47 C.F.R. Subpart H—Wireless Medical Telemetry Service (WMTS)
Title 47 - Telecommunication
Source: 65 FR 44008, July 17, 2000, unless otherwise noted.
This part sets out the regulations governing the operation of Wireless Medical Telemetry Devices in the 608–614 MHz, 1395–1400 MHz and 1427–1429.5 MHz frequency bands. [67 FR 6193, Feb. 11, 2002] (a) Authorized health care provider. A physician or other individual authorized under state or federal law to provide health care services, or any other health care facility operated by or employing individuals authorized under state or federal law to provide health care services, or any trained technician operating under the supervision and control of an individual or health care facility authorized under state or federal law to provide health care services. (b) Health care facility. A health care facility includes hospitals and other establishments that offer services, facilities and beds for use beyond a 24 hour period in rendering medical treatment, and institutions and organizations regularly engaged in providing medical services through clinics, public health facilities, and similar establishments, including government entities and agencies such as Veterans Administration hospitals; except the term health care facility does not include an ambulance or other moving vehicle. (c) Wireless medical telemetry. The measurement and recording of physiological parameters and other patient-related information via radiated bi-or unidirectional electromagnetic signals in the 608–614 MHz, 1395–1400 MHz, and 1427–1429.5 MHz frequency bands. [65 FR 44008, July 17, 2000, as amended at 67 FR 6194, Feb. 11, 2002 Authorized health care providers are authorized by rule to operate transmitters in the Wireless Medical Telemetry Service without an individual license issued by the Commission provided the coordination requirements in §95.1111 have been met. Manufacturers of wireless medical telemetry devices and their representatives are authorized to operated wireless medical telemetry transmitters in this service solely for the purpose of demonstrating such equipment to, or installing and maintaining such equipment for, duly authorized health care providers. No entity that is a foreign government or which is active in the capacity as a representative of a foreign government is eligible to operate a WMTS transmitter. The operation of a wireless medical telemetry transmitter under this part is authorized anywhere within a health care facility provided the facility is located anywhere a CB station operation is permitted under §95.405. This authority does not extend to mobile vehicles, such as ambulances, even if those vehicles are associated with a health care facility. (a) Wireless medical telemetry devices operating under this part must be authorized under the certification procedure prior to marketing or use in accordance with the provisions of part 2, subpart J of this chapter. (b) Each device shall be labeled with the following statement: Operation of this equipment requires the prior coordination with a frequency coordinator designated by the FCC for the Wireless Medical Telemetry Service. (a) Prior to operation, authorized health care providers who desire to use wireless medical telemetry devices must register all devices with a designated frequency coordinator. The registration must include the following information: (1) Specific frequencies or frequency range(s) used; (2) Modulation scheme used (including occupied bandwidth); (3) Effective radiated power; (4) Number of transmitters in use at the health care facility as of the date of registration including manufacturer name(s) and model numbers); (5) Legal name of the authorized health care provider; (6) Location of transmitter (coordinates, street address, building); (7) Point of contact for the authorized health care provider (name, title, office, phone number, fax number, e-mail address). (b) An authorized health care provider shall notify the frequency coordinator whenever a medical telemetry device is permanently taken out of service, unless the device is replaced with another transmitter utilizing the same technical characteristics as those reported on the effective registration. An authorized health care provider shall maintain the information contained in each registration current in all material respects, and shall notify the frequency coordinator when any change is made in the location or operating parameters previously reported which is material. (a) The Commission will designate a frequency coordinator(s) to manage the usage of the frequency bands for the operation of medical telemetry devices. (b) The frequency coordinator shall (1) Review and process coordination requests submitted by authorized health care providers as required in §95.1111; (2) Maintain a database of WMTS use; (3) Notify users of potential conflicts; and (4) Coordinate WMTS operation with radio astronomy observatories and Federal Government radar systems as specified in §§95.1119 and 95.1121. (5) Notify licensees—who are operating in accordance with §90.259(b)—of the need to comply with the field strength limit of §90.259(b)(11) prior to initial activation of WMTS equipment in the 1427–1432 MHz band. (6) Notify licensees—who are operating in 1392–1395 MHz band in accordance with subpart I of part 27—of the need to comply with the field strength limit of §27.804 prior to initial activation of WMTS equipment in the 1395–1400 MHz band. [65 FR 44008, July 17, 2000, as amended at 67 FR 41682, June 20, 2002] (a) Field strength limits. (1) In the 608–614 MHz band, the maximum allowable field strength is 200 mV/m, as measured at a distance of 3 meters, using measuring instrumentation with a CISPR quasi-peak detector. (2) In the 1395–1400 MHz and 1427–1429.5 MHz bands, the maximum allowable field strength is 740 mV/m, as measured at a distance of 3 meters, using measuring equipment with an averaging detector and a 1 MHz measurement bandwidth. (b) Undesired emissions. (1) Out-of-band emissions below 960 MHz are limited to 200 microvolts/meter, as measured at a distance of 3 meters, using measuring instrumentation with a CISPR quasi-peak detector. (2) Out-of-band emissions above 960 MHz are limited to 500 microvolts/meter as measured at a distance of 3 meters, using measuring equipment with an averaging detector and a 1 MHz measurement bandwidth. (c) Emission types. A wireless medical telemetry device may transmit any emission type appropriate for communications in this service, except for video and voice. Waveforms such as electrocardiograms (ECGs) are not considered video. (d) Channel use. (1) In the 1395–1400 MHz and 1427–1429.5 MHz bands, no specific channels are specified. Wireless medical telemetry devices may operate on any channel within the bands authorized for wireless medical telemetry use in this part. (2) In the 608–614 MHz band, wireless medical telemetry devices utilizing broadband technologies such as spread spectrum shall be capable of operating within one or more of the following channels of 1.5 MHz each, up to a maximum of 6 MHz, and shall operate on the minimum number of channels necessary to avoid harmful interference to any other wireless medical telemetry devices.
608.0–609.5 MHz 609.5–611.0 MHz 611.0–612.5 MHz 612.5–614.0 MHz (3) Channel usage is on a co-primary shared basis only, and channels will not be assigned for the exclusive use of any entity. (4) Authorized health care providers, in conjunction with the equipment manufacturers, must cooperate in the selection and use of frequencies in order to reduce the potential for interference with other wireless medical telemetry devices, or other co-primary users. Operations in the 608–614 MHz band (television channel 37) are not protected from adjacent band interference from broadcast television operating on channels 36 and 38. (e) Frequency stability. Manufacturers of wireless medical telemetry devices are responsible for ensuring frequency stability such that an emission is maintained within the band of operation under all of the manufacturer's specified conditions. [65 FR 44008, July 17, 2000, as amended at 67 FR 6194, Feb. 11, 2002; 68 FR 68547, Dec. 9, 2003] (a) All types of communications except voice and video are permitted, on both a unidirectional and bidirectional basis, provided that all such communications are related to the provision of medical care. Waveforms such as electrocardiograms (ECGs) are not considered video. (b) Operations that comply with the requirements of this part may be conducted under manual or automatic control, and on a continuous basis. For a wireless medical telemetry device operating within the frequency range 608–614 MHz and that will be located near the radio astronomy observatories listed below, operation is not permitted until a WMTS frequency coordinator specified in §95.1113 has coordinated with, and obtain the written concurrence of, the director of the affected radio astronomy observatory before the equipment can be installed or operated (a) Within 80 kilometers of: (1) National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo, Puerto Rico: 18°20'38.28" North Latitude, 66°45'09.42" West Longitude. (2) National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, New Mexico: 34°04'43" North Latitude, 107°37'04" West Longitude. (3) National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank, West Virginia: 38°26'08" North Latitude, 79°49'42" West Longitude. (b) Within 32 kilometers of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory centered on: The National Science Foundation point of contact for coordination is: Spectrum Manager, Division of Astronomical Sciences, NSF Room 1045, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230, telephone: 703–306–1823. Due to the critical nature of communications transmitted under this part, the frequency coordinator in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration shall determine whether there are any Federal Government systems whose operations could affect, or could be affected by, proposed wireless medical telemetry operations in the 1395–1400 MHz and 1427–1429.5 MHz bands. The locations of government systems in these bands are specified in footnotes US351 and US352 of §2.106 of this chapter. [67 FR 6194, Feb. 11, 2002] The manufacturers, installers and users of WMTS equipment are cautioned that the operation of this equipment could result in harmful interference to other nearby medical devices. Portable devices as defined in §2.1093(b) of this chapter operating in the WMTS are subject to radio frequency radiation exposure requirements as specified in §§1.1307(b) and 2.1093 of this chapter. Applications for equipment authorization of WMTS devices must contain a statement confirming compliance with these requirements. Technical information showing the basis for this statement must be submitted to the Commission upon request. A WMTS station is not required to transmit a station identification announcement. All WMTS transmitters must be available for inspection upon request by an authorized FCC representative.
Title 47: Telecommunication
PART 95—PERSONAL RADIO SERVICES
Subpart H—Wireless Medical Telemetry Service (WMTS)
General Provisions
§ 95.1101 Scope.
§ 95.1103 Definitions.
§ 95.1105 Eligibility.
§ 95.1107 Authorized locations.
§ 95.1109 Equipment authorization requirement.
§ 95.1111 Frequency coordination.
§ 95.1113 Frequency coordinator.
§ 95.1115 General technical requirements.
§ 95.1117 Types of communications.
§ 95.1119 Specific requirements for wireless medical telemetry devices operating in the 608–614 MHz band.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Very long baseline array stations Latitude (north) Longitude (west)------------------------------------------------------------------------Pie Town, NM...................... 34°18[min] 108°07[min]Kitt Peak, AZ..................... 31°57[min] 111°37[min]Los Alamos, NM.................... 35°47[min] 106°15[min]Fort Davis, TX.................... 30°38[min] 103°57[min]North Liberty, IA................. 41°46[min] 91°34[min]Brewster, WA...................... 48°08[min] 119°41[min]Owens Valley, CA.................. 37°14[min] 118°17[min]Saint Croix, VI................... 17°46[min] 64°35[min]Mauna Kea, HI..................... 19°49[min] 155°28[min]Hancock, NH....................... 42°56[min] 71°59[min]------------------------------------------------------------------------
§ 95.1121 Specific requirements for wireless medical telemetry devices operating in the 1395–1400 MHz and 1427–1429.5 MHz bands.
§ 95.1123 Protection of medical equipment.
§ 95.1125 RF safety.
§ 95.1127 Station identification.
§ 95.1129 Station inspection.
