The Corporation for Public Broadcasting urged the FCC...

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting urged the FCC to eliminate the creation of white spaces, protect translators of noncommercial educational stations and prioritize repacking funds for NCE licensees as it moves toward finalizing the spectrum incentive auction process. Many public television translators are of primary importance to their communities, CPB said in an ex parte filing in docket 12-268 (http://bit.ly/1e4Xp0S). The filing is a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler. The FCC should recognize the essential need for public TV translators and “to mitigate risk to noncommercial translators by adopting measures in advance that will preserve their service,” it said. CPB cautioned that “a reimbursement shortfall will be damaging to public television stations.” The commission should work with Congress to ensure that adequate reimbursement funds are available under any spectrum recovery approach the FCC takes, “as well as to change the current statutory bar on using auction proceeds designated for repacking to fund translator relocation,” it said.