FAQs about Legal DAS Operation
Permsissions and Licensing for a DAS: If I am an DAS owner or operator such as a business (i.e., not a Wireless Service Provider or Public Safety agency), what licenses or permissions do I need to operate my DAS legally?
The quick answer is that you do not need a license, but you need permission(s). Below is a more detailed discussion of when and why you need permission to operate a DAS; this aspect of Distributed Antenna System operation; the issues are both legal and technical in nature.
All of the radio and TV channels collectively are referred to as the RF spectrum. The spectrum is divided into different wireless operating services; we are all familiar with many of these services in our daily lives. AM radio, FM radio, commercial television, CB, WiFi, cellular wireless services of all types, amateur radio, and public safety communications are examples of different wireless services, and there are many more in use everyday but which are less known to the general public. Management of the radio spectrum in all parts of the world is the responsibility of a government agency in each county, and, in the case of the United States, this authority has been assigned to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The FCC further designates all services in all portions of the spectrum as ‘licensed’ or ‘unlicensed’ operations. If a wireless operation is licensed in the US, then only the FCC designated licensee(s) are granted the privilege of transmitting radio services in their licensed portions of the radio spectrum. If an operation is unlicensed, then any one with acceptable equipment, and who observes FCC operating procedures, can transmit that radio service in the assocaited unlicensed portion of the radio spectrum. Knowing what services are licensed or unlicensed is one key to successfully implementing a coverage system that will be acceptable for all concerned.
For the systems discussed on this site, only WiFi is an unlicensed service per the rules and regulations of the FCC. ALL of the remaining wireless signals that are usually transmitted on a DAS services are licensed operations; this includes cellular, Land Mobile Radio (commercial 2-way), paging, public safety, and so on. In the eyes of the law, the general rule is that re-radiating a licensed service without a license or permission is not accepted. So, yes, you need permissions from each Wireless Service Provider or Public Safety Agency being transmitted through the DAS.
Ignoring the permissions process in the DAS design and implementation process will very often create a situation where it is difficult to impossible for a wireless service provider to allow connection to a system that they have not approved. This can result in denial of permission and costly re-design. Operating the DAS without proper permissions will also place the owner of such a system in legal jeopardy per the FCC rules.
Practical implications of needing operating permissions: What does this mean in practical terms for system design, purchase, and implementation? What effect do the FCC rules have on me for a DAS System?
The demand for public safety communications indoors is increasing regularly. The needs for wireless communications in every day life are increasing too. Both types of service operators, public safety and commercial cellular, usually have a desire for their wireless service to be extended into your facilities. But to do this within the FCC rules and in a way that does not negatively effect the wireless network requires that the equipment, process, and results meet certain standards and regulations.
FCC rules have changed regarding repeaters and distributed antenna systems, and some very important changes took effect in 2013 in regards to the radio services most commonly transmitted through repeaters and carried on Distributed Antenna Systems. The primary change was to designate 2 different categories of repeaters (also known as bi-directional amplifiers, BDA’s). These are now divided into 2 categories of use: consumer and industrial.
- The Consumer category is for small areas and individuals, like home, single office, or in-car use.
- The Industrial category is for all systems larger than that; Industrial repeaters (and their associated DAS’s) are typically for mid-to large sized buildings and include office buildings, hospitals, businesses of more than a few office spaces, factories, municipal facilities, etc. The Consumer and Industrial category names specifically apply to the repeaters (or BDA’s). But as a practical matter, a Distributed Antenna System that is driven by a repeater or BDA or a service provider’s base station is essentially “Industrial” and will be, in actual practice, subjected to the same general rules as Industrial repeaters.
As note about Consumer cellular repeaters: Under the new FCC rules, they can be bought, installed, and operated by anyone under the new FCC rules. The one legal requirement to operate one is to NOTIFY the wireless service provider. We will not deal with these further as these are not the subject of our discussion.
FOR INDUSTRIAL REPEATERS and DAS’s: All non-Consumer designated repeaters are now classified as Industrial, and are intended to be installed in systems designed by wireless professionals. Most importantly, these are not be operated without the permission of the license holder(s) for the licensed wireless service(s) being repeated. Doing so without permission will carry stiff fines, up to $100,000 ! (New labels will be required on Industrial category repeaters with this explicitly stated.)
The real meaning of these new FCC rules to those who want a DAS system in their building is that it is only a PERMITTED operation, and the entity giving the permission is the license holder(s), or wireless system operator(s). This now applies to both cellular wireless services as well as public safety wireless services.
For smooth implementation, it is important to create a working relationship with the licensed service providers during the planning and implementation of a system, not afterwards. With expectations and requirements understood up front, the connection of a wireless service to a coverage system will be a cooperative approach.
In some cases, the license holder of the wireless service will require that they own or control the equipment that drives RF energy into the wireless coverage system. This enables them to adhere to the rules, and also gives them a practical measure of control over system operation; this is necessary in case the system malfunctions and the drive source to the system must be shut down.
A NOTE ON PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SERVICES ON DAS’s: The one past exception to this general rule was for some public safety communications. In the past and for some bands used for public safety communications, the FCC had published a rulemaking that allows repeating those signals into a DAS without explicit permission from the license holder. The repeater products had to meet certain requirements and the user certainly should have coordinated the system operation with the public safety communications agency. However, free and open operation of these systems has been changed per new FCC rules effective in 2013 and the word ‘should’ has become ‘must’. Existing repeaters and systems now have to be registered with the Public Safety radio agencies, and new systems require permission and approval prior to operation.
Corsico RF Communications personnel have worked in wireless industry for 2 decades, and have the contacts to help this process to work as it should. We care that the end user of the system knows the procedures and starts working with the wireless service providers at the start of system discussions, to avoid unwanted surprises at the end. One of our service offerings is to provide the interface as an integral part of DAS design and implementation. We advise you to beware of product and systems providers who do not fully discuss this with you up front.
How do I proceed to get permissions? Why not just forge ahead and ‘push’ the operators to join on a system later?
Besides the FCC regulatory issues, and the business and relationship issues, there are practical operating reasons to do this right, and in an up-front fashion. Wireless operations differ from wired services in that the ‘connection’ is out in the open air environment, subject to many variables of system capacity loads, seasonal changes, potential interference to and from other wireless operations, and technologies that change as the services grow. Additionally, different wireless service technologies demand different design standards. It is important that the wireless technologies and the wireless service operators’ standards be understood and observed in the design of these systems. Nothing is more wasteful of your investment than a system to which a wireless operator cannot connect, because of incompatibilities with their system.
Again, Corsico RF Communications is knowledgeable in the technologies and technical requirements of wireless systems. We are ready to help create a ‘win-win’ situation for all involved.
Additionally, ‘rouge’ systems can cause real problems to all wireless system users. A poorly implemented, misadjusted, or malfunctioning DAS can block a wireless communications system. No one wants to be responsible for blocking life-critical communications, nor be the recipient of a notice of interference or prosecution by the FCC. Very large fines can now be levied per day for unlicensed operations in the cellular bands.