Speeding FCC Approval of Technological Innovation

[Commentary] A lot of new products use the buzzwords “wireless connectivity.” In old-fashioned English, they have radio transmitters. This means they must go through an Federal Communications Commission approval process before they can be sold to the public. The FCC understandably writes its technical rules around existing technologies. A device made to comply with those rules can get quick authorization, even if intended for a new application. Sometimes, though, the underlying technology is so novel that the existing rules do not reasonably apply, making compliance with those rules impossible. Such a device requires individualized attention from the FCC before it can reach the market. For a new and different radio technology, the approval process usually takes years -- delays that can seriously impede innovation. More than once, a client has approached me with a concept for a new kind of radio device; but when I explained how long FCC approval would take and what it would cost, the client abandoned the idea. Other clients started the process but ran out of time and money along the way. Even when it ultimately succeeds, FCC approval adds hard-to-predict costs and delays to ventures that already carry inherently high risk.

Surely there must be ways by which the proponent of a new technology can secure FCC approval more quickly. These are set out below. Some work better than others in particular situations. The greatest improvements, though, will need a handful of changes in how the FCC goes about implementing its procedures.