FCC

Next Tuesday, Nov. 30, the FCC will launch its rulemaking aimed at freeing up broadcast spectrum through repacking of the band and channel sharing. It will look for ways to improve the VHF band, suggesting that the FCC intends to drive more stations into the band as part of the repacking scheme.

Satellite TV providers can shop around for TV station signals. The FCC has codified the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, eliminating a requirement for carriage of in-market TV stations.

The FCC on Tuesday extended the CAP deadline for all EAS participants to acquire and install the equipment necessary to use the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) standard for EAS alerts.from March 29, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2011.

Comcast confirms that its outside mediation with Tennis Channel to try to resolve a carriage complaint has failed and the dispute will now go before an FCC administrative law judge.

Operating a communications tower can always lead to issues, but two recent FCC decisions give tower owners some degree of relief.

Most of the big-ticket speakers at the Web 2.0 Summit this week gave talks that were carefully guarded, offering little deep insight into the tumultuous state of the fast-evolving tech industry out of necessary trade-secrecy. Not FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who wasn’t too subtle about implying that he’s got a lot on his plate and it’s tough to digest.

Talks have intensified in recent days between U.S. regulators and representatives of cable giant Comcast Corp. over its bid to take control of NBC Universal, according to people familiar with the talks. Comcast is pushing to close the deal by year-end, the sources said.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski tells the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners that the current broadcast spectrum allocations “still reflect the previous era. This presents a real obstacle as we try to ensure a spectrum infrastructure for the new world of mobile broadband.” To get things moving, he said, the FCC will consider at its Nov. 30 meeting launching a proceeding that would lift technical restrictions so broadcast spectrum can be used for broadband, and that would allow channel sharing among broadcasters.

Virginia’s Bernie Sanders says the new conglomerate would cause “irreparable damage to the American media landscape and ultimately to society as a whole.”

The FCC sought out ivi TV CEO Todd Weaver to talk about the Comcast/NBCU merger’s online content access implications, according to a spokesman for the company.

Paul Jacobs wonders whether broadcasters will “want to waste the electricity to run the towers” if they can get guaranteed carriage of their content on other platforms.

News Corp.’s Chase Carey, the man who oversaw Fox’s talks with Cablevision Systems Corp. during a two- week blackout, has advice for government officials who want to keep more TV channels from going dark: Stop meddling.

After Bob McAllan found a loophole in the FCC’s rules and sought to move two stations from the Rocky Mountain area to the New York and Philadelphia markets, the commission turned him down and put two new channels up for auction there. He’s asking for a review so he can take the matter to court, but the FCC remains silent, scheduling the auction for February. He deserves his day in court.

The commission has now officially slated the auction of two new channels — ch. 4 in Atlantic City, N.J., and ch. 5 in Seaford, Del.) — for Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Blair Levin, former executive director of the National Broadband Plan — a report that was presented to Congress last March and was supposed to serve as a blue print for policy makers to bring ubiquitous access for broadband to all Americans — talks about how he thinks things are shaping up for the plan’s implementation.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a speech at startup incubator 1776 that the FCC planned to promote more choices for high-speed broadband and protect competition, because a lack of adequate consumer choice inhibits innovation, investment and economic benefits. Wheeler’s comments could hold implications for Comcast’s efforts to buy Time Warner Cable, which could adversely affect future competition.