A bit of history may be in order.

Going back many decades, international radio spectrum managers
(ITU/IFRB) designated several slices of spectrum for Industrial,
Scientific, and Medical uses on a regulated-but-non-licensed basis.
The most famous of these was the former 11-meter Amateur Radio band,
centered around 27.12 MHz (Mc/s in those days) and the 960 MHz and the
2450 MHz bands where the "WiFi" stuff eventually landed.

These bands were and to most of us still are considered "electronic
garbage cans" and Administrations could allocate uses of those
spectrum slices on the basis that the users had to accept any
interference from ISM operations.

The FCC decided to establish a class of non-licensed low-power
operations regulated under what is now Part 15 which could operate in
those spectrum spaces. The 11-meter band was allocated to the
Citizens Band Radio Service, which at first was a licensed service but
became "blanket authorization" when the renegade violators decided to
ignore the law and the FCC caved in (if you can't beat 'em, join 'em).
At the same time, ISM operations - which in general were high power
with lots of harmonics) moved to screen rooms or elsewhere in the
spectrum because their harmonics were causing interference in the VHF
Aviation band. leaving that portion of the spectrum to the CBers.

This more-or-less orderly Part 15 operation lasted for a while until
the FCC, in a stroke of lightheadedness, no doubt prodded by equipment
manufacturers with product to sell, decided to allow Part 15
operations on other portions of the spectrum allocated to licensing
users. There was quite an uproar while that was being proposed, and
the objectors were told to "sit down and be quiet".

In other words, it was a done deal where politics or ideology
overruled competent spectrum management.
--

73 de K2ASP - Phil Kane

From a Clearing in the Silicon Forest
Beaverton (Washington County) Oregon

e-mail: k2asp [at] arrl [dot] net