Taking Sides Over The Spectrum Question

With the FCC proposing the auctioning of broadcast spectrum in the very near future, broadcasters, as well as wireless and government representatives, on Wednesday debated what they consider the best use for those airwaves.

“The question that we have raised at this point is do you want to rush toward one particular alternative in reallocating licenses from the broadcasting,” Jane Mago, National Association of Broadcasters SVP and general counsel, said as part of a panel at the SNL Kagan TV and Radio Finance Summit in New York.

Broadcasters’ sale of airwaves to wireless carriers — even if it’s voluntary as proposed — could result in the restriction of free, accessible information provided by over-the-air TV stations, she said. Free broadcasts still account for 50% of all TV viewing in the U.S., according to panelists.

In addition, Mago said the proposal, designed to appeal to broadcasters who want to unload spectrum or need a cash infusion, “destroys the world of innovation, which really is vital for the broadcast industry moving forward.”

Brandon Burgess, chairman-CEO of Ion Media Networks, agreed, saying that although traditional TV is still broadcasters’ core business, making better use of alternative platforms is incumbent upon them as well.

“We serve 115 million television homes … pretty well,” he said. “What we’d also like to be able to do is service the devices, outside the home, and create that option over the next years to grow into that marketplace.”

Selling off massive amounts of airwaves to wireless carriers is not the only way to meet the growing demand for spectrum that’s accompanying the explosive use of mobile devices like smart phones and tablet computers, Mago said.

“The position that we at the NAB and broadcasters have taken is that there is more than one way to skin a cat,” she said. “There also are a whole lot of places that spectrum is accessible.”

Michael Altschul, SVP and general counsel of the Wireless Association, sees it otherwise. “We are doing everything we can in the wireless industry to be more efficient,” he said. But use of smartphones and wireless data doubled just last year alone, he said. “Spectrum really is the answer to fulfilling the public’s demands for broadband wireless services,” Altschul added.

William Lake, chief of the FCC’s Media Bureau, said the agency wasn’t taking sides. Rather, by creating a voluntary airwaves auction, the fate of the airwaves will really be in the hands of the buyers and sellers. The FCC is not mandating how much spectrum should be sold, he said.

“It’s not an attack on broadcasters,” Lake said.  An auction, which would allow broadcasters to set reserve prices for their airwaves, will “use the marketplace to decide how much spectrum should be reallocated,” he said.