The FCC’s consumer signal booster rules are working well, according to several entities, although T-Mobile US, Inc., asked the agency to make a change to its regulations. The comments were filed in WT docket 10-4 by yesterday’s deadline in response to a public notice released last month by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau seeking comments on the current state of consumer signal boosters (TRDaily, Feb. 29). The FCC adopted new booster rules in 2013 (TRDaily, Feb. 20, 2013). It adopted a further notice of proposed rulemaking in 2014 (TRDaily, Sept. 23, 2014).

T-Mobile said the rules have worked well, but it said that “[t]he record to date unanimously favors removing the personal use restriction” for provider-specific boosters. “Given that the record compiled in response to the FNPRM has been complete for over a year, the Commission should proceed to finalize the rulemaking and eliminate the restriction as soon as possible,” it added. “This will serve the public interest by facilitating the use of provider-specific boosters in small businesses or in specific areas with coverage problems that are not  appropriate places for installation of industrial boosters.”

T-Mobile also urged the FCC to ensure that its field offices have adequate resources to investigate complaints of interference from boosters, noting that a restructuring of the agency’s field offices involves closing many offices. Currently, “it generally takes 7-10 days after a complaint is filed for FCC field engineers to get to a site where interference is occurring. During that time and until resolution, T-Mobile will continue to suffer interference that in many cases degrades service from multiple cell sites,” the carrier said.

T-Mobile also asked the FCC to provide more detail on devices in lists of certified boosters it releases.

“There is no reason to modify the Commission’s consumer signal booster rules at this time,” Verizon Communications, Inc., said. “Those rules are working as intended to make signal boosters available to customers that need them while protecting wireless networks from interference.”

Verizon also said that it “has over 10,000 registered consumer signal booster users, and that number has more than doubled in the last year. Any customers that want to purchase a consumer signal booster to enhance coverage in rural or other areas may now choose from multiple booster models designed to work on their service provider’s network.”

“The FCC has struck the correct balance between the robust deployment of signal boosters and the protection of wireless networks from harmful interference,” said Spot On Networks LLC, a designer and installer of signal booster systems. “No changes to the existing framework should be made.”

In a recent filing consenting to the use of boosters that have received FCC certification, Sprint Corp. said that it “has found that Consumer Signal Boosters certified by OET as meeting the required Network Protection Standards are currently causing no significant negative impact on our Network operations.” – Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

 Courtesy TRDaily