FCC Details TV Spectrum Plan

The commission releases a paper spelling out how it is proposing to divert 120 MHz of spectrum from broadcasting to wireless broadband service. It emphasizes that any broadcast spectrum recovered would be voluntary and the FCC will work to keep any loss of service due to repacking the TV band to a minumum.
TVNewsCheck,

The FCC today released a 57-page paper -- "Spectrum Analysis: Options for Broadcast Spectrum" -- that provides a more detailed look out how the agency proposes to divert 120 MHz of spectrum from broadcasting to wireless broadband service, one of the cornerstones of the FCC's National Broadband Plan.

"We cannot emphasize strongly enough two critical points that are the cornerstones of the paper," said Julius Knapp, chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, on his official blog.

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"First, any contributions of spectrum by TV broadcasters to an incentive auction will be voluntary. Second, consumers will continue to have access to free over-the-air TV broadcasting service and every effort will be made to minimize any losses of service due to repacking of the TV broadcast band."

According to Knapp, the paper:

  • Provides detail on how broadcasters that voluntary give up spectrum could share in some of the proceeds from the auctioning of that spectrum.
  • Provides support for the FCC belief that two stations can share a single 6 MHZ channel and still offer HD programming.
  • Offers a "new TV allotment optimization model" for repacking the broadcast band to free up spectrum.

"This paper represents the start of the process -- not the conclusion," Knapp says. "It offers provocative ideas that deserve to be fully vetted and considered."

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Comments (16) -

PhillyPhlash Nickname posted a year ago
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By law, spectrum belongs to the American people, not to the licensees, and no licensee has legal standing to share in or profit from auction proceeds. This plan will never pass judicial muster. This FCC is on a fool's errand, and this appears to be a solution in search of a problem. Is the real ulterior motive the displacement of spectrum to cellular, so that spectrum can be reclaimed under the pretext of national security for military uses? Read this and open your eyes, broadcasters:

http://nowpublic.com/world/u-s-silently-tortures-americans-cell-tower-microwaves

Radiofreq Nickname posted a year ago
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Let's see, the U.S. Military already has exclusive domestic use of 225 through 400 MHz; then 400-420 MHz is reserved for "Government" use (as opposed to "Military"). How many overpaid Broadcast execs and Engineering honchos are actually aware of that? Is there a lobbyist within 100 miles of D.C. who understands the difference between VHF and VHS?? Doubtful, but as long as everything American is done through personal connections and greaseoffs, it doesn't really matter, does it??
TVCarl Nickname posted a year ago
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I realized that broadcast TV was nearing the beginning of the end when they gave us a standard without enough forward error correction to make a portable TV work. Well, they fixed that with mobile ATSC. Now they want us to share a single channel and give that up as well as some of the resolution needed to keep those monster flat screens clean. I guess the FCC won't be happy until all the spectrum is auctioned off - leaving nothing for our grand children. I can't imagine what could be driving the emergency in Washington to get all of this done right now. Oh wait, I forgot. We want to bring wireless broadband to rural America. Bah! Humbug! Nobody gives a flip about rural America. It's just an excuse to hand more control over to the money people. I say, no one gets a channel in the top 100 markets until all of the bottom 500 are served. The cry from here on out should be "Rural first!" If that is the real reason, let the people driving this baby prove it by building the "RURAL FIRST!" Once that's done, then we can discuss all the rest of these ideas.
Martha Perry posted a year ago
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There is an amazing scam going on with this "Rural" thing. I happened to research a single individual MSO and followed this operator's name from state to state tracking their recept of millions in government grants to deliver cable to Rural America. What I found was gross fraud. After the operator received grants and purchased systems, they then went on to collect "annual" fees for service, only to neglect to pay for cable nets which were then dropped so that eventually each system unravelled out of existence, leaving subs high and dry with no recourse. Operator kept money from Government grants AND subs! The money was channelled through the Department of Agriculture...figure that out. No wonder no one is aware of it. Who'd look there???
dave rickmers posted a year ago
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Wasn't the plan to do a spectrum inventory first, then decide who is being inefficient, then take that spectrum away. I suspect that the UHF Aero band is the least busy, except maybe near Edwards, Cape Canaveral, and Nellis.
Jim McKinnon posted a year ago
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The only possible solution to the broadband plan is to insure every household free access to the internet, just as Americans have had access to free over the air television for about six decades. If free television has to give way for broadband, then the broadband should be at the same cost.
BBBoater Nickname posted a year ago
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PhillyPhlash I hate to tell you, but a large portion of the people's spectrum has already been bought by Srpint-Nextel and others. I agree with you that the airwaves belong to the public and should be licensed for use, not sold to the highest bidder. Once free broadcast goes away and everything is subscription or internet based, the government can re-route, block, monitor, and tax everything a person accesses. It is all about information control. Research China's broadband plan white paper. They also place rural broadband access as a high priority.
eagleeye1 Nickname posted a year ago
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Great points here. I would not believe a single thing that comes out of the FCC. They are not to be trusted and the power of free over the air TV to hold Washington and local public officials accouintable is priceless. PLEASE understand that the first amendment is at stake here. This is part of a long drawn out plan that has been going on for decades now. Our current Commissioner is a student of previouis admininstrations that want nothing more than to control speech.
D BP Nickname posted a year ago
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Having just read this technical paper, I'm puzzled. As justification for taking UHF spectrum from TV for broadband, the paper merely contrasts the problems of VHF vs. the advantages of UHF. Nothing at all is mentioned about any other bands and their characteristics. Why is the FCC targeting only UHF and not studying other bands for broadband use? Are other higher bands unsuitable and, if so, why? Then we have the usual disparaging comments about sub-channels (like This TV) being money losers and the uncertainty of mobile DTV's future in the US. Never mind that these services are either too new to have gained sufficient momentum or are still emerging. This paper is touted as being a fair and balanced analysis on the subject of spectrum reclamation. Sorry, but I see anti-broadcaster bias all over it.
David David posted a year ago
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John Terhar posted a year ago
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First, broadcasting is so much more efficient than cell data. The same OTA signal goes everywhere. Unless the model changes, digital is point to point. You can't free up enough spectrum to run streamed audio and video to every user. Plus, digital providers are going away from the unlimited data plans to a cost per megabyte. This means higher rates. When you talk mobile video, the broadcasters already have it and, in an emergency, when all the cell services are overwhelmed, the broadcasters will be able to provide news to everyone in the SMSA. TVCarl is right. High density population areas are going to be the main targets. This is also where most TV stations are located. The FCC speaks of getting 2 HD signals onto a single 6 mHz channel. Look at WABC/KABC. Well, they have 2 16X9 program streams...I'll give them that. One gets about 12 mbits, the other gets about 4. They are hardly equal. Plus, it is stat-muxed. Depending on the activity on the main channel, the second HD channel could be reduced to as low as 1 mbit. Crappiest HD ever!
D BP Nickname posted a year ago
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One, rather amusing, idea in the FCC paper is for stations which share a channel to coordinate their programming. For example, If one station is broadcasting a ball game in HD the other station can program something that uses less spectrum like a talk show and visa versa. Sort of the broadcast equivalent to Siamese twins. They're also not too sold on broadcasting in 1080i, feeling that 720p is sufficient.
David David posted a year ago
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The broadband plan will never happen.The FCC's paper is nothing more than a position paper, nothing in it is factual. Congress will have the final say and with the 2010 and 2012 elections, this FCC plan will be stopped dead in its tracks.
David Sams posted a year ago
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Hey, did any of you vote for Obama? This is his FCC, btw. In addition, the FTC is working to "reinvent journalism." Obama will be happy when he has his own network...and "saves" newspapers so that he can control the front page, back page, and everything in between. Other world leaders have done this in the past century, btw. But, I won't compare our president to others who have taken over the airwaves and newspapers. I, too, think that congress will not kill off its relationship with broadcasters.
JMinSanDiego Nickname posted a year ago
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Dave said, "I suspect that the UHF Aero band is the least busy, except maybe near Edwards, Cape Canaveral, and Nellis." Sorry, wrong. 225 - 400 is very busy, with satellites using about 50 MHz and the rest in point-to-point or network use by the military. Three years ago I left the Navy after 46 years in various capacities as a communications, radar and EW technician and engineer (depending on what years). During any major operation, spectrum is at a premium. Monitoring, you may not hear constant chatter as you tune across the band, but intermittent use on selected, assigned frequencies is essential.
Johnny Fever posted a year ago
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Several issues to consider: Broadband Internet must be FREE, just like OTA TV. If not FREE broadband, then this is a waste of time. Two HD signals in 6MHz is just plain wrong - I've yet to see an HD-2 or HD-3 that I'd 'show-off' my new HDTV bigscreen with. NEXT issue: why not make Broadband More Efficient instead of putting that pain on the OTA broadcasters? WHY is this such a huge 'emergency issue' all of the sudden? This new FCC baby commissioner must be stopped from his 'playtoys' - he needs to go to at least a 2-year technical college and get an associates degree in electronics, then get a ham radio license, and maybe then, just maybe THEN he can realize what radio and TV spectrum is really all about.

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