Wireless carriers and broadcasters disagree about the viability of the FCC's repacking schedule and how it should be changed, according to comments filed in docket 12-268 in time for Monday's comment deadline, which saw some earlier comments from all sides (see 1610310052). Some broadcasters believe FCC prioritization of clearing the 600 MHz band of stations gives too much emphasis to the needs of wireless carriers and not enough to the health and safety of tower crews, while the Competitive Carriers Association argued that not enough emphasis is being given to clearing the spectrum quickly. “Allowing stations to move forward when ready, potentially out of order with the schedule produced by the Phase Scheduling Tool, will remove unnecessary impediments and ensure timely reassignment of stations that may be prepared to move sooner than anticipated,” commented CCA.

NAB and CTIA complimented FCC Incentive Auction Task Force efforts to develop a reasonable plan for the transition after the end of the auction (see 1609300071). They disagreed whether the agency has the right approach. Broadcasters want more flexibility to ensure consumers don’t lose coverage. CTIA is pushing for an accelerated transition so carriers get access to the 600 MHz spectrum quicker. The comments pick up a long-standing disagreement between broadcasters and the wireless industry (see 1510080026).

This week's swift resolution to the forward auction phase of Stage 2 of the incentive auction (see 1610190059) is seen as a sign that wireless bidders are keeping their powder dry for later stages, when the supply is more in line with their demand, industry lawyers following the incentive auction told us Thursday. Other auction watchers and analysts believe the swift end indicates a lack of wireless demand, and may indicate one of the larger wireless bidders decided not to buy the 600 MHz spectrum, they said. Some believe the quick end of the forward auction makes a fourth stage, with a clearing target of 84 MHz, increasingly likely. The single-day forward auction “further increased the odds that Stage 3 of the auction, which we expect to commence toward the end of October or early November, will be followed by a fourth stage as well,” PwC analyst Dan Hays said in an email to investors.

CTIA supported an FCC proposal to streamline Part 20 rules, made as part of a July NPRM: “CTIA agrees that Section 20.9’s structure and purpose no longer match the highly competitive and innovative wireless marketplace and encourages the Commission to move forward with harmonizing and streamlining its regulations in this regard.” The rules would harmonize rules for services like PCS with rules for the 600 MHz, 700 MHz and AWS bands, CTIA said. The FCC should be aware of unintended consequences, CTIA said. “In implementing harmonization, the Commission must ensure that it does not inadvertently disrupt licensees’ expectations regarding their existing licenses," the group said. "As the Commission explains, the proposal to eliminate Section 20.9 ‘is narrow’ and is intended ‘to eliminate an unnecessary burden upon certain licensees and applicants in services named in that section. There would be no change in the obligations imposed upon entities providing commercial or private mobile radio service.’” The comments were filed in docket 16-240.

The FCC established a new price target for Stage 2 of the forward part of the TV incentive auction: $54.6 billion, based on the cost of buying enough broadcaster licenses to sell nine 10 MHz licenses in most U.S. markets. That total is well below the Stage 1 target of $88.4 billion, but probably more than carriers and other bidders are likely to spend for the low-band spectrum, said analyst and industry officials Thursday. Stage 2 of the reverse auction closed Thursday, as expected, after 53 bidding rounds (see 1610120074). The FCC must clear 114 MHz to get to 90 MHz.

Now is the time for terrestrial TV broadcasters to start planning for the deployment of ATSC 3.0, said a new “transition and implementation guide” published Wednesday by Pearl TV, Sinclair and several broadcast equipment suppliers and consulting firms. Broadcasters have “moved with urgency and focus to finalize the ATSC 3.0 standard in an unprecedented time frame,” says the elaborate 81-page report, which also lists American Tower; Dielectric; GatesAir; Ericsson; Harmonic; Hitachi-Comark; Meintel, Sgrignoli & Wallace; and Triveni Digital as “contributors.”

Preston Padden, who advises broadcasters on the incentive auction, slammed wireless carriers for their failure to step up and bid at a level that would bring the auction to an abrupt end. The FCC is in the second stage of the reverse auction as it determines the next clearing target. Padden cited comments by former President Bill Clinton Monday that Obamacare was "the craziest thing in the world." Padden suggested a revised comment. "President Clinton was wrong,” Padden emailed. “It is not Obamacare that is 'crazy,' it is carriers continuing to say they need more low band spectrum and then not bidding strongly in the 600 MHz auction. Every time we move to a new Stage, the carriers give up some of the spectrum they claim to need."

The extent to which the FCC will set aside additional high-frequency spectrum for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed uses was an area of contention in comments on the Further NPRM released by the agency in July as part of its focus on 5 GHz (see 1607140052).

The FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force is seeking comment on a proposed repacking plan that would divide repacked broadcasters into 10 staggered phases, prioritize the reassignment of TV stations in the wireless band, and attempt to minimize the number of times consumers have to rescan channels, said Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake and IATF Deputy Chairwoman Jean Kiddoo on a news media call Friday. Officials said the plan, filed in docket 16-306, takes broadcaster concerns such as a shortage of tower crews and the short repacking period into consideration. Since the phased plan will give broadcasters earlier notice, they will have more time to prepare for the repacking, Lake said.

The increased convergence of wireless and wireline networks -- due to the wireline backhaul needed to support the numerous 5G wireless cell sites and the increased access of wireline networks by wireless devices -- will give the cable industry a particularly big advantage in wireless due to its wired infrastructure, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett emailed investors Wednesday: "Cable wins in wireless just as it has won in wired broadband." Cable networks already are in essence wired backhaul layers "with a wireless short-hop access layer," Moffett said, pointing to consumer use of wireless tech. "He who has the best wired network (i.e. the cable operators) will ultimately win in wireless," since it will be cheaper for cable operators to add a wireless access layer atop their existing wireline infrastructure than for wireless operators to do the reverse, Moffett said. Pointing to Comcast's plans for a wireless service rollout next year (see 1609200042), Moffett said the operator exercising its Verizon mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement will likely be "just the first piece of Comcast's entry into the wireless business." The cable company will put as much traffic as it can over its own W-Fi network and likely buy spectrum in the current broadcast incentive auction and ultimate have a hybrid network that uses Verizon as fill-in, he said, saying Comcast likely will try to buy a national 20 MHz-wide block for as much as $9 billion. The company also likely will sell some spectrum in Telemundo/NBC duopoly markets, he said. Charter Communications -- which also has activated its Verizon MVNO -- might also enter a joint venture with Comcast to jointly build out the 600 MHz spectrum layer, with each adding its wire networks to provide the capacity layer in-region, Moffett said.