CTA Says FCC Receiver Mandates Could Stifle Innovation

Big Tech companies are continuing to try and head off any Federal Communications Commission effort to establish what they said would be 'one-size-fits-all" standards for 5G receivers that would work against the FCC's goals of an innovative 5G environment. The FCC in April 2022 opened an inquiry into setting wireless receiver standards, one of several routes the FCC could take, alone or in tandem, to protect signals in increasingly crowded spectrum bands, a roadmap laid out by FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel. "We recognize that a variety of approaches may be appropriate, whether through industry-led voluntary measures, Commission policy and guidance, or rule requirements where other approaches would be insufficient," she said after the FCC approved the Notice of Inquiry (NOI). The NOI was unanimous, but that was not necessarily an indication of any unanimity on which approach to take. At this stage the NOI is only an effort to collect info on how to improve receiver performance and expand the FCC's traditional focus beyond transmitters alone. In June 2022, the Consumer Technology Association told advisors to Rosenworcel and other top FCC staffers that FCC-mandated receiver standards were not the way to go. While conceding an increasingly congested environment for RF signals that could only become more congested as the FCC opens up more spectrum for 5G, CTA said that "One-size-fits all mandates on receiver performance" would actually undercut reallocation efforts and "stifle" the innovation the FCC is trying to promote. CTA said self-regulation in the form of industry-led efforts, have the most likelihood of success, as it says has been proven "time and time again."