Churches
Scramble to Meet FCC Rules on Wireless Mics
The Federal Communications Commission
recently mandated that anyone using wireless microphones
on the 700 MHz band must stop.
American churches have less than two weeks to change their wireless
microphone equipment
or face more than $100,000 in fines.
In January, the Federal Communications
Commission mandated that anyone using wireless microphones on the 700 MHz band
must stop by June 12 in order to make room for use by police, fire and
emergency services.
An unlicensed person or business—which
includes churches—using microphones
on frequencies between 698 and 806 MHz must
stop or face action by the FCC.
Violators could face up to $112,500 in
fines or imprisonment for continued violation, according to the FCC. Violations
will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Since December 2008, Shure Inc., a Niles,
Ill.-based audio-visual company,
has worked with churches to replace their
audio equipment.
"It's like being told that you got to
replace your dishwasher even though it's working just fine,"
said Chris Lyons, manager of educational
and technical communication at Shure.
"It affects any church that has any
number of microphones that work in the 700 MHz band.
For the last several years, that has been
one of the very popular parts of the band.
So there is a big installed base of
wireless life there."
The VillageChurch of Gurnee in Gurnee, Ill.
uses its 24 wireless devices for drama productions, music, preaching and
children's ministry. Because of the cost, the church only replaced half of its
devices.
"If we were to replace every single
channel and piece of equipment we have … it's gonna cost us about $50,000
total," said Jason Carter, the VillageChurch's pastor of
worship ministries. "We're really having to rethink how we're going to do
some of those events … It really is changing the dynamic of how we do ministry
here on Sunday mornings."
At LakewoodChurch in Houston, Texas,
the country's largest church, technical director Reid Hall spent $26,000 to
replace 35 of its wireless systems.
"It was a long, strategic plan"
Hall said. "There are many churches in similar situations that just can't
run out and plop down three or four thousand for new wireless systems. … For
them it's a huge burden."
The burden has been felt at NorthHeightsLutheranChurch
in Arden Hill, Minn., where chief audio engineer Keith
Bufis has replaced 30 wireless microphone systems at a cost of about $25,000.
"We've had to tighten our belts,"
Bufis said. "We really did not have a budget to cover it all."
Lakewood Church, Village Church, NorthHeights
and 76 other houses of worship have petitioned Congress to pass the Wireless
Microphone Users Interference Protection Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bobby
Rush, D-Ill., would allow places like churches, educational facilities,
recording studios and museums to register their spots on the television
airwaves, or "white spaces," that their wireless microphones operate
on.
"The white space is sort of this open
area right now," Carter said. "It's kind of like, you go to the beach
… you just find an empty spot and sit down. But, if you get up and go to the
concession stand … and come back, somebody else is in your spot. There is no
legal recourse for you to get your piece of sand back."
In his letter to Congress, LakewoodChurch pastor Joel Osteen said churches
"must have the right `tools' and the tools must operate properly and
without interference."
Mark Brunner, senior director of global
brand management at Shure, said the problem was, in many ways, unanticipated in
a rapidly changing technological landscape.
"Licenses were not on the radar of the
FCC until they recognized, that in order to share this spectrum with new
broadband devices, we're going to need to know where these mic's are,"
Brunner said. "And if they don't know where they are, they can't run air
traffic control."