.
      “We must hope that carriers take this warning seriously,” he said, “or that in two years the FCC can find the courage to put consumers before carriers.”

      Follow Michelle Maisto on Twitter.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×