Blank Spaces Proposal Not a Problem for Broadcasters, Microsoft Says
Microsoft told the FCC that preserving a single UHF white-space channel in every market would have “virtually no impact on low-power broadcasters or translators.” Two years ago, the FCC proposed to reserve at least one blank TV channel in every…
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market for white spaces devices and wireless mics after the incentive auction and repacking (see 1506160043). Microsoft said it completed a report that focused on the effect on New Mexico, Utah, and North Carolina, “markets NAB’s pre-auction comments identified as potentially problematic.” The study also looked at Cleveland as a more typical urban market. One thousand simulations were conducted for each market, Microsoft said. “Microsoft’s analysis predicts no [effect] at all in three out of these four markets,” it said. “In Salt Lake City, the impact is minimal.” Microsoft representatives met with aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O'Rielly and other FCC officials. “The record is clear that this white space channel is critical to ensuring that the United States has the minimum three white space channels needed to support investment by semiconductor and device makers and to enable broadband Internet access for rural and underserved Americans,” Microsoft said in a filing in docket 12-268.