T-Mobile Will Cover Relocation Costs for Some Low-Powers

16-306 Monday. T-Mobile will “pay the reasonable costs” for stations that are displaced from its spectrum to move from a temporary channel to a permanent one, the letter said. “T-Mobile recognizes that some of these stations may need to move twice, and T-Mobile is willing to go beyond what is required and compensate these stations for the additional move,” the letter said. The LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition said it “applauds” T-Mobile for “doing the right thing” considering the wireless carrier’s plans for rapid deployment, which will cause some LPTV stations to be displaced earlier than expected. T-Mobile expects to have “at least ten megahertz of 600 MHz spectrum clear and ready for deployment across an area covering more than one million square miles by the end of 2017,” the letter said. In the letter T-Mobile characterized the offer to pay for the relocations as a way to “further accelerate” broadband deployment using the spectrum it acquired in the incentive auction. “Only translator and LPTV licensees that must terminate existing operations due to T-Mobile’s 600 MHz band deployments that occur prior to the Special Displacement Window are eligible,” T-Mobile said. The program will exclude costs “necessary to resolve mutual exclusivity among licensees as well as other ancillary or consequential expenses that might be associated with relocation,” the filing said. The reimbursements also may not be available if the repacking timeline is “significantly altered or delayed,” T-Mobile said. T-Mobile previously offered up funds to help public television low-power facilities relocate (see 1706290066). NAB is "gratified" by the T-Mobile announcement, an NAB spokesman emailed. The reimbursement plan "recognizes the important role that low power TV stations play in providing quality entertainment and lifeline news and information to millions of TV viewers,” the spokesman said.