In 2017, in an effort to secure guaranteed access to free nationwide spectrum, Microsoft announced the “Airband Initiative,” hyped as a plan to address the rural broadband gap. The Initiative relies heavily on unlicensed use of unoccupied channels in the television band, known as TV “white spaces.” At that point, almost 10 years after the … Continue reading The (Hot) Airband Initiative
The Negative Sum Game
Microsoft would have you believe their proposal to require broadcasters to hold open at least one additional channel in the broadcast band for unlicensed use is not a zero-sum game. They are right, but not in the way they want you to believe. TV white spaces held a lot of promise over a decade ago. … Continue reading The Negative Sum Game
Time to Stick to the Facts and Find the Right Answer
These are exciting times. The long-anticipated broadcast television spectrum incentive auction is scheduled to begin in less than one week. Designing the reverse and forward auctions has been a herculean task, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff deserves a great deal of credit for bringing the auction to this point in a timely fashion. … Continue reading Time to Stick to the Facts and Find the Right Answer
You Want Breaking News Coverage? Then Mind the Gap
When was the last time you turned to TV to follow details of breaking news as it unfolded – the real, on-the-ground coverage from reporters in the field? In the first half of this year alone, we learned firsthand about the civil unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray, followed with bated breath … Continue reading You Want Breaking News Coverage? Then Mind the Gap
Sorry to Disappoint, But NAB Is Playing It Straight Up
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler certainly traveled a great distance simply to accuse the NAB yesterday in Las Vegas of seeking to delay or derail his upcoming broadcast spectrum incentive auction. With all due respect Mr. Chairman, I fear that your comments are not only wrong, but will create the very uncertainties and distractions you say … Continue reading Sorry to Disappoint, But NAB Is Playing It Straight Up
The Point of Being a Ninja Is to Avoid Attention
As my 8-year-old works to navigate the travails of making friends in second grade, one of his most unfortunate emerging strategies has been to do silly things to get his peers’ attention. He took that approach to a new level this week when he spent some quality time with the school principal after dumping chocolate … Continue reading The Point of Being a Ninja Is to Avoid Attention
Broadcasters Show Their Commitment to Public Safety
Much attention has been paid to KSFY (Sioux Falls, S.D.) anchor Nancy Naeve’s recent on-air rebuke of viewers who complained about the station breaking into regular programming to report on a tornado in the area on May 11. It has been heartening to see that a vast majority of those weighing in on the subject … Continue reading Broadcasters Show Their Commitment to Public Safety
Today’s Therapy: Trust and Sharing
Today television stations KLCS and KJLA released a comprehensive report on their channel sharing pilot in Los Angeles. For broadcasters, the results are not a surprise. The report confirms that channel sharing is technically feasible. Many broadcasters have been doing it for years through multicasting. In fact, the challenges for channel sharing will primarily be … Continue reading Today’s Therapy: Trust and Sharing
What Consensus Really Means and the Importance of Driving It
In December, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee conducted an oversight hearing on the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) implementation of the Spectrum Act, and specifically the Commission’s work on the upcoming voluntary broadcast incentive auction. One of the most instructive moments of the hearing occurred during a series of questions posed to then-FCC Chairman … Continue reading What Consensus Really Means and the Importance of Driving It
Working Toward an Effective Band Plan
Today AT&T, the National Association of Broadcasters and Verizon jointly posted the following blog: The TV broadcast spectrum incentive auction proceeding raises some of the most difficult engineering challenges the FCC has ever faced. One thing is clear: a successful auction must start with an effective band plan. A band plan must seek to mitigate … Continue reading Working Toward an Effective Band Plan
