A report has been prepared on the first formal tests of a TV channel-sharing arrangement. Does it really say what FCC Chair Tom Wheeler says it says? YOU make the call.… Continue Reading
With the FCC's blessing and help from the wireless industry, two L.A.-area TV stations are set to test the feasibility of channel-sharing.… Continue Reading
The urge to free up as much TV spectrum as possible for broadband use has now driven the Commission's Video Division to reach into the grave to take a couple of Class A authorizations back from a dead guy.… Continue Reading
From the FCC's perspective, the chore of repacking existing TV stations would probably be much easier if Class A stations could be downgraded to LPTV status. Where there's a will, there's a way: the downgrading effort has begun.… Continue Reading
As it waves a metal detector over every inch of the country's economy, looking for any stray nickel or dime with which to fund its ambitious American Jobs Act, the Obama Administration apparently thinks it's hit a minor jackpot: spectrum fees.… Continue Reading
Ask about the spectrum inventory the FCC has supposedly conducted and the Commission points you to two "tools" on its website -- but the FCC's website itself casts serious doubt on the utility of those tools and the accuracy of any results they might produce.… Continue Reading
While the FCC dangles the possibility of shared auction proceeds to generate support for TV spectrum re-purposing, there's one nagging problem: the FCC doesn't have the statutory authority to share those proceeds. But three bills introduced in Congress this session might resolve that problem.… Continue Reading
The Chief of the Media Bureau recently spoke to broadcasters, preaching the gospel of incentive auctions. His message: We come in peace, with broadcasters' interests at heart. Broadcasters might be forgiven if, at least for now, they opt for skepticism over unquestioning acceptance.… Continue Reading
As far as the FCC is concerned, it's apparently full speed ahead with the effort to encourage TV broadcasters to relinquish their spectrum so that it can be used to further the National Broadband Plan. The Commission has informally announced a series of webinars promoting the concept.… Continue Reading
Another bill that would authorize the sharing of spectrum auction proceeds has popped up in Congress. The latest clearly has legs, since its primary sponsor is none other than the Chair of the Senate Committee for Commerce, Science and Transportation.… Continue Reading
A new bill in the House would give the FCC the authority to share spectrum auction proceeds with licensees willing to give up their spectrum. But unlike the Senate bill we reported on last month, the House bill does not include a spectrum fee provision.… Continue Reading
A new bill opens the door for (a) the sharing of spectrum auction proceeds - an ominous harbinger of broadband-induced spectrum repurposing - and (b) even more ominously, the specter of annual spectrum fees.… Continue Reading
