Federal Communications Commission proposes overhaul of ultra-wideband device rules

The Federal Communications Commission proposed a comprehensive rewrite of its ultra-wideband (UWB) rules to catch up with two decades of technological change and opened the door to a dedicated class of devices for artificial-intelligence-based sensing. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, titled “Unleashing the Power of Unlicensed Ultra-Wideband Devices,” was adopted on September 30, 2026 and released on October 1; it is published in the Federal Register of November 2, 2026 under FCC 26-66, ET Docket No. 26-245. Comments are due on or before December 2, 2026, and reply comments on or before January 4, 2027.

Twenty-four years after the first framework

The Commission adopted its first UWB rules in February 2002, permitting imaging systems, vehicular radars and indoor and outdoor communication devices under part 15, subpart F. Those rules were deliberately conservative: UWB devices operate at very low power across channels typically 500 megahertz wide or more, share spectrum on a non-interference basis, and were restricted to narrow, enumerated categories.

The agency says the framework has not kept pace. Modern devices use chirp signals, stepped frequency, swept band and frequency-hopping waveforms that the 2002 text did not contemplate, generating a steady flow of waiver requests. Two petitions drove the proceeding:

• Robert Bosch LLC, filed June 18, 2019, which drew 24 comments and four ex parte filings.
• A joint petition filed December 18, 2025 by Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Car Connectivity Consortium, FiRa Consortium, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International/omlox and the Ultra-Wideband Alliance, which drew eight comments and one ex parte filing.

The Commission granted both petitions in the ordering clauses of the document, which bears the signature of Secretary Marlene Dortch.

Redefining the transmitter and how it is measured

The rules now define a UWB transmitter as an intentional radiator with fractional bandwidth of at least 0.20 or UWB bandwidth of at least 500 MHz “at any point in time.” The Commission tentatively concludes it should drop that instantaneous requirement, effectively codifying the waivers already granted for time-varying waveforms and for devices “notched” to avoid specific frequency segments.

It also proposes to exempt UWB devices from § 15.31(c), which requires sweeping to be stopped for measurement, and to amend § 15.521(d) so pulse-gated devices can be tested in normal operating mode. Any new definition must carry enough technical detail for coexistence studies with federal systems, and the agency asks about effects on the aeronautical radionavigation service, RNSS/GNSS, mobile satellite service, radar altimeters and weather radars, and whether IEEE work should inform the approach.

A new class for location sensing, and a question about AI

A second proposal would create a UWB device category for location-sensing devices that today reach market only through waiver proceedings. Such devices would operate indoors or outdoors, mobile or fixed, under combined safeguards: duty cycles at or below one percent in any 24-hour period, transmission only during active event-driven sessions and idle otherwise, a ban on forming wide-area networks, plus height limits, mounting restrictions, downward-directed emissions, antenna directivity and pulse repetition frequency limits.

The Commission also asks whether to establish a separate class for AI-enabled UWB sensing. It notes that AI has moved from generative systems to agentic AI and toward “physical AI” embedded in robots, drones and autonomous vehicles, and asks whether such systems need distinct rules, whether use should be confined to controlled industrial settings or opened to residential consumers, and what safeguards — minimum duty cycles, listen-before-talk protocols, antenna limits, indoor versus outdoor distinctions — would apply. It cites Robert Bosch’s 2019 proposal of bandwidths up to 2.5 GHz in the 6–9 GHz range, gain under 4 dBi, 90-degree patterns, mounting heights of 2–3 meters and detection ranges of 15–18 meters, and uses a UWB door lock engaged ten times a day with 660-microsecond ranging rounds to illustrate how small the duty cycle is in practice.

Toys, ships, aircraft and the coordination file

The Notice revisits the prohibitions in § 15.521(a), which bar UWB operation in toys and aboard aircraft, ships and satellites. It proposes to remove the toy prohibition, noting that “toys” is undefined and that phones and tablets now blur the line, and it would narrow the maritime ban to ships not within inland waters. It seeks comment on geofencing and device-level controls, on autonomous drone navigation and landing systems, and on whether channels 8 and 9 would reduce impact on federal systems. The § 15.525 coordination requirement would be eliminated and the section reserved.

For operators, the practical calendar is fixed:

• Comments: December 2, 2026, in ET Docket No. 26-245 via the Electronic Comment Filing System.
• Reply comments and Paperwork Reduction Act comments: January 4, 2027.
• The proceeding is treated as “permit-but-disclose” for ex parte purposes.
• An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is included for small entities; contact is Syed S. Hasan of the Office of Engineering and Technology.

The outcome will shape certification paths for device makers, the interference calculus for licensed spectrum holders and federal incumbents, and the regulatory footing for a generation of AI-driven sensors that locate, track and interpret the physical world.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 210, November 2, 2026, Proposed Rules, p. 68912 (official reference: FR Doc. 2026-22337; FCC 26-66; ET Docket No. 26-245).