AVS Official Topic - The FCC & Broadcast Spectrum - Page 93

Former FCC commissioner Michael Copps said that he thinks there is a lot of spectrum lying fallow.

"There is a lot of spectrum out there, and I don't think anybody in the United States has very much of a clue exactly how much spectrum is lying fallow," he said in an interview for The Communicators series on C-SPAN.

He was asked whether the FCC had been remiss in making sure spectrum was available.

"I'll bet you there is a whole bunch of [spectrum] lying fallow that could fuel a whole lot of devices and fuel a whole lot of technology," which he said was an argument for a complete spectrum inventory.

Copps said he hoped the commission would expedite incentive auctions, but he said he was not comfortable with taking spectrum from one consolidated medium (broadcasters) to give it to another (wireless). "That does not necessarily translate into automatic enhancement of the public interest," he said...

Originally Posted by Falcon_77

From B&C:

Copps: A Whole Lot of Spectrum Lying Fallow

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/art...ing_Fallow.php



Wasn't there already a call by Congress for a complete spectrum inventory?

Looking at the spectrum analyzer, broadcasting certainly appears to make the best use of spectrum. 700MHz LTE (download side only) also appears to make good use of spectrum. Outside of that, there are often seems to be very little being used at any given time.

FCC adopts channel sharing rules

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted new rules April 27 that will allow broadcasters to share the same 6MHz television channel, putting in place a key portion of its plan to make more spectrum available for wireless broadband Internet service.

The agency adopted the Report and Order in anticipation of conducting voluntary incentive auctions. It allows multiple broadcast stations to elect to transmit programming while sharing a single channel.

The Report and Order establishes a framework for how two or more television licensees may voluntarily share a single 6MHz channel in conjunction with the auction process.

According to the rules, stations will continue to be required to retain at least one SD programming stream transmitted OTA at no direct charge to viewers. However, they will be given the flexibility to tailor channel sharing agreements to meet individual programming and economic needs.

Stations sharing the same 6MHz channel will employ a single transmission facility, but will each continue to be licensed separately. Each will retain its original call sign, retain all the rights pertaining to an FCC license and remain subject to all of the FCC's rules, policies and obligations.

The new rules apply to full power and Class A television stations, including both commercial and noncommercial educational television stations. They neither increase nor decrease the cable and satellite carriage rights currently afforded broadcast licensees.

The Report and Order did not act on the proposals in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish fixed and mobile allocations in the U/V bands nor to improve TV service on VHF channels.

According to a commission announcement, the agency will address the allocation issue in a future rulemaking and may also address the VHF issues at a later date.

Originally Posted by kenglish

I think it's pretty much wide open.
Anything that can be sent digitally could be sent by stations, as long as they have sufficient bandwidth. They could send audio, video, graphics and charts, internet-like streams (IPTV), control signals for traffic lights and water utilities.....anything.

Personally, I'd like it all to be related to broadcasting, but if few people want to use it via OTA, then it could be used for whatever "wireless" uses they can sell.

Originally Posted by BCF68

What are the odds that any major network stations are going to share channels?

Originally Posted by Sammer

Why would any major station want to "jump the shark" by sharing channels?

Originally Posted by BCF68

How so? If they take away HD from OTA and cable/satellite refuse to pay up NO ONE can watch their HD programming. Can't make money if no one is watching.

Congress Appoints Spectrum Working Group, Experts Call for Spectrum Inventory

Broadcasters had a busy April, keeping one eye on the federal government and the regulations that will govern upcoming spectrum incentive auctions, and the other eye on the new TV innovations coming to market. These exciting new technologies will empower viewers to get their favorite news, sports and entertainment on an ever expanding list of mobile phones and devices.

Our top priority continues to be ensuring viewers are not harmed as the federal government shapes the policy that will govern the spectrum incentive auctions. The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee recently appointed a Bipartisan Federal Spectrum Working Group to examine how the federal government can use the nation’s airwaves more effectively. We are monitoring these efforts to ensure that any recommendations take into account the needs of television viewers like you.

Interestingly, several independent experts have recently called into question whether a spectrum crunch exists, or whether wireless carriers simply need to be more efficient in their spectrum use. This is leading to renewed calls, most recently from former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, for the government to conduct a complete spectrum inventory before rushing to reclaim spectrum from local TV stations.

In the meantime, local TV stations continue to innovate to better serve viewers like you. Earlier this month at the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nev., technology to deliver high-quality broadcast video to mobile devices took center stage. On display were a plethora of devices capable of receiving over-the-air mobile DTV signals, allowing viewers to get their favorite video programming live on their mobile devices, without incurring any costly mobile data usage or charges.

We will continue to keep you up-to-date with new developments related to the implementation of spectrum legislation and new broadcast innovations on The Future of TV website and blog. You can also get updates via your favorite social network when you connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Thank you for continuing to be a champion for free, over-the-air television!

Originally Posted by nathill

I like your line of thinking a whole lot better than I like mine.
It seems to me that every time locals demand more money from cable/satellite, they seem to get it.
I'm afraid the locals will quit giving away something they're getting a nice price for from the cable/satellite folks. Send out SD OTA, sell HD to cable/satellite.
If there's anybody reading this thread with more insight into the situation than me (which is pretty much everybody), let us know your thoughts.

Originally Posted by Jedi Master

If they do that they should go ahead and take the color away too and make more money from cable/satellite. But this isn't in their plans.

Originally Posted by BCF68

What are the odds that any major network stations are going to share channels? And if they do how is that going to show up on your TV? for example if WKRN( channel 2 ) and WSMV( channel 4) decided to share. Well currently channel 2 is on RF 27 but shows up as 2.1. Is WSMV which everyone knows as channel 4 and shows up as 4.1 suddenly going to show up as 2.2 or 2.3? Yeah that's not confusing not only is channel 4 not on the real channel 4 it shows up as 2.something. Just what grandma likes confusing stuff.

Originally Posted by nathill

Big businesses make decisions every day based on short term profits with little or no thought regarding their future.
A few quick millions for part of their OTA spectrum could be very appealing to greedy station owners, I'm afraid.

Originally Posted by nathill

Did I detect a needle somewhere in the "take the color away too" part?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by kenglish

In our Engineering Department, some of us have (half-jokingly) discussed....

How about the entire Broadcast Industry just bids on the spectrum, keeps it all for Broadcast use, and puts an SDTV signal out for free?
Then, we use the rest of our bandwidth to broadcast encrypted HDTV for a fee.
And, we only supply SDTV to the Cable and satellite re-sellers. No HDTV available to the "competition".

(Of course, we might do a lot of antenna ads on the SDTV channels.)

Originally Posted by dhett

That's funny, but in reality, the stations would go broke doing so. Too many people are perfectly content watching a 4:3 SDTV signal - stretched out to 16:9, of course - because they think that's HDTV.

CEA to Broadcasters: give up spectrum for a “better use”

by Michael Grotticelli May 7th, 2012

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), has again pressed broadcasters to give up their spectrum for the use of wireless broadband applications.

In a letter to NAB President Gordon Smith last week, Shapiro accused the NAB chief of using his leadership platform to discourage broadcasters from participating in the spectrum auction.

“As you know, broadcasters do not legally own the spectrum at issue and have been assigned limited duration licenses,” Shapiro wrote. “Congress was extraordinarily generous in allowing broadcasters to be compensated for these limited duration licenses should they choose to offer them for auction.

“Recent statements discouraging participation in and support of these auctions are not only inconsistent with the goals of Congress, but also are not helpful to competition necessary for a successful and competitive auction,” he said.

Shapiro cited a headline from the recent NAB trade show saying that the NAB had “declared war on wireless.” The NAB’s Smith was quoted at the show as saying that the adversaries of broadcasters are smart, ruthless and “believe that the best days of broadcasting are over.”

Shapiro, continued, noting that in your NAB keynote that you “‘don’t envy the commission its job; implementation of the legislation is daunting and will take years to complete,’ which isn’t a ringing endorsement of the upcoming auctions.

“Nor are statements to press that ‘we’ve heard no hooves of a stampede. I find our members excited about their business, their futures and anxious to hold on to their spectrum.’ ”

Shapiro has been critical in the past of the broadcasters whose “paltry audience” for over-the-air television broadcasts is using valuable spectrum. He also criticized the NAB for lobbying against using spectrum for wireless broadband.

The CEA chief has outlined his arguments in a book, The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream. In that book, he calls for rapid development of wireless broadband services in order for the U.S. to meet the demands of millions of American consumers.

NAB spokesperson Dennis Wharton disputed Shapiro’s characterization.

“NAB supported the voluntary incentive auction legislation passed by Congress and looks forward to working with the FCC and Congress to implement the bill,” said Wharton. “We would note that just like radio and TV, spectrum licenses of broadband providers like Verizon and AT&T are also of limited duration and subject to renewal.”