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241 Days Until The Auction Starts...

Vice Chairman of the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force admits in public for the first time that...

"We did look at 

the impact on LPTV." 

Quoted from a 45-minute appearance by Howard Symons, Vice-Chair of the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force, on the Kojo Nnamdi FM-Radio show Tech Tuesday, here in Washington, DC, which included Mike Gravino (me) also as a guest.  

What makes this simple and seemingly obvious statement a HUGE DEAL, is that for almost two years now, our Coalition has been asking in the Proceedings for just such an impact study on LPTV.  We even have as part of our Petition for Reconsideration the demand for just such a study.  The FCC just denied our Petition, and the next stop in the process is filing with the Court of Appeals about it.  NAB has also asked for the study, as well as other groups representing LPTV and TV translator broadcasting interests.  

What really gets me is when, as Symons above did in the interview, is to say that all that the FCC is doing is following what Congress had directed them to do.  What nonsense!  Congress also passed every other law and regulation on the books about LPTV and TV translators, and the FCC can not just ignore them while it tries to make new rules for the auction. Congress specifically said to the FCC to not alter the spectrum usage rights of LPTV and translators, but that is just what it is doing.

Why?  Because the FCC has Congress over a $40-$80 billion dollar barrel. There is no one in Congress who wants to upset the Incentive Auction process, with all that already budgeted dough ready to help reduce the debt in 2016/2017.  So the FCC is doing a spectrum grab using twisted logic worthy of a summer trashy novel.  And Congress can not do anything about it because they need that auction cash to flow next year no matter what.

So now the FCC has restarted the comments clock on setting aside two channels now, not one, but two channels for unlicensed which would have a priority over licensed LPTV and translators.  And in every market, not just those impaired in the duplex gap.  

Release The Impact Analysis!  

What Will Happen To LPTV and Translators 

As A Result Of Each Band Plan!!!!

Many of you closely following the process will understand that the FCC is dumping so much data and rule makings into the calendar, which LPTV and TV translator licensees can not hope to make meaningful or considered comments on, without knowing what the 3rd LPTV NPRM Report and Order says! 

August 12, 2105

Symons, Gravino Spar Over LPTV On The Radio

(FCC 'Sensitive'  to Wireless Mic Industry Concerns)

Communications Daily - Monty Tayloe

The FCC has looked at the impact of the incentive auction on low-power TV, said Incentive Auction Task Force Vice Chairman Howard Symons on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU(FM) Washington Tuesday. Symons was responding to comments from LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition Director Mike Gravino, who said on the show that the FCC should have studied the auction's effects on LPTV stations before deciding to exclude them from the incentive auction. "Our starting point is the statute, what Congress told us to do," Symons said.

Symons and Gravino also discussed FCC policy toward unlicensed spectrum, the spectrum crunch and the expected outcomes of the auction. Symons also said that the commission is paying close attention to the concerns of wireless mic users, which have said they fear the new incentive auction procedures approved at last week's FCC meeting will hurt them. The WAMU interview was aired and simultaneously webcast .

If the FCC had made a more comprehensive study of the effects on LPTV, owners of such stations would be receiving accommodations such as relocation compensation, Gravino said. LPTV contains the most multicultural and diverse TV stations, and those are the ones likely to be displaced by the auction, Gravino said. Symons pointed to FCC policies intended to help LPTV stations displaced in the auction, such as allowing them to stay put on their former spectrum until wireless carriers actually commence operation on it.

Symons also highlighted the transition period in response to a listener concerned about wireless  mics. Though the caller asked what the FCC was doing to prevent such mics from being moved to different bands, Symons responded by explaining FCC actions last week opening new bands for wireless mic use "so they have a home to go to."

One listener compared the incentive auction to the government's having to repurchase national park land, but Symons responded that the auction could create as much as $40 billion in revenue and open up a significant amount of spectrum to wireless use. The money going to broadcasters is a "financial sweetener" to encourage participation, Symons said.

The incentive auction is the result of a "decades long conspiracy" to help large companies such as carriers, Gravino said. Smaller LPTV broadcasters are being forced to bear their own relocation costs so that carriers can get more spectrum, he said. Gravino also corrected Symons and Nnamdi when they said that public access TV channels would be displaced by the auction-Nnamdi is the chairman of Public Access Corp. of the District of Columbia. - MontyTayloe

Reprinted with permission of Warren Communications News Inc.

800-771-9202 or www.communicationsdaily.com

Do not further redistribute without permission from Warren.

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VACANT CHANNELS SET-ASIDE

COMMENT CYCLE RESUMES

Image by DonkeyHotey

FCC CHAIRMANS' BLOG POST

LPTV & TV TRANSLATOR POST AUCTION

CHANNEL REPACKING STUDIES 

We are pleased to announce that we have cleared our backlog of studies and have now begun to automate the process so that we can study your station and market quickly and get you a much clearer picture as to what will happen with your station, license, or new construction permit.  What is the probability you will be displaced? WIll there be enough channels in your market?  Will you be forced into the VHF? What will be the timing of your move?  It is the best $250 you will spend on your LPTV investment this year.  Includes a printed report, simulations, and a phone consultation.  Support the Coalition and find out the latest thinking and impacts from the FCC rulemaking.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STUDIES

Mike Gravino,  Director

LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition

202-604-0747

[email protected]