The FCC incentive auction and subsequent TV station...
The FCC incentive auction and subsequent TV station repacking don’t threaten rural TV viewers or the translators that deliver their signals, said the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition in an informal comment (http://bit.ly/1g33rNp) filed Thursday. It responded to a letter…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
signed by 23 senators concerned that the repacking will eliminate TV translator service (CD Nov 14 p21), since translators aren’t protected in the incentive auction process. Concerns that the FCC will reclaim more spectrum than it needs in rural areas or that the repacking won’t leave room for translators are contrary to the auction design and to “commitments made by Commission staff,” said EOBC. The FCC has said that while less spectrum may be cleared in “constrained markets,” it won’t compensate by clearing more in rural areas, said EOBC. “There is no rational basis to conclude that the FCC will recover more spectrum than it needs in rural areas.” An examination of markets with heavy translator use “reveals that there would be ample spectrum post-repack on which TV translators could continue to operate,” said EOBC.