Rosenworcel Wants Band Plan Complete by Q3, Says Staff
FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel believes the FCC should have a completed band plan for the spectrum incentive action by Q3 of 2013, said Rosenworcel’s aide Alex Hoehn-Saric at one of several panels featuring FCC staff at the NCTA Cable Show Wednesday. Hoehn-Saric said Rosenworcel also believes the commission could have a repacking plan finished by the end of the year.
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!
At a separate panel, Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake called the upcoming auction “a very substantial financial opportunity for some broadcasters.” Lake said the commission was trying to make the auction “very simple to operate” to encourage broadcasters to participate. “This is a financial opportunity they may never see again,” said Lake.
Commissioner Ajit Pai’s aide Matthew Berry said the commission’s progress on the auction may have been delayed by last month’s Wireless Bureau public notice on proposed band plans, which he called “a very bad decision.” Pai has endorsed the “Down from 51” plan, which he, AT&T, Verizon, and NAB have identified as the choice of the industry consensus. “We have to embrace consensus where we find it,” Berry said. “If we're gonna have a chance of meeting our goal, we can’t sit still,” he said.
Hoehn-Saric said Rosenworcel had called for the transparency in the process of creating the band plan and said that by offering the PN up for public comment, the Wireless Bureau was trying to fulfill that charge. “The bureau is in a difficult position,” said Hoehn-Saric. Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman said her bureau is trying to develop a band plan that “balances licensed and unlicensed spectrum” and is currently looking to allow unlicensed spectrum inside guard bands or the duplex gap, depending on which band plan is eventually realized.
Lake said one of the most important issues facing the Media Bureau was the future of navigation devices in the wake of the EchoStar decision invalidating part of the commission’s CableCARD rules and the waiver of those rules recently granted to Charter Communications. “Where do we go on navigation devices?” asked Lake. “Should we hold a rulemaking to reinstate the CableCARD rules? What role will downloadable security have?"
The FCC staff also talked about trimming or relaxing some FCC rules in the wake of the IP transition. Berry said the commission should enact reforms that make it more “nimble.” “Our general regulatory framework should not act as a deterrent to innovation,” said Berry. He said “legacy” wireline rules create a “significant disincentive” for companies to invest in infrastructure. Berry said the IP Transition means the commission should trim older rules designed to regulate telephone monopolies. Hoehn-Saric said the FCC should try to update its rules with the changing times, but said that inevitably the commission would have to enforce older rules on newer technology.