Shouldn't retail stores be advertizing this before it gets too too LATE????

In a nut shell, if your wireless mics/systems work between 698 MHz ~ 806 MHz spectrum, it will soon be 'useless' in the USA !!!!!!

USA. As Congress tries to decide whether to push back the long-
planned transition to Digital TV on February 17, a lesser-known
digital move-out will take place the same day...and many of the
people it affects are completely unaware of it.

Last year, the FCC reallocated and partially auctioned off the 698
MHz to 806 MHz spectrum, generally referred to as the 700 MHz
frequency band. The space, previously used for TV channels 52 through
69, will now be home to public safety and commercial users--which
means wireless mic users with gear operating in that spectrum have to
vacate the premises by mid-February. Many end-users, however, have no
idea that the move is coming.

"Among those who are actually touching the mics and using them--
musicians, houses of worship, et. cetera--people are pretty much in
the dark," said Michael Pettersen, Shure's director of applications
engineering.

Many fellow manufacturers concur. "We've gotten a lot of calls in the
last month as people learned of it, but considering the number of
units that are out in the field, very few people are aware of the
situation," said Dave Egenberger, wireless mic product manager,
Electro-Voice.

"In general, rental houses and broadcasters have been on top of the
issue, as well as many houses of worship, but many independent
musicians and video producers only heard about it recently,"
confirmed Joe Ciaudelli, wireless spokesperson for Sennheiser. Joseph
Wagoner, product manager for wireless tour/installed sound at AKG,
predicted, "There will be a lot of end users who operate one or two
wireless systems who are not going to be aware until they are forced
one way or another to confront this issue. I believe most
manufacturers have made a great effort to get the word out on this
issue to their customers and to the general public."

If end users are unaware of their upcoming legal responsibilities
regarding wireless mics, it wouldn't be the first time; Cliff Castle,
vice president of sales and marketing at Audix, noted, "My sense is
that most end users are not aware of the change, and if they are,
they are probably confused about what it means; after all, most users
are not aware that they are required by FCC to have a license to
operate wireless systems."

The FCC itself is adding to the confusion, having yet to offer
definitive rulings on many aspects of the transition, despite the
fact that the massive mic migration is only a few weeks away.
Notably, there are currently no set parameters on how the move will
take place or what happens to users who may unwittingly use the
frequency band after February 17.

That said, the FCC has moved forward on a few issues, as Jackie
Green, vice president of R&D engineering at Audio-Technica, pointed
out, noting, "No further type approvals are being allowed for 700 MHz
systems--this means no new product development or importation in this
band. However, the FCC has not yet stated how it will handle existing
licensed wireless users in the 700 MHz band. We are hoping--and
requesting-- that if existing users are asked to vacate, [that] the
FCC considers a two-year transition period."


That may or may not happen--many wireless microphone manufacturers
banded together through the Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance
(PAMA) trade group to file ex parte comments with the FCC on January
5 regarding expected negative effects of a hasty, disruptive
transition. For those manufacturers, it's imperative that they make
their customers aware of the changes arriving in the coming weeks.
Audix's Castle explained, "As a secondary user, you must not
interfere with users holding a license to operate. The FCC will hunt
you down if, as a low power secondary user, you are causing
interference for any of the legal owners of this bandwidth, and you
will be asked to shut down your systems, licensed user or not."

Hoping to drive the point home, companies investing in the
reallocated 700 MHz spectrum are lobbying the FCC to levy heavy fines
against mic users who trespass into the spectrum. Whether any
wireless mic users would actually be hit with a fine, however, is
another story.

Karl Winkler, director of business development, Lectrosonics,
opined, "It is highly unlikely that the FCC will have the resources
to police the spectrum, because they can't do it right now in the UHF
band in general. They have essentially turned a blind eye to the use
of wireless mics over the past several decades, since the use of
these products has been largely benign. The only instances where I
could see the FCC getting involved is if one of the spectrum owners
has reports of interference, and it is tracked down to a wireless mic
user--but since UHF wireless mic systems are so low powered, even
this is an unlikely scenario."

Even so, wireless mic users who plan to cross their fingers and
continue using the 700 MHz band may be looking for trouble.
Sennheiser's Ciaudelli offered, "Once the FCC ratifies a deadline
prohibiting wireless mic use in that band, heavy fines could be
levied on anyone that does not comply. Typically, the FCC reacts to
specific complaints, and they are likely to be far more vigilant with
complaints of unauthorized use of channels 63-64 (764-776 MHz) and 68-
69 (794-806 MHz) which are reserved for emergency communication. "

It's worth pointing out, however, that wireless mic users will have
other reasons to move on; once the spectrum's new tenants move in,
the 700 MHz band will likely remind wireless mic users of Baseball
great Yogi Berra's famous quote: "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too
crowded."

According to Shure's Pettersen, "What will ultimately happen is that
users may one day find that they are taking hits and getting
interference from new devices using the bandwidth. Instead of
transmitting 100 feet, they will only go about 10, and so on. Changes
are coming, and we all have to prepare."

For AKG's Wagoner, however, that's something worth welcoming: "I
believe it to be a catalyst for change; this is a historic time with
the change to all digital television-- and with change comes
opportunity. At AKG Acoustics USA, we have a great opportunity to
present some of the new products."

An influx of new wireless gear into the hands of end-users will do
more than benefit the manufacturers; Lectrosonics' Winkler pointed
out, "users with low-cost, low-quality wireless mics will have to
replace them, and this is not a bad thing for the industry or the
users. This change in regulation may provide the impetus for them to
go ahead and budget for new systems."

For end users who don't have the financial reserves at the moment,
there's hope for them too--at least temporarily, as EV's Egenberger
observed: "In the short term, once they turn off the analog TV
stations below 700 MHz, there's more spectrum available to us in the
short term. Till they open up the whole white space thing--which is a
totally separate issue."

Audio-Technica' s Jackie Green took perhaps the widest view of the
situation, however, and pointed out a critical factor that could be
easily overlooked: "We should not forget that one very important
reason the FCC is clearing this band is to ensure coordinated safety
communications for everyone. That certainly qualifies as a silver
lining."

The trouble is, is any investment in new wireless equipment in the new usable range likely to go through the same problems, as the FCC continue to sell off chunks of the spectrum that don't have massive corporate backing for protection?

The article touches on perhaps the wrong point, in a way. I'm not sure that interference from US, as low powered as most of our wireless devices are, will be much of a problem, but interference from the new owners of this spectrum will certainly effect us...