Repacking Could Last to 2025, Stainless Says
The repacking won’t be finished till 2023 to 2025, and the FCC should allow broadcasters to receive repacking reimbursement payments beyond 2020, said tower company Stainless in a letter posted Monday. “Strict adherence to the existing timeline runs a substantial…
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and, we think, untenable risk of giving short shrift to appropriate workforce development and the necessary and concomitant focus on safety.” Fewer than 40 high-power antennas “are on their Repack frequency or ready to broadcast,” Stainless said. Five percent of the stations that need to be repacked have done so, the company said. Many broadcasters may make the deadline only by employing “interim solutions,” it said. The “key variable” affecting the timeline is the difficulty of increasing and training tower crews that are prepared to do the kind of work needed in the repacking, Stainless said. It cited fatal tower incidents connected with the repacking -- in Missouri (see 1804190063) and Florida (see 1803270044) -- as demonstrating need for training and more time for stations. “Does it make sense for a professional tower contractor to ‘ramp-up’ for a short-term deployment strategy with limited resources and carry the burden of added financial risk?” asked the letter.