Appendix BFederal Communications Commission FCC 00-211Before theFederal Communications CommissionWashington, D.C. 20554In the Matter of ))Amendment of Parts 2 and 95 of )the Commission's Rules to Create a ) ET Docket 99-255Wireless Medical Telemetry Service ) PR Docket 92-235)REPORT AND ORDER(proceeding terminated) Adopted: June 8, 2000 Released: June 12, 2000 By the Commission:I. INTRODUCTION1. By this action, the Commission establishes a new Wireless Medical Telemetry Service(WMTS) which will enhance the ability of health care providers to offer high quality and cost-effective care to patients with acute and chronic health care needs. This action addressesconsumer concerns that medical telemetry devices are increasingly at risk of harmful interferencedue to more extensive use of spectrum resources by other applications. The Commission allocates14 Megahertz (MHz) to WMTS on a primary basis, which will allow potentially life-criticalmedical telemetry equipment to operate on an interference-protected basis. The Commission alsoadopts service rules for WMTS that “license by rule” to minimize regulatory procedures tofacilitate rapid deployment. Medical telemetry equipment is used in hospitals and health carefacilities to transmit patient measurement data, such as pulse and respiration rates to a nearbyreceiver, permitting greater patient mobility and increased comfort. As this service permits remotemonitoring of several patients simultaneously it could also potentially decrease health care costs.The Commission's action will improve the reliability of this vital service.II. BACKGROUND2. Previously, medical telemetry devices were only allowed to operate under either Part 15or Part 90 of the Commission's rules. Part 15 of the rules permitted medical telemetry equipment tooperate on an unlicensed basis on vacant Television (TV) channels 7-13 and 14-46 (174-216 MHzand 470-668 MHz).1 Part 90 of the rules permitted medical telemetry equipment to operate on a1See 47 C.F.R. § 15.242.Federal Communication Commission FCC 00-211secondary2 basis to land mobile users in the 450-470 MHz band.3 Medical telemetry has noprotection from interference from the primary users of these bands.3. The spectrum used by medical telemetry equipment on an unlicensed or secondary basisunder Parts 15 and 90 is increasingly being used more intensively by existing primary services,thereby posing an increased risk of interference to medical telemetry devices. In 1995, theCommission adopted changes to Part 90 of the rules to allow for more efficient use of the spectrumby land mobile services. These changes established a new channeling plan for private land mobileradio (PLMR) services in the 450-470 MHz band by decreasing the channel spacing from 25.0 kHzto 6.25 kHz.4 Under the new channeling scheme, high-power primary users of the band would beable to operate on the low power “offset” channels used by medical telemetry equipment.5 This couldresult in interference to medical telemetry equipment, possibly causing it to be unusable at times. Forthis reason, the Commission placed a freeze on the filing of applications for high power operation inthe 450-470 MHz band on the offset channels in 1995, which remains in effect pending thedevelopment of a plan to protect low power operations in this band.64. In addition to the above-mentioned Part 90 rule changes, there have been other recentchanges to the Commission's rules that could result in harmful interference to medical telemetryequipment operating under Part 15. At the direction of Congress, the Commission has provided forthe introduction of digital television (DTV) stations in the TV broadcast bands.7 In order toaccomplish this, the Commission has provided each local TV station with an additional 6 MHzchannel that will be used to broadcast DTV during the transition.8 This means that there will be fewervacant channels in every market, and that in some areas, channels that were once unused for TVbroadcasting may now be used for analog DTV. 2 See Replacement of Part 90 by Part 88 to Revise the Private Land Mobile Radio Services and Modify thePolicies Governing Them and Examination of Exclusivity and Frequency Assignment Policies of the Private LandMobile Radio Services, PR Docket 92-235, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making(Refarming R&O), 10 FCC Rcd 10076 (1995). Medical telemetry equipment operates on the Part 90 channels thatwere designated as low power offset channels under Section 90.267. Prior to the adoption of the Refarming R&O,operation on all of these channels was on a secondary basis to the high power channels operating 12.5 kHz away.In the Refarming R&O a mechanism was provided whereby devices operating on those channels could operateunder primary status contingent on the replacement of existing equipment with equipment designed to operate onchannels of 12.5 kHz or less. Because the vast majority, if not all, of the existing installed base of medicaltelemetry equipment is designed to operate with a channel bandwidth of 25 kHz, these devices continue to operatewith secondary status.3See 47 C.F.R. §§ 90.238 and 90.267.4See Refarming R&O.5Under the old Part 90 channeling scheme, medical telemetry equipment operated on special channels offset 12.5kHz from the center frequency of the primary 25.0 KHz channels. This frequency offset, combined with the lowerpower limit on these channels minimize the possibility of interference caused or received by medical telemetryequipment.6See Public Notice, "Freeze on the Filing of High Power Applications for 12.5 kHz Offset Channels in the 450-470MHz Band," released August 11, 1995, 10 FCC Rcd 9995 (1995). On June 4, 1997, the Land MobileCommunications Council (LMCC), an umbrella organization that includes frequency coordinators for the PLMRservices, submitted a proposed plan that would protect low power operation on the 12.5 kHz offset channels. TheCommission has not approved the plan, so the freeze on high power applications remains in effect.7Advanced Television Systems and Their Impact upon the Existing Television Broadcast Service, MM Docket 87-268, Sixth Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 14588 (1997).8Id, 12 FCC Rcd at 14595.2Federal Communication