Churches Breaking FCC Law
I wish I had the ear of more pastors. If I did, they would have known by now that the Federal Communications Commission has enacted law that orders all users of the 700MHz band to move frequencies. That may sound like techno-nonsense, but I assure you it will affect a great many churches because older (and often less expensive) wireless mics, in-ear systems and assisted listening systems use the 700 MHz frequency.
As of June 12, 2010, churches must cease using any 700 MHz gear or be subject to prosecution. Here’s the legal mumbo-jumbo:
FCC 08-188 (NPRM&O), Paragraph 14:
“As discussed above, the Commission and various affected parties, such as SBE and Shure, have contemplated that low power broadcast auxiliary devices would lose their secondary status, and would need to vacate the band, upon completion of the DTV transition. We therefore tentatively conclude to revise our rules to make clear that low power auxiliary stations authorized under Part 74 of our rules – including wireless microphones – will not be permitted to operate in the 700 MHz band after the DTV transition.”
My friend Mike Sessler (churchtecharts.org) created a nifty chart (for those who want to dial their inner geek up to 11) showing how this will pan out : Download the PDF chart here.
Fortunately for churches, many of the manufacturers went to battle on The Hill for you (in particular, Shure, Inc. and Sennheiser – thanks, fellas). They lost, but they have since regrouped and made trade-in offers to make this mandatory transition less costly. Check out Shure’s rebate and Sennheiser’s rebate.
So, pastors, follow me on Twitter and have a tech dude speaking into your life. @anthonycoppedge. Oh, not sure about Twitter? Well, here’s a big, shameless plug for my e-book “The Reason Your Church Must Twitter”. $5. Get it.
2 Responses to “Churches Breaking FCC Law”
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I'm Anthony Coppedge, a follower of Jesus, a husband to my uber-bride and father to four great kids. I help ministries leverage technology and communicate with a digitally-infused culture. I'm passionate about this, so that makes me a Technology & Communications Evangelist. I attend and volunteer at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX and love it!
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Unfortunately most churches either don't know about this, or are ignoring it. In the words of one of the sound techs at my church: "They can't make us buy new microphones." Oh yes, they can.
There are two sound techs (father/son) at my church that share this view. Their thinking is, since it's only for an hour a week, they can still use the soon-illegal bands. Along those lines, does that mean that I can drive down a highway marked 55mph, but go 90, and not get in trouble because I only do it for an hour a week? Somehow, I don't think that would work.
Being a small church, the pastor calls the shots, so it's time that he gets the details.
Thanks Anthony for continuing the push on getting the word out. I've been advocating for more than 5 years this was going to happen. Even recently I talked to a church tech guy who was dismayed this was going on. I was disappointed he had not already made the change. Churches need to be aware that the potential for someone outside the building to interfere with their wireless systems is huge. Imagine during your message you pickup random emergency services calls in your sound system. Part of the reason there is such a large chunk given to public safety is so that multiple agencies can communicate easier. This means the likelihood of this communication being open is high. The wireless receiver in your church could pick it up. I can't imagine having that conversation with my leadership as to why it happened.