Recent Developments in Interference Regulations

Ever since the World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC) of 1979, international attention has been focused on interference problems caused by Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) equipment. Additionally, the FCC proposed new limits which met with strong objections from the U.S. industry. This paper describes the international regulating bodies and their jurisdictions. Also summarized are the present international proposals and some of the problems encountered in formulating them. The outlook is toward a relaxation of international limits in many frequency bands. However, proposed limits are much more stringent than present U.S. limits. Because U.S. limits are so much more relaxed than international restrictions, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could be justified in adopting the latter in order to be "in step" with the rest of the world. In spite of this, there is no real justification for tighter limits. Discussion of these points is included.