Principles for Promoting Efficient Use of Spectrum and Opportunities for New Services

The Federal Communications Commission adopted the following spectrum management principles.

Interference Realities

• Interference and harmful interference are affected by the characteristics of both the transmitting service(s) and nearby receiving service(s) in frequency, space, and/or time.
• The electromagnetic environment is highly variable, and zero risk of occasional service degradation or interruption cannot be guaranteed.
• Services should plan for the spectrum environment in which they intend to operate, the service they intend to provide, and the characteristics of spectrally and spatially proximate operations. Planning should be ongoing and account for changes in spectrum operating environments.

Shared Responsibilities

• Transmitters authorized for use in a given service should be designed to minimize the amount of their transmitted energy outside of the service’s assigned frequencies and authorizations.
• Receivers authorized for use in a service should, as a general matter, be designed to mitigate interference from emissions from outside of their service’s assigned frequencies or channels.
• Radio transmitter and receiver system operators and equipment manufacturers should plan for and design error-tolerant systems, using good engineering practices, to mitigate degradation from interference.

Data-Driven Regulatory Approaches to Promote Co-Existence

• Relevant information about services’ transmitter and receiver standards, guidelines, and operating characteristics is needed to promote effective spectrum management and efficient co-existence.
• Quantitative analyses of interactions between services that are fact- and evidence-based, sufficiently robust, transparent, and reproducible are needed to better inform spectrum management decisionmaking.
• The FCC will explore, in future rulemakings, interference limits policies in particular spectrum bands to promote effective co-existence.