Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Beware of poor and illegal advice

From: NEXTEL-1
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 12:01:48 -0400

Beware of poor — and illegal — advice
July 15, 2004 10:30am
Mobile Radio Technology

Apparently, I struck a nerve with my column about signal boosters. That
column generated more e-mails than any column I've written in the past
twenty years, and that includes the current 800 MHz interference fiasco.
The following is typical of the comments I received:

“We, as an industry, need to speak out as you have and address the
pervasive issue of poorly designed BDA/in-building systems and the
resultant interference and disruption they can cause — right on!”
It would appear from some of the questions I received, however, that I
might not have been clear enough in some of my statements. Therefore, I
thought I would take this opportunity to clarify a couple of points:

Q: Our county uses Nextel for many non-emergency applications. Are we
allowed to install a BDA in one of our buildings, or is this something
that can only be done by Nextel?

A: Although BDAs and signal boosters do not need to be separately
licensed, Sections 90.203(a)(2) and 90.213(e) provide that only the
licensee (or applicant for a new station authorization) may operate
these devices without separate authorization. Therefore you cannot
operate a BDA or signal booster without the authorization of the
licensee.

Q: If one were to follow the letter of the law, would all emitters in
this spectrum band and geographical area be required to sign off on the
use of the broadband BDA?

A: Yes. If you're using a broadband booster to amplify Nextel's signal,
you're also boosting the signal of everyone else in the band, including
public-safety systems. Therefore, each would need to give permission for
the broadband booster to be used.
Though achieving a better signal may sound like a great idea, a booster
that's not professionally installed might cause interference. That
interference might come in the form of amplifying some public-safety
licensee's signal beyond their service area, causing interference to a
co-channel licensee. Or, it might come in the form of the “halo” effect
that a booster can have, which would create a “ring” at a distance away
from the booster where the original signal and the boosted signal would
interfere with each another.

Unfortunately, it appears that at least some manufacturers are selling
boosters intended to amplify a Nextel signal, and specifically telling
customers no permission is needed (or simply failing to mention anything
about the issue). For example, one such company has an online customer
forum, and a customer recently asked whether licensing or permission
were required, and the moderator said no.

When I saw the incorrect answer, I posted my own analysis, and gave
complete information about myself, so that readers would understand my
background in answering the question. Within twenty-four hours the
moderator had removed my posting! Not a response from the moderator
saying I was wrong (and why), just a complete removal. I posted the same
response twice more in different parts of the forum where the same
question had come up. In each case, my post (and eventually the entire
topic) was removed. My rights to post on the forum have been removed,
too. Ridiculously, the moderator now says that it's not the company's
position to give out legal advice, hence the removal of my post. Funny,
somehow that didn't apply to their original response in the forum.

The FCC recently issued a Consumer Advisory, asking for information
concerning the sale of allegedly illegal (non-FCC certified) equipment.
While the equipment sold by the aforementioned company isn't technically
illegal, its unauthorized use certainly is. This would seem a good place
for the FCC to start its effort.

http://www.hoovers.com/free/news/detail.xhtml?ArticleID==NR200407152500.2.3_0a33001f9509c379

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