Broadcasters Start Repack Proce

WASHINGTON-Now the maneuvering begins, along a complicated route that runs through Washington, Wall Street and countless transmitter sites around the country as TV executives deal with the repercussions of the broadcast spectrum incentive auction. First comes the actual payout of $10 billion to broadcasters who sold 84 MHz of spectrum plus divvying up the $1.75 billion dollar fund to hundreds of stations that will actually move into repacked channel assignments.

Simultaneously, there is expected to be a significant ownership shuffle (including the zombie channel sidesteps), extensive fretting about the impact on FM radio stations plus an aggressive effort to convince Capitol Hill that the 39-month channel repacking timetable towards a summer 2020 deadline is not viable.

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And then there's ATSC 3.0. Although repack funds cannot be used to upgrade facilities for future services, many broadcasters want to include their 3.0 investments as they install new equipment-especially since 3.0 rules seem to be on a fast track. At the same time, wireless carriers are escalating their pressure to speed the process so they can get access to the $19.6 billion of airwaves in the 600 MHz spectrum band they just bought. (The remaining $7 billion of auction payments will go to the federal treasury for deficit reduction, an intent of the 2012 Spectrum Act legislation.) The wireless companies are also driven by technology: fifth generation (5G) systems are scheduled to come to market in 2020 (although they will more likely be used in higher bands at 3.5 GHz and above 15 GHz).

For its part, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to issue its rules and assignments (officially the Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice ) for the post-auction process on April 14, predictably just before the NAB Show. Then comes a 90-day comment period. Hence much maneuvering will take place in the coming months (including at the Las Vegas convention) as details about the actual station moves take shape. Adding to the current angst is a late-March FCC decision about broadcast channel-sharing in the repack, which has raised questions about cable must-carry of stations and the role of low-power TV channels in such arrangements.

TEN-PHASE TRANSITION

The transition is scheduled to roll out in a series of 10 phases, taking into account how lighting up new channels affects nearby broadcasters. Channels in phase one may only have 18 months to move to the new assignments.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

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