FCC revisits spread spectrum ... again.(Government Activity)

Wireless Design & Development, September, 1999 by Lazarus, Mitchell

Every few years, the FCC proposes to further relax the technical rules governing unlicensed spread spectrum. That time has come again.

Spread spectrum explained

Spread spectrum system disperses a radio signal over a wide swath of frequencies -- unlike most other radio services, which try to pack the most bits/second into the fewest Hertz of bandwidth. But a spread spectrum signal has the advantage of coexisting well with conventional narrowband signals in the same band, and even with other spread spectrum systems. Spread spectrum can reuse already-occupied bandwidth. As a bonus, it is inherently difficult to eavesdrop on, even without added encryption. The military originally developed the technology for just this reason.

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