NCTA Proposes White Spaces Protections for Cable Industry
NCTA Wednesday laid out a six-point plan for resolving cable industry concerns as the FCC moves closer to a vote on whether to open the TV white spaces for other uses, including wireless access to the Internet. A letter sent to the FCC comes as officials on both sides await a key report from the Office of Engineering and Technology analyzing recently concluded lab and field tests of white-spaces prototypes.
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NCTA isn’t asking for additional tests or for the FCC to delay a decision on the use of the TV white spaces, but that it adopt protections for cable, said Bill Check, senior vice president of science and technology at NCTA. “We filed in January 2007 on this,” Check said in an interview. “We think all of the white-spaces proponents … are aware of our concerns but nobody has addressed our concerns.”
OET found direct pickup (DPU) interference to cable- ready DTV receivers in lab tests and field tests (CD July 28 p5), the group noted. NCTA also warned of interference to rural cable headend antenna reception -- though that was not examined in OET testing. But, NCTA said, none of the proposals filed at the FCC by proponents of opening the white spaces fully addresses the risks posed for cable.
“This inattention has persevered despite detailed filings by NCTA demonstrating the high likelihood that unlicensed TV band devices, as currently proposed, will interfere with cable service -- and despite the Commission’s own findings in lab tests a year ago confirming the serious risks,” NCTA said. “Given the mounting -- and uncontroverted -- evidence of cable interference problems, it is well past time for the proponents of unlicenced devices to address cable DPU interference.”
NCTA observed that cable operators have no white spaces and fill all of their available channels with programming. “Every time a consumer in a single family home uses a personal/portable TV band device as currently proposed, its signal output will interfere with cable services,” the group contended. “A family member using a TV band device in one room for home networking could foreclose another family member from watching a particular TV channel in another room.”
Jake Ward, spokesman for the Wireless Innovation Alliance, said companies that are pushing to open the white spaces to unlicenced, portable devices recognize cable must be protected. “We agree that the commission should recognize the importance of cable viewers as well as other incumbents and we thank the NCTA for their continued support of white space technology,” Ward said. “We also expect that as the expert body in this area, the FCC will address all concerns by relying on science and technology -- including a numerous technical proposals have been made at the FCC including proposals addressing the concerns of the cable community.”
Steve Sharkey, Motorola senior director of regulatory and spectrum policy, said Motorola’s proposal does take cable concerns into account. “The geolocation-based approach we have provides a lot of flexibility for addressing the cable head-end problem,” he said. “The mobile uses will be generally far enough from the home that they won’t be an issue.”
NCTA said its recommendations included limiting operation of portable devices to a maximum of 10 mW and prohibiting transmissions in the VHF channels given the high probability of direct pickup interference to TV receivers. At the minimum, channels 2-4 should be protected, the group said. NCTA also said the FCC should prohibit the use of fixed devices within 400 feet of the external walls of residential buildings, prohibit their use on the VHF channels and mandate spectrum coordination before operation of portable devices on channels adjacent to those being received at headends.