FCC Approves First Software-Defined Radio

The FCC has approved the use of software-defined radios in this country – a new class of non-broadcast radio. Software defined radios can change their frequency range, modulation type or output power without the need to change hardware components. This programmable capacity permits the radios to adapt to changing needs, protocols and environments.
The Laboratory Division of the commission’s Office of Engineering and Technology issued a Grant of Certification to Vanu, Inc., a software development company, for a cellular base station transmitter. The agency said Vanu, Inc. has demonstrated that its device complies with the commission’s rules, and has shown that its software has sufficient
controls so that the device cannot be modified to operate outside its approved parameters.
The FCC has a pending rulemaking that will further streamline the software defined radio requirements, and it is working with each applicant on a case-by-case basis to facilitate compliance with the current rules.