Shure Pushes Mic Protection Bill

Microphone maker Shure has come out in strong support of a
bill that would protect wireless microphones now sharing the so called "white
spaces" in the TV band.

That comes as the FCC's deadline for proposals to manage a new
white spaces database was announced Jan. 4.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), would
require the FCC to allow 13 classes of professional wireless mics to register
in a geolocation database and thereby be protected from the laptops and smart
radios that the FCC is allowing to share the TV band as well.

The database will show users that the new unlicensed
wireless devices must avoid when searching for channels to use.

The protected classes of mics are for amusement parks,
arenas, convention centers, educational facilities, fairgrounds, government
facilities, houses of worship, lodging facilities, museums, recording studios,
restaurants, stadiums and theaters.  

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.