The Federal Communications Commission today authorized the maker of an enhanced 911 technology to begin commercial operations despite claims that the system will interfere with wireless Internet Service Providers and smart grid applications.

A company called NextNav and its subsidiary, Progeny, makes a system designed to more accurately locate people inside buildings. This is important because the trend of cell phones replacing landlines makes it more difficult to identify the location of a person calling 911. If someone had a heart attack on the 30th floor of a giant building and is able to call 911 but not speak their location, NextNav's system would theoretically find them with a network of transmitters placed throughout cities and towns. Cell phones would also require software upgrades to communicate with the NextNav network.

The proposal was controversial because NextNav's enhanced 911 location service operates on the same chunk of spectrum as wireless Internet Service Providers, smart meters, toll readers like EZ-Pass, baby monitors, and more. In March, we detailed the proposal and concerns raised by makers of systems who believe NextNav technology will cause too much interference in this band, stretching from 902-928MHz.

Extensive testing showed that there was interference, but the FCC had not defined what an "unacceptable" level of interference would be. Despite approving NextNav's proposal, the FCC once again declined to define unacceptable interference, saying "no uniform field testing method is appropriate considering the great array of devices that the Part 15 industry deploys in the 902-928 MHz, which are designed to address different needs and thus have no common design."

Part 15 refers to FCC rules regarding unlicensed wireless transmissions. NextNav is a licensed service, but would co-exist with unlicensed ones in the 902-928MHz band.

The FCC further stated that "[w]e recognize that the potential exists for interference to certain devices or systems, but also are cognizant that the potential for interference to these devices already exists because a variety of different users operate in this spectrum. Based on the evidence before us, we find that the potential for increased interference within the 902-928 MHz band that could result from commercial operation of Progeny’s M-LMS (Multilateration Location and Monitoring Service) system will not create a significant detrimental effect overall on unlicensed operations in the band, and that the band therefore can continue to be used for such unlicensed operations consistent with their Part 15 status. We therefore conclude that Progeny has satisfied the field test requirement so that it may commence commercial operations."

The FCC didn't impose any limitations on NextNav's operations but said it has to keep track of interference concerns and report back to the FCC. NextNav must establish a website and toll-free help desk to let users of unlicensed devices "seek assistance in investigating and mitigating potential interference issues." NextNav must also file three reports with the FCC from December 2013 to December 2014 detailing any interference complaints received.