FCC Had Good Reasons Not to Impose HD Radio Hard Date, Order Says

No deadline for DAB is needed because it uses in-band on-channel (IBOC) technology that doesn’t “require the allocation of additional spectrum,” the Commission said: “Thus, the spectrum reclamation needs that exist for DTV do not exist here.” Nor is there “evidence in the record that marketplace forces cannot propel the DAB conversion forward, and effective markets tend to provide better solutions than regulatory schemes,” it said.

The FCC rejected iBiquity Digital’s argument that in the early stages of the DAB transition the Commission “should favor and protect existing analog signals.” It proposed doing so by limiting digital carriers’ power level and bandwidth occupancy in hybrid mode, the Commission said. When the FCC does decide digital receivers have enough market penetration, iBiquity said, the public will be best served by reversing that presumption to favor digital operations. Then broadcasters no longer will need to protect analog operations by limiting the digital signal, and stations should be allowed all-digital broadcasts.

The Commission wouldn’t go along. It’s “too early in the DAB conversion process for us to consider such a mechanism,” the FCC said: “We find that such a policy, if adopted now, may have unknown and unintended consequences for a new technology that has yet to be accepted by the public or widely adopted by the broadcast industry.” But the Commission, bowing to another iBiquity request, promised “periodic reviews” of DAB service and receiver penetration to see that “DAB adoption proceeds in a timely manner.” The FCC neither embraced nor rejected an iBiquity suggestion that the first review take place within 5 years.

DAB’s “fundamental use” should be to provide free over- the-air radio service, the Commission said. So stations will be required to provide at least one free digital over-the-air audio broadcast service, it said. And stations operating in digital mode must provide a free digital audio programming service “comparable to or better in audio quality than that of their current analog service,” it said. That “baseline,” the same as required of DTV stations, “is based on the same underlying policy consideration that significant benefits from digital conversion should flow directly to the public,” the Commission said.

The FCC left unchanged its rule that a radio station must simulcast analog programming service on its digital signal. “However, we will revisit the simulcasting requirement in the future when we decide whether or not to approve the NRSC-5 standard,” the Commission said: “In any event, simulcasting is part of the IBOC operational structure and a radio station must duplicate its programming if it wants the DAB ‘blend’ feature to work properly.”

On the all-important question of HD2 multicasts, the FCC “will permit radio stations to provide multiple audio streams of digital programming without the need for individual station approval,” it said: “We believe that radio stations can best stimulate consumers’ interest in digital audio services if they are able to offer the programs that are the most attractive to their communities. Further, allowing radio stations the flexibility to provide multicast services will allow them to offer a mix of services that can promote increased consumer acceptance of DAB, which, in turn, will likely speed the conversion process.”

Multicasting could promote “diversity of programming services,” meeting needs of “underserved segments of the population,” the Commission said: “We strongly encourage digital audio broadcasters to use their additional channels for local civic and public affairs programming and programming that serves minorities, underserved populations and non-English speaking communities.”