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Cellular bids $45 billion at latest FCC spectrum auction, & meaning for TV repack

J

joebtsflk1

Star Participant
Read the following...

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/its-over-fccs-aws-3-spectrum-auction-ends-record-449b-bids/2015-01-29

...and then comment on what that means for the expected TV repack auction.

Suddenly, those pie-in-the-sky FCC estimates for UHF TV spectrum from a few months ago might be more realistic than first thought. And there are a lot more stations that will be worth more dead than alive (WMDTA) than before.

My comment: the CW will become a sub-channel net, as many of its full power affiliates will be WMDTA. 100 plus sized DMAs located within 250 miles of major metros that currently have five commercial TV channels will drop to four or maybe three channels.
 
The Houston CW on 20.1 (RF19) station is owned by FOX...who also owns sister and original FOX 26.1 (RF26)...20 does have a .2 sub iirc....but I understand FOX refuses to allow O&Os to put subs on their signals...probably will change with repacking. CW PLUS is on a lot of high power stations in markets below 100.....eventually it will likely go away and the CW will take over those channels. So little will change. The digital LPs (LDs) have the most to worry about...CDs (Class A digitals) will likely be protected but the LDs are about to get screwed (and not even kissed!)
 
ContinuousWave said:
The digital LPs (LDs) have the most to worry about...CDs (Class A digitals) will likely be protected but the LDs are about to get screwed (and not even kissed!)
Click to expand...

Not entirely. The Spectrum Act says the following: "LOW-POWER TELEVISION USAGE RIGHTS.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to alter the spectrum usage rights of low-power television stations."

So what does that mean? It means that LDTV stations have rights. One is the Right of Displacement. LDTV licensees have the right to be able to re-engineer back into the new core and occupy most all of the available channels. It means only a small amount of spectrum will be available for TVWS. No large guard bands or channel set asides for unlicensed devices (the FCC is aware of this and has dropped the promise of large amounts of 600 MHz spectrum being available for unlicensed uses. Instead they are looking at other bands for unlicensed services).

Another is the Right of Interference Protection. LDTV stations are secondary only to full power TV stations. This means that low power stations have the right to be protected from TVWS devices, mobile broadband and unlicensed users. Also, LDTV stations have the Right of Modification--they can change COL, coverage areas, signals and facilities to remain on the air and best serve their communities.

Right now a GAO study is being conducted on how the incentive auction will impact low power TV. Once completed, Congress will then be able to act on recommended legislation to further protect LPTV and/or provide monetary compensation for stations lost or relocated. As a last resort, various LPTV and translator lobby groups have lawsuits at the ready should the Commission fail to follow the law regarding the usage rights of the low power TV service.

As it looks right now, many of the independent Class A owners have said that they will cash out if given the opportunity as have most of the pub-casters. This could mean that, in many DMAs, the stations left over will be just full power commercial and low power stations. Class As and noncoms would be gone.

And then there is the question of ATSC 3.0, which promises, among other things, to be able to pack more channels into less spectrum. Will this allow all low power stations to remain? At this point we don't know. But the new standard is expected to be rolled out in early 2016 and presented to the FCC.

You can read more about all of these issues here:

http://www.lptvcoalition.com
 
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Nice shout out from the NAB supporting LPTV on the matter of mandatory channel sharing and unlicensed use:

“Such an approach turns the Commission’s unlicensed rules on their head and prioritizes unlicensed services over licensed LPTV and translator stations currently providing service to their communities,” wrote NAB’s Rick Kaplan. “NAB also opposes artificially and unnecessarily increasing the scope of repacking following the incentive auction to create contiguous bands of white space channels for unlicensed use. No station should be forced onto a new channel merely to create contiguous white spaces for unlicensed use.”

Read more at http://rbr.com/nab-defends-lptv-against-unlicensed-onslaught/#QpjV0bgEBgmhi2eD.99
 
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