The FCC should tread carefully in letting unlicensed devices oper...
The FCC should tread carefully in letting unlicensed devices operate near TV spectrum after broadcasters vacate 700 MHz frequencies in February 2009, National Association of Broadcasters President David Rehr told a Minority Media & Telecommunications Council conference Tuesday in…
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Washington. Technology companies seeking to use unlicensed devices in so- called white spaces can use “fixed” devices for broadband in rural areas, Rehr said, adding that letting companies use white spaces during the digital TV transition would be a mistake. “It would increase the level of complexity, misunderstanding, confusion,” he said. “I just think it would make everything a lot worse.” Unlicensed white space devices is “really about selling a lot of toys in big cities,” not broadband deployment, he added. Andrew Schwartzman, Media Access Project president, predicted a problem-plagued DTV transition because Congress did not allot enough money for consumer education. “It is simply not realistic to expect the private sector to do what is needed,” Schwartzman said. “It’s not going to work very well, and when we come to 2009 and the transition actually takes place you are going to have a significant gap, I fear.” NTIA, CEA and NCTA officials disagreed, saying industry efforts will suffice. NTIA Administrator John Kneuer said Congress intended that “the lion’s share of the consumer education was going to be performed by the people at this table and in the room.” - JM