New frequencies for medical telemetry. FCC's plan is final--now what?

The frequency bands used by wireless medical telemetry in the United States are getting crowded. More and more competing users are occupying those frequencies, putting medical telemetry at an ever-greater risk for harmful interference. In our May 2000 Evaluation of physiologic monitoring systems, we discussed the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) proposal to allocate new frequency bands in which medical telemetry could operate in the United States as a primary user. (Being a primary user means that medical telemetry is protected against interference from other sources in the specified frequency bands.) On June 12, 2000, FCC released a Report and Order (FCC No. 00-211) making new frequencies available for medical telemetry use on a primary basis. These new frequencies, called the Wireless Medical Telemetry Service, will be administered by a frequency coordinator and should help alleviate the crowding of available frequencies. The final rules presented in the Report and Order will go into effect on October 16, 2000. In this article, we discuss why these new frequencies are needed and what you should do about them.