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.
Genachowski: TV Is ‘Obstacle’ To Broadband
On the stump for shifting spectrum from broadcast to broadband, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said yesterday that the success of TV broadcasting has become an “obstacle” to the improved wireless broadband infrastructure that the U.S. needs to remain economically competitive in the world.
“It’s something of an irony,” the chairman said in a speech yesterday before the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
“What happened with broadcast spectrum in the 20th century was a remarkable success,” he said. “By opening up spectrum for commercial use, we made it possible for entrepreneurs to create a large and successful over-the-air broadcast TV industry that in turn helped create our extraordinarily successful U.S. content industry, bringing real benefits to our economy and beyond.
“Fast forward to today. Less than 10% of us — down from 100% — still get our television programming from over-the-air broadcast transmissions. Instead, people watch TV through cable or satellite.
“The world has changed, but our 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 remove the obstacle, Genachowski said, Congress needs to authorize so-called incentive auctions that would encourage broadcasters to give up all or some of their spectrum by allowing them to share in the proceeds of the auctioning of the spectrum to wireless broadband providers.
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“Let’s use the power of the free market to ensure underutilized spectrum flows to the uses consumers value most in the 21st century,” he said.
According to Genachowski, such auctions are “critical” to achieving the FCC’s goal of unleashing 500 MHz of spectrum for mobile broadband.
“It has been endorsed by the president and has received bipartisan backing in Congress,” he said. “It’s time to turn that support into law. The sooner incentive auction legislation is adopted, the sooner we can unleash spectrum for mobile broadband, and the sooner we’ll see the benefits to consumers and taxpayers, to our economy and our ability to lead the world in 4G mobile.”
To get things moving, Genachowski 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.
“This will lay essential groundwork for implementing incentive auctions quickly should Congress act,” he said.
Comments (8)
r small says:
November 16, 2010 at 12:51 pm
…or freeing up the TV spectrum so broadband operators can use it to broadcast video. Oy.
Ellen Samrock says:
November 16, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Looks as if Genachowski is already trying to find a vein to start the cyanide drip on OTA television before it gets a second life with Mobile DTV or even a Congressional review. Something about this whole thing stinks. This eagerness on the part of Genachowski to favor one industry over another and throw TV broadcasters under the bus is suspect. An ethics violation, perhaps? It should be investigated.
Christina Perez says:
November 16, 2010 at 1:34 pm
This man is a telecom fascist who quotes inaccurate statistics as justification for taking the “public” out of the phrase “public airwaves.” If broadcasting is to survive as a universally available guarantor of media democracy, this industry must declare war on Genachowski and his broadband-biased regime. The gloves must come off. As for invoking Obama, broadcasters must educate the President on why it is imperative for American democracy that free, over the air broadcasting be permitted to continue its grand tradition of public service over the PUBLIC’S airwaves.
Binky Bob says:
November 16, 2010 at 4:21 pm
I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist, but this DOES seem like a substantial power grab and an effort to supplant one broadcast service with another. As Harry Jessell so aptly pointed out in an editorial elsewhere on this site, the goal by Genachowski & Co. seems to be to replace the robust, diverse ownership of local TV stations with a system what would only be in the hands of a few Goliaths.
Doug Smith says:
November 16, 2010 at 4:32 pm
The best way to stop this plan is to use the spectrum now for multicas, local programming,t or mobile ( even as flawed as mobile is now), Genachowski keeps talking about “unsed spectrum” he’s right most of spectrum is unused so broadcasters stop sitting on your hands and waiting for the a “perfect” use for spectrum. There several very workable mulicast options as well mobile, warts and all.
So do not complain if FCC takes the spectrum for boardand “use it or lose it” it’s that simple
Peter Grewar says:
November 16, 2010 at 8:50 pm
“Let’s use the power of the free market to ensure underutilized spectrum flows to the uses consumers value most in the 21st century,”
How tired I am of this sort of rhetoric — which, really, should be translated as saying that spectrum should be used for whatever applications will generate the highest monthly subscription fees. Apparently, any definition of the public interest that is based on anything other than maximizing profits is out the window. Now I can understand businesses feeling that way, since they’re in for a profit, but it doesn’t seem that should be the attitude of the regulators. Imagine if Genachowski were in charge of our national park system — he’d advocate auctioning off the parks to developers and loggers!
Rich Kittilstved says:
November 17, 2010 at 9:19 am
I started a small cable television company in West Texas in the early 70. I wanted to rebroadcast the Dallas Fort Worth stations in my little towns. The broadcasters would not allow me to do that unless I paid. Broadcasters were kings they did what they wanted. Now the the tide has changed. Cable companies are kings and broadcasters are 10% of the market other than by sending their signals via the cable company wires. Now comes high speed broadband where in the next 10 years 90% of video including that produced by the local broadcasters will be seen. Broadcasters have in their hands the best type of spectrum to build wireless broadband systems. What broadcasters need to do is force the FCC to grant them the right to use their spectrum to create wireless broadband systems. The FCC allowed the broadband guys to use this spectrum, to build broadband, they call it White Spaces. Broadcasters have at their fingertips a pot of gold yet you all seem to want to hold on to the old ways. Doing that will bring you the same fate as the newspapers.
Have a great day
PS. My company has been buying small dead and dying broadcast stations, so in a way we are broadcasters but not for long. We want to CAST over High Speed Broadband.
Dante Betteo says:
November 23, 2010 at 4:09 pm
500 mhz + 83 channels Where is OTA going to go? I like Free OTA TV. Hight speed Broadband will never be free.