Be careful what you wish for, because you may get it. That may be what counsel for Videohouse is thinking just now, as the D.C. Circuit has granted their motion for an expedited briefing schedule. That’s good news for them, right? (Unclear on the background here? Take a look at this post and then come … Continue Reading
Publicly, the Commission appears determined to proceed full speed ahead, but a couple of FCC pleadings to the D.C. Circuit suggest otherwise. Pretty much since the FCC set out on its headlong race to design and implement the upcoming Incentive Auction, one of the Prime Directives appears to have been to get the thing done … Continue Reading
First Confidential Status Letters advising of potentially fatal incompleteness flaws have been sent to would-be reverse auction applicants; Deadline for corrections: February 26, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. (ET) If you’re a TV licensee who submitted an application to participate in the upcoming reverse auction component of the Incentive Auction, you should be checking your mail … Continue Reading
In the closing days of 2015 we reported on the FCC’s long-awaited decision on how it plans to deal with LPTV and TV translator stations as it works its way through the post-auction repack process. The Commission’s decision has now been published in the Federal Register in two separate chunks: the first includes the Report … Continue Reading
In addressing LPTV/translator future, FCC declines to loosen several regulatory leashes Low Power Television (LPTV) and TV translator stations face a difficult and uncertain future in the post-incentive auction context. Thanks to the auction (and the consequent spectrum repack), the FCC will reduce the number of channels available for television broadcasting – perhaps eliminating for … Continue Reading
Down here in the CommLawBlog bunker, when Davina speaks, we all listen. You should, too. If you’re still feeling a bit lost when people around you start talking about the upcoming Broadcast Incentive auction, check out the podcast of our own Davina Sashkin. Available for streaming or download, free, at Washingtech.com (a relatively new addition … Continue Reading
Making things official, the FCC has announced that the Office of Management and Budget formally approved FCC Form 177 on November 19. And with the publication of that announcement in the Federal Register, the form is now “effective”. Form 177, of course, is the form that TV owners planning on participating in the reverse auction … Continue Reading
Federal Register publication starts clock on petitions for reconsideration, applications for review; Final version of form, listing of dollar values still in the works Last week we reported on the release of the FCC’s “final” version of Form 2100, Schedule 399, which is the form that will be used by repacked TV licensees to seek … Continue Reading
The Broadcast Incentive Auction reimbursement process begins to take shape. We have reported on the FCC’s efforts to alert all would-be reverse auction participants to the ins and outs of Form 177. A less immediate, but no less important, learning opportunity involves the relocation reimbursement process. Since that won’t kick in until the auction is … Continue Reading
The FCC is trying to make good on its promise to let auction participants know what’s in store for them on the auction application front (and the reimbursement front, too – but that’s for a later post). Now it’s up to broadcasters to take advantage of what the FCC has given them. As the Broadcast … Continue Reading
Back in August we reported on a Report and Order (R&O) adopting a range of new rules governing wireless microphones, rules aimed at accommodating wireless mic use both during and after the upcoming re-packing of the TV spectrum. That R&O has now been published in the Federal Register. As a result, we now know that … Continue Reading
If you have any thoughts about participating in the reverse auction, check this out: the Commission has announced that its on-line tutorial on the pre-auction process will be up and running on November 20, 2015. It’ll cover pre-auction procedures, auction conduct and the bidding system, and will provide guidance on how to complete reverse auction … Continue Reading
Changes in baseline coverage data for several stations leads to scheduling changes for all. If you’re a TV licensee planning to participate in the upcoming reverse auction component of the Broadcast Incentive Auction, it’s time to get your calendar out … again. The FCC has announced changes to the all-important deadline for filing your Form … Continue Reading
As we reported yesterday, the Commission’s late-October “Second Order on Reconsideration” with respect to its channel sharing rules was published in the Federal Register on November 2, even though its predecessor, last June’s “First Order on Reconsideration” in the same matter, still hadn’t graced the Register’s pages. Whether that occurred by oversight or design, that … Continue Reading
As we reported last Friday (i.e., October 30), the FCC has asked the Office of Management and Budget to approve new Form 177, the form that broadcasters intending to participate in the reverse auction will have to file no later than 6:00 p.m. (ET) on December 18, 2015. Also as we indicated there, the FCC … Continue Reading
But what happened to the First Order on Recon? its break-neck pace with respect to all things Broadcast Incentive Auction, the Commission has published its most recent order on channel sharing in the Federal Register. (We reported on that order when it was first released by the FCC just last week.). As a result of … Continue Reading
Just two weeks after its release by the Commission, the sprawling Public Notice setting out the details of how the Broadcast Incentive Auction is to be conducted has been published in the Federal Register. (We provided an overview of the notice here.) This triggers the 30-day period during which affected parties can seek reconsideration (by … Continue Reading
Further evidence that the Broadcasting Incentive Auction is ramping up, and fast: the Commission has announced that it will be conducting a three-hour workshop devoted to the reverse auction process on November 17, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Representatives of the Incentive Auction Task Force, the Wireless Bureau and the Media Bureau will … Continue Reading
Deadlines, opening bids, other procedures are now set. The FCC’s preparations for the long-in-the-works Broadcast Incentive Auction have taken the final turn and are now barreling down the stretch. With a 300+ page Public Notice (including two appendices and an attachment) setting out the auction procedures and other important details, the Commission has filled in … Continue Reading
Commission accepts back-up CSAs – with some caveats – and extends time to complete transition to shared facilities. In a further effort to encourage broadcaster participation in the reverse portion of the Broadcast Incentive Auction, the FCC has both (a) clarified its policies toward “back-up” channel sharing agreements (CSAs) and (b) increased the time available … Continue Reading
On the agenda: What we know so far about the planned auction of the 600 MHz band, and what wireless carriers and other bidders interested in getting a piece of this beachfront can expect when it gets here. There’s no denying it: the unprecedented incentive auction is barreling toward us. While many details are still … Continue Reading
Wireless mic users must prepare to dance a spectrum hokey-pokey to adjust to spectrum reductions, new operating rules The Pope will visit the U.S. in late September, which is already prompting extensive preparations in many quarters. Among those readying themselves: news operations, professional wireless microphone operators and wireless mic frequency planners in several major cities … Continue Reading
If you have planned your summer vacation plans around the FCC’s TV Channel Sharing Webinar that was originally scheduled for July 22, we hope you can get your deposit money back. But cheer up – now you’ve got the afternoon of July 22 free and clear! That’s because the Commission has announced that the webinar … Continue Reading
Last month we reported on the Commission’s efforts to fine-tune its rules relative to TV channel-sharing in advance of the fast-approaching spectrum auction. Those efforts included (in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) component of the item) a number of proposals as to which the FCC expressly sought comment. The NPRM has now been published … Continue Reading
