PUBLIC NOTICE![](media/image1.png){width="0.6541666666666667in"
height="0.6604166666666667in"}

**Federal Communications Commission**

**445 12th St., S.W.**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

> **DA 99-2244**
>
> **Released: October 20, 1999**
>
> **Office of Engineering and Technology Requests Information on Medical
> Telemetry Equipment Operating in the 450-460 MHz Band**
>
> The Office of Engineering and Technology is asking parties operating
> medical telemetry equipment in the 450-460 MHz band to assist the
> Commission by providing certain information on their operation. It is
> requested that users of wireless medical telemetry equipment operating
> in this band provide information on the numbers, types, locations, and
> frequencies of equipment presently in use. Parties are asked to submit
> this information to the Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology by
> January 31, 2000. The requested information will aid the Commission in
> determining whether it is feasible to lift the currently effective
> freeze on the filing of Part 90 applications for high-power operation
> in the 450-460 MHz band on the 12.5 kHz offset channels without
> adversely affecting existing medical telemetry operations.
>
> Medical telemetry equipment is used in hospitals and health care
> facilities to transmit patient measurement data, such as pulse and
> respiration rates, to a nearby receiver. Part 90 of the Commission\'s
> rules permits medical telemetry equipment to operate on a secondary
> basis to land mobile users in the 450-470 MHz band. Hospitals and
> health care facilities holding a valid license to operate a radio
> station under Part 90 may operate medical telemetry equipment without
> any specific authorization from the Commission (see 47 C.F.R. §
> 90.267). As a consequence, the Commission does not have any records
> concerning the locations of medical telemetry operations in the
> 450-470 MHz band.
>
> In 1995, the Commission adopted changes to Part 90 of the rules to
> allow more efficient use of the spectrum for land mobile services. The
> *Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making* in PR
> Docket 92-235, FCC 95-255, released June 23, 1995
> \<www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Orders/1995/\> established a new
> channeling plan for private land mobile radio services (PLMRS). This
> *Order* adopted a channel spacing plan for PLMRS in the 450-470 MHz
> band based on 6.25 kHz.
>
> Medical telemetry equipment operates in the 450-470 MHz band on
> channels offset 12.5 kHz from regularly assignable channels under the
> old channelization plan (\"12.5 kHz offset channels\"). The maximum
> operating power for this equipment is substantially less than that
> authorized for primary users of the band. The channel separation and
> low-power
>
> operation minimize the possibility of interference received from, or
> caused to, primary users of the band. However, under the new
> channeling scheme, high-power primary users of the band would be able
> to operate on the same frequencies used for medical telemetry
> equipment. This could possibly result in interference to medical
> telemetry equipment. For this reason, on August 11, 1995, the
> Commission placed a freeze on the filing of applications for high
> power operation in the 450-470 MHz band on the 12.5 kHz offset
> channels. See the *Public Notice, "Freeze on the Filing of High Power
> Applications for 12.5 kHz Offset Channels in the 450-470 MHz Band,"*
> DA 95-1171,
> \<www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Public_Notices/1995/da951771.txt\>. The
> freeze remains in effect pending the development of a channel
> utilization plan that will protect low power operation on the 12.5 kHz
> offset channels.
>
> The Commission expects medical telemetry equipment ultimately to
> migrate out of the PLMRS bands and into new bands allocated for
> medical telemetry. The Commission recently proposed rules to allocate
> frequencies where medical telemetry equipment can operate on a primary
> basis. See the *Notice of Proposed Rule Making* in ET Docket 99-255,
> FCC 99-182, released July 16, 1999
> \<www.fcc.gov/oet/dockets/et99-255/\>. While this would be a long term
> solution to the problem of PLMRS interference to medical telemetry
> equipment, the Commission may be able take action in the near term to
> partially lift the freeze on high power applications on the offset
> channels.
>
> The Commission's records of manufacturers' equipment authorizations
> show that the majority of medical telemetry equipment authorized for
> use under Part 90 (47 C.F.R. Part 90) is authorized only for the
> 460-470 MHz portion of the 450-470 MHz band. Further, prior to the
> radio service consolidation in the *Second Report and Order* in PR
> Docket 92-235, the only \"Industrial Radio Services\" spectrum
> available to hospitals and health care facilities were frequencies
> allocated to the old Business Radio Service. There were very few
> frequencies in the 450-460 MHz band allocated to that service. For
> these reasons, it may be possible to lift the freeze on applications
> for high power operation on the 12.5 kHz offset channels in the
> 450-460 MHz band. Before doing so, however, the Commission wants to
> ensure that interference will not be caused to medical telemetry
> equipment in that band. Accordingly, we are requesting that parties
> operating medical telemetry equipment in the 450-460 MHz band provide
> certain information on their operation to the Commission\'s Office of
> Engineering and Technology. The filing of this information is strictly
> voluntary, but parties should note that providing it could help
> prevent serious interference problems in the future. Parties may want
> to check with the manufacturer of their equipment to determine the
> operating frequency.
>
> We are asking for the following information:
>
> 1\. The name and address of the institution operating the equipment,
> along with the name, telephone number and e-mail address of a contact
> person there.
>
> 2\. The number and types of devices being operated in the 450-460 MHz
> band, including the make, model number, FCC identification number,
> age, and type of equipment (e.g., heart rate monitor), and total
> number of channels of medical telemetry used in the facility.
>
> 3\. The operating frequencies and RF output power of these devices.
>
> 4\. The geographic coordinates of the institution, if known.
>
> 5\. Whether the equipment could be re-tuned to operate in the 460-470
> MHz band and, if so, the time period required for such re-tuning and
> the estimated expense of re-tuning that would be incurred by the
> institution operating the equipment.
>
> Parties are asked to respond to the following address by January 31,
> 2000.
>
> Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology
>
> Federal Communications Commission
>
> 445 12th Street, SW
>
> Washington, DC 20554
>
> For further information about this notice, please contact Hugh L. Van
> Tuyl at: (202) 418-7506, email: hvantuyl@fcc.gov.