FCC Defends Revised OTARD Rules at DC Circuit
The FCC defended revised rules for over-the-air reception devices, approved by commissioners in January (see 2101070068), against a petition by Children’s Health Defense and four individuals asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the rules.…
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The order provides protections already afforded to OTARD devices to “hub and relay” antennas used for the distribution of broadband-only service to multiple customer locations. “The FCC explained” in the order “that the multi-purpose nature of modern antennas makes the exclusion obsolete and that its repeal will encourage the deployment of fixed wireless networks that provide high-speed Internet access and other services to consumers,” the agency said in a Tuesday brief in docket 21-1075 (in Pacer): Plaintiffs “see this modest update as a sea change.” Petitioners lack standing to bring the case, the FCC said. They “do not show that the FCC’s modest amendment substantially increases the risk of alleged harm from exposure to radiofrequency emissions when compared to the preexisting rule, or that the injuries to Children’s Health’s organizational interests can be attributed to the rule change,” the FCC said. The change “falls easily within the FCC’s broad authority to regulate radio communications,” the brief said. Oral argument hasn’t been scheduled. The court earlier declined to stay the order (see 2104010064).