Title 47

SECTION 15.517

15.517 Technical requirements for indoor UWB systems.

§ 15.517 Technical requirements for indoor UWB systems.

(a) Operation under the provisions of this section is limited to UWB transmitters employed solely for indoor operation.

(1) Indoor UWB devices, by the nature of their design, must be capable of operation only indoors. The necessity to operate with a fixed indoor infrastructure, e.g., a transmitter that must be connected to the AC power lines, may be considered sufficient to demonstrate this.

(2) The emissions from equipment operated under this section shall not be intentionally directed outside of the building in which the equipment is located, such as through a window or a doorway, to perform an outside function, such as the detection of persons about to enter a building.

(3) The use of outdoor mounted antennas, e.g., antennas mounted on the outside of a building or on a telephone pole, or any other outdoors infrastructure is prohibited.

(4) Field disturbance sensors installed inside of metal or underground storage tanks are considered to operate indoors provided the emissions are directed towards the ground.

(5) A communications system shall transmit only when the intentional radiator is sending information to an associated receiver.

(b) The UWB bandwidth of a UWB system operating under the provisions of this section must be contained between 3100 MHz and 10,600 MHz.

(c) The radiated emissions at or below 960 MHz from a device operating under the provisions of this section shall not exceed the emission levels in § 15.209. The radiated emissions above 960 MHz from a device operating under the provisions of this section shall not exceed the following average limits when measured using a resolution bandwidth of 1 MHz:

Frequency in MHz EIRP in dBm
960-1610 −75.3
1610-1990 −53.3
1990-3100 −51.3
3100-10600 −41.3
Above 10600 −51.3

(d) In addition to the radiated emission limits specified in the table in paragraph (c) of this section, UWB transmitters operating under the provisions of this section shall not exceed the following average limits when measured using a resolution bandwidth of no less than 1 kHz:

Frequency in MHz EIRP in dBm
1164-1240 −85.3
1559-1610 −85.3

(e) There is a limit on the peak level of the emissions contained within a 50 MHz bandwidth centered on the frequency at which the highest radiated emission occurs, fM. That limit is 0 dBm EIRP. It is acceptable to employ a different resolution bandwidth, and a correspondingly different peak emission limit, following the procedures described in § 15.521.

(f) UWB systems operating under the provisions of this section shall bear the following or similar statement in a conspicuous location on the device or in the instruction manual supplied with the device:

“This equipment may only be operated indoors. Operation outdoors is in violation of 47 U.S.C. 301 and could subject the operator to serious legal penalties.”

[67 FR 34856, May 16, 2002; 67 FR 39632, June 10, 2002]