Spectrum Needs for Personal-Radio Services

The existing personal-radio service in the United States at 27 MHz, the Citizens Band (CB) Service, is plagued with problems that directly or indirectly stem from the service's spectrum allocation. The current allocation appears insufficient to meet growing demands imposed by a large service population, now estimated to be in excess of 20-million persons. In addition, its radio/television-interference properties and its susceptibility to "skip" propagation reduce the usefulness of the service and cause disruption of other services. Accordingly, the FCC's Personal-Radio Planning Group is now evaluating possible changes in the allocation and nature of personal radio. This analysis has involved an initial review of existing spectrum allocations in the 25-1215-MHz band. Those frequencies for which there is now sufficient demand, locations that would impose high relocation costs, and those that would pose severe television-interference potential have been eliminated from consideration, leaving a set of primary spectrum candidates. The suitability of these spectrum candidates for new or modifiled personal-radio services is being assessed so that a sound spectrum-allocation decision can be made.