28 Senators Want FCC to Expedite ATSC 3.0 Standard Rollout
Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and Todd Young, R-Ind., led 26 other senators in pressing the FCC to expedite rollout of the ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV standard. The FCC is unlikely to vote soon on a draft report and order…
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!
to extend the substantially similar and A/322 physical layer requirements indefinitely (see 2303130068). “The Next Gen TV standard is essential to the continued vitality and competitiveness of local television broadcasters’ free, local, and trusted service in our communities,” Schatz and the other senators said in a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released Wednesday. “More than 60% of Americans have access to Next Gen TV,” but streaming platforms have the potential to supplant broadcast in markets where broadcasters haven’t upgraded. That means “broadcasters’ proven, decades-long investment in local news content will be undermined and, most important, viewers will lose a competitive option that is available for free over the air,” the senators said: “A successful ATSC 3.0 transition should be a priority of the FCC going forward to ensure that local broadcasters can continue to best serve their communities as a trusted source of local news. Just as the FCC has successfully championed other innovative technologies like 5G, Wi-Fi, and the 2009 digital TV transition, we believe” the commission should “take an active role in addressing the complex -- but imminently solvable -- questions posed by the transition from ATSC 1.0” to 3.0. “We’ve received and are reviewing the letter,” an FCC spokesperson emailed. NAB hailed the letter, with Curtis LeGeyt saying the FCC’s “championing of ATSC 3.0 is critical to ensure a successful transition to this groundbreaking technology.”