[Federal Register: January 24, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 16)]
[Notices]
[Page 7631]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24ja01-32]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Public Meeting To Discuss Results of Ultrawideband Systems
Testing
AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) will host a public meeting to discuss the results of tests
conducted by the agency to develop practical methods for characterizing
the very narrow pulses of ultrawideband (UWB) systems and to assess the
compatibility between UWB devices and selected federal radio
communications or sensing systems.
DATES: The meeting will be held from 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday, January
31, 2001.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce,
Room 1605, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The meeting
will be open to the public. For updated information on this meeting,
please see NTIA's homepage at http://www.ntia.doc.gov>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Roosa, Office of Spectrum
Management, NTIA, telephone: (202) 482-1559; or electronic mail:
proosa@ntia.doc.gov>. Media inquiries should be directed to the Office
of Public Affairs, NTIA, at (202) 482-7002.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recent advances in microcircuit and other
technologies have allowed the use of very narrow pulses (typically less
than a nanosecond) with very wide bandwidths in new applications in
both radar and communications devices. These ``ultrawideband'' or
``UWB'' devices are capable of locating nearby objects and can use
processing technology to ``see through walls'' and communicate in
multipath propagation environments, making them useful in many
commercial and government applications. The manufacturers of these
devices are seeking authorization from NTIA and the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to operate UWB systems on an unlicensed
basis. The current regulations for unlicensed devices, located in Part
15 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, do not address such
UWB devices. The FCC has initiated a rulemaking proceeding to examine
whether UWB devices can be accommodated compatibly with existing
systems operating in the electronic environment.\1\ NTIA has conducted
a series of measurements and analyses for characterizing and assessing
the impact of UWB devices on selected Federal equipment operation
between 400 kHz and 6 GHz. The results of these tests were released by
NTIA on January 18, 2001 in the form of two reports: ``The Temporal and
Spectral Characteristics of Ultrawideband Signals,'' NTIA Report 01-
383, which provides practical methods for characterizing UWB systems;
and ``Assessment of Compatability between Ultrawideband Devices and
Selected Federal System,'' NTIA Special Publication 01-43, which
provides information needed to measure the potential of UWB systems to
interfere with existing radio communications or sensing systems.\2\ At
the same time, NTIA filed both reports with the FCC to be included in
the public record of its rulemaking proceeding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Revision of Part 15 of the Commission's Rules regarding
Ultra-Wideband Transmission Systems, ET Docket No. 98-153, Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking, 65 Fed. Reg. 37332 (June 14, 2000).
\2\ Both of these reports are available on NTIA's website at
www.ntia.doc.gov>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Participation: The meeting will be open to the public and is
physically accessible to people with disabilities. To facilitate entry
to the Department of Commerce building, please have a photo
identification available and/or a U.S. Government building pass, if
applicable. Any member of the public wishing to attend and requiring
special services, such as sign language interpretation or other
ancillary aids, should contact Paul Roosa at least three (3) days prior
to the meeting via the contact information provided above.
Dated: January 19, 2001.
Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 01-2113 Filed 1-23-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P