AT&T, Verizon Wireless Push for Quick Clearing of LPTV from 700 MHz Spectrum
Low-power TV stations on channels 52-59 should have to move or stop operations by the end of 2011, if not sooner, AT&T and Verizon Wireless said in FCC comments filed separately. The agency is considering rules for managing the LPTV transition to digital broadcasting, a switch some operators of the stations said last week shouldn’t happen until the agency sets UHF spectrum policy (CD Dec 20 p5). “LPTV stations have been on notice for more than a decade that the 700 MHz band was being reallocated,” AT&T said. The commission’s proposed Dec. 31, 2011, deadline for those stations to stop operating on those channels will give them plenty of time to find other channels to relocate to, AT&T said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
The FCC could set an even earlier deadline for clearing the 700 MHz band of LPTV stations, Verizon Wireless said. “An earlier termination date of Sept. 30, 2011, is appropriate and would promote the rapid deployment of broadband wireless services.” Sorting out LPTV issues has already detracted from rolling out LTE services, the company said. “Even though LPTV operations are secondary to 700 MHz licensees operations, it has been Verizon Wireless’ experience that the notification and coordination process distracts network personnel from their primary goal of deploying 4G LTE.” At least one LPTV licensee has refused to relocate until actual interference is proven, “at which point the impact may be felt by consumers,” it said.
If the FCC requires stations in the 700 MHz spectrum to clear by a certain date, there’s no reason that can’t also be the deadline for the broader LPTV industry’s analog shutoff, NPR said. With the full-power DTV switch completed, “digital television receivers and analog converters are now in place so that the public is fully capable of viewing over-the-air digital television,” it said. If the agency starts the process of reallocating broadcast TV spectrum soon, “many LPTV stations will be unaffected and the commission can adjust the LPTV digital transition deadline for individual stations as necessary,” the public radio programmer said.
NPR’s position marks a split from its public media counterparts, many representing TV. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Service and the Association of Public TV Stations want a Dec. 31, 2013, deadline for ceasing analog LPTV service, they said jointly. Public TV viewers often rely on LPTV translator stations to receive public TV programming, they said. “A rushed cessation of analog translator broadcasts could jeopardize the provision of television service to rural communities across the country.” LPTV stations need a hard deadline for ending analog service, CEA said. A hard deadline worked for the full-power DTV transition and it will set “concrete expectations for all parties,” it said. It will also make it easier to inform consumers about the change, CEA said. It supported a 2012 deadline.
Some LPTV station owners sought increased flexibility in the types of technologies they can use on their existing spectrum licenses. Spectrum Evolution, seeking such flexibility from the ATSC DTV standard outside this proceeding, again raised the issue. “There is even less reason for a station to invest in digital operation when the ATSC technology they are being asked to use is two decades old and falls short of state-of-the-art,” it said.
LPTV licensees should be allowed to provide local wireless broadband service, said the LPTV Entrepreneurs, a group of owners of small stations and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, which represent the interests of about 200 stations. LPTV licensees may also want to participate in the type of incentive auctions mentioned in the National Broadband Plan, the group said. “The potential opportunity represented by incentive auctions would do much to stabilize and undergird the value imputed to LPTV stations by investors and lenders, thereby enhancing access to capital for these small and diverse competitors.” Echoing other broadcasters, the LPTV Entrepreneurs said requiring stations to end analog broadcasts too soon could force many out of business entirely. “Plans for spectrum reallocation should not put current LPTV broadcasters at risk of losing access to spectrum, nor should reallocation be done in a manner that will foreclose opportunities in the future,” it said.