by Deborah D. McAdams
TELEVISION BROADCAST
Around 400 people quickly packed a Las Vegas
Hilton ballroom at 7:30 in the morning to hear what
the point-man on spectrum reassignment had to say.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Julius Genachowski spoke at the annual
Chairman’s Breakfast.
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Julius Genachowski
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He was genial and relaxed in front of a crowd
that was, if not openly opposed, at least skeptical
of the chairman’s proposal to redesignate broadcast
spectrum for broadband. Genachowski cut directly
to the subject of the incentive auctions the
FCC intends to use to gather spectrum space for
reassignment. Under the inventive auction model,
broadcasters who relinquish part of their allocated
spectrum would share in the auction proceeds.
“One of the most important tools the FCC needs
is the ability to conduct voluntary incentive auctions,”
he said. “This idea has strong momentum.”
Congressional authorization is required for such
auctions, and bills are pending in the House and the Senate. If authorization is obtained,
Genachowski pledged to work closely with
broadcasters on implementation.
He said that while there would be legitimate
issues to address, some of the arguments
against the auction amount to distractions.
“Some have argued there’s no spectrum
crunch, but the data couldn’t be clearer,”
he said. “There’s no big swath of spectrum
hidden in a warehouse somewhere.”
Broadcast interests have alleged as
much — that cable and satellite companies
are warehousing spectrum. Genachowski
said the licensing system requires those
who win spectrum to build it out.
“Some have argued incentive auctions
will stop mobile DTV. It will not,” he said.
“Even if 120 MHz of the 294 allocated for
broadcasting were freed up as a result of
an incentive auction, a healthy and robust
broadcast system would remain, and nothing
would change the terms and use of a 6
MHz channel, including mobile DTV.”
As for broadcasters who elect not to
participate in the auctions, they would be
compensated for the cost of moving to new
channels. They would not, however, be
guaranteed the right to stay on a channel.
“This would not only be unprecedented,
it would give any one broadcaster veto
power over the success of the auction,” he
said.
He reasoned that there would be minimal
service disruptions for consumers because
the DTV transition allowed stations
to move to new frequencies without changing
virtual channels.
Genachowski said he would be “straight
and fair and focused on problem-solving”
going forward. “I ask the same of you.”