While getting more spectrum for mobile broadband is important, reallocating broadcast spectrum could harm the whole industry, broadcasters said on a Minority Media & Telecom Council Summit panel. Stations’ sharing a channel, as proposed, could produce technical issues and loss of service, said James Winston, executive director of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters, said late Thursday. There are only a few minority TV stations, so the FCC needs to study the risks carefully, he said. “The issue can’t be handled in a hurry."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said he will introduce legislation that would limit carriers’ liability in cybersecurity attacks. “We are working on it and we hope to have it soon,” Goodlatte said after hosting a luncheon at the State of the Net conference. “We need to be looking at ways to encourage folks to try new ideas in the area of cybersecurity.” He said he hoped legislation -- modeled on laws passed to calm fears of a Y2K meltdown -- would help businesses “step up their game.”
Officials at NTIA and the FCC indicated this week they're focusing on 1755-1780 MHz for possible reallocation for wireless broadband. The wireless industry has long sought the band for pairing with AWS-3 spectrum, for what would likely be one of the most-watched spectrum auctions since 2007’s 700 MHz auction.
LAS VEGAS -- The FCC could begin auctioning broadcast spectrum within “the next year or two” if Congress approves sharing the proceeds with spectrum holders, Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a Q-and-A session late Friday after his speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CD Jan 10 p2). He said commission staffers have begun “creating the framework” for the auctions, in case they're authorized.
Key parts of the National Broadband Plan still require action by Congress. A potential roadblock for the commission as it implements the plan remains that the commission cannot control if or how quickly Capitol Hill moves forward on its parts.
The FCC’s Diversity Federal Advisory Committee is expected to take up a new “overcoming disadvantages” category for designated entities at an Oct. 14 meeting. The proposal comes as the agency takes a wider look at its DE rules after an August decision by the 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which sent part of the rules back to the commission for further consideration. David Honig, executive director of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, said in an interview that members of the advisory committee have spent many hours looking at ways to make the DE rules work better.
The coming auction of 147 FM construction permits has FCC-proposed procedures similar to those for previous broadcast spectrum auctions, a lawyer specializing in such bidding wrote. Auction 91, slated to begin March 29, features FM frequencies in 39 states and Guam and includes 37 allotments from last year’s Auction 79 that weren’t sold then (CD Sept 8/08 p7), Raymond Quianzon said on the Fletcher Heald blog. About 80 percent of proposed starting bids are $25,000 or less, and the highest is $100,000, he said. The FCC said comments on the auction are due Oct. 13, replies Oct. 27 in docket 10-183.
The FCC denied Globalstar’s extension request for a deadline to reach compliance with the agency’s ancillary terrestrial component rules, in a decision late Tuesday by the International and Wireless bureaus and Office of Engineering and Technology. The denial prevents the company from offering terrestrial services until it regains compliance with the ATC rules. Satellite industry executives found the order surprising, considering recent moves the agency has made to make the MSS/ATC spectrum more usable for mobile terrestrial broadband services. Some consider the move a demonstration of the commission’s commitment to enforce buildout requirements as the agency seeks to increase development in the band (CD July 16 p1).
Some 101 LTE network deployments are in progress or planned in 41 countries, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association said. GSA expects up to 22 LTE networks to be in commercial service by the end of the year. Another 31 operators are engaged in various LTE trials and pilot programs, GSA said. Governments around the world are allocating or preparing for the release of new spectrum like 2.6 GHz, and in the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands, or re-farming existing spectrum or facilitating a combination of new and re-farmed bands, to support the delivery of LTE services to the mass market, GSA said. Several trial licenses have been granted in many countries to allow operators to familiarize themselves with the technology, capabilities and performance aspects, GSA said. Several tenders for spectrum licenses have been announced or confirmed in recent weeks for the granting of spectrum suitable for LTE deployments in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Poland and the U.K. Several spectrum auctions are scheduled for completion in the next few months, GSA noted. While the majority of LTE deployments are using the FDD standard, GSA claimed there’s been significant interest in the TDD standard.
Dish Network resumed talks with the FCC on revising former defaulter rules in preparation for coming spectrum auctions, a possible indicator the direct broadcast satellite provider is gearing up for spectrum bids. Dish asked the Wireless Bureau to refine bidding rules that require bidders with poor federal financial track records to put up significantly more money than those with unblemished record, said an ex parte filing. The commission is planning to auction off AWS-3 and 700 MHz spectrum in 2011 per the National Broadband Plan, though no official auction has been put in place and possible Congressional action allocating the D-block for public safety agencies (CD Aug 9 p3) could make an auction unnecessary.