Ignore Broadcaster Gripes on Incentive Auction Timing, CCA Urges FCC
The Competitive Carriers Association asked the FCC to hold the TV incentive auction as planned and ignore broadcaster arguments for a transition period beyond the 39 months in the current rules. “The FCC’s planned 39-month transition period is more than…
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enough time for broadcasters to relocate off the 600 MHz spectrum,” CCA President Steve Berry said in a Tuesday news release. “In fact, by the time the 39-month period ends, broadcasters will have had more than seven years to prepare for the introduction of new wireless broadband services that consumers crave. … Instead of asking for more time, broadcasters should be making plans now to relocate.” Patrick McFadden, NAB vice president-spectrum policy, said at the CCA convention in October that forcing all broadcasters off their spectrum by a given date makes little sense and will be unworkable (see 1510080026). “NAB supports a successful incentive auction that is voluntary and realistic in its deadlines," an NAB spokesman said in response. "It is not realistic to think that upwards of 1,000 stations can be repacked into a shrunken TV band in 39 months. Rather than setting an arbitrary 39-month deadline, the FCC should wait until the auction is over to set an end date for when stations turn in their licenses.”